Labour's Robertson optimistic about election

Tauranga candidate Rachel Jones, Labour MP Grant Robertson and Bay of Plenty candidate Clare Wilson canvassed crowds at the Aims Games in Tauranga yesterday. Photo / John Borren

The Labour Party is confident its "mix of policy and people" will register a lift in votes across the Bay next Saturday night and loosen National's stronghold.

Shadow Leader of the House Grant Robertson was in meet and greet mood when he touched down in Tauranga yesterday and attended the Aims Games for the first time.

The MP for Wellington Central said the event was a triumph to organisers with thousands of competitors and support crews converging on the city.

Less than 10 days out from the election he took the opportunity to mingle with crowds and talk to people from across the country.

Asked if that was the ideal place to be, he said, "I reckon."

Mr Robertson told the Bay of Plenty Times there was an electorate contest happening in Tauranga but it would be party votes that determined the next government. It was pushing for the party vote, he said and had targeted the Bay of Plenty as a growth area.

"Labour wants to be a presence and a strong voice so we have made a real effort. This region has got a lot going for it but it could be better."

Labour is fielding the best Bay of Plenty candidates he had seen "in my time", Mr Robertson said.

"Rachel Jones, Clare Wilson, Tamati Coffey and Rawiri Waititi have been fantastic."

House affordability, jobs and giving kids the best start in life were big issues for Labour, he said and its policies would have spin-offs for the Bay.

The problem around housing was not the number being built but the price they were sold for, he said.

"In the 1960s and 1970s about 35 per cent of homes built in New Zealand were affordable homes for first home buyers. In the last 10 years that has dropped to 5 per cent."

Labour planned to build 100,000 new homes nationally under Kiwibuild over the next 10 years.

Lifting the minimum wage by $2 an hour and supporting industries to grow good jobs, including processing export logs in the Bay, were other priorities, he said.

"I think people are seriously thinking about their vote. People are asking questions about policy and that is fantastic because I believe we have the strongest policies.