Labour wants cash to battle for Maori seats

Prime Minister Helen Clark told the Labour Party's congress in Wellington last night that plans for the election were well advanced.

"Everything is running according to plan".'

Candidates were in place, a list ranking was settled and policy formulation was well down the track - "and there is plenty of new policy".

Her reference to the election still gives no clue to when she plans to call it.

Labour had won the party vote in all but four electorates in the last election - Clutha Southland, Rakaia, Taranaki King Country and Epsom. The Prime Minister said the aim this year was to win the party vote in every electorate.

Labour president Mike Williams said the party was pumping up its campaign war-chest in a bid to stop the Maori Party threat in the Maori electorates. He made a plea for increased fundraising efforts for the Maori seat campaign.

"We have established a budget for our Maori electorate campaign than is bigger than that of 2002 by a factor of five but we need to do more."

It is believed that the budget so far for the seven Maori seats is $150,000.

Mr Williams believes the overall election fund will near $2 million.

The general seats would be asked to "undertake a series of campaigning tasks" for their Maori counterparts.

New Zealand First won all the Maori electorates in 1996 and Labour won them back in 1999. In 2002 NZ First did not contest the Maori seats.

A disproportionate amount will be spent in trying to prevent Maori Party leader Tariana Turia being re-elected in Te Tai Hauauru.

Labour's candidate is Errol Mason, a son of the head of the Ratana Church.

Even if the Maori Party polled below the 5 per cent threshold, Mrs Turia's re-securing Te Tai Hauauru would bring a large number of Maori Party MPs into Parliament.

Earlier Mr Williams said he thought the threat from the Maori Party was diminishing with time. This was a good reason to have the election as late as possible - September 24 is the last available date.

Tamaki Makaurau MP John Tamihere believed the threat had diminished to just two of the seven Maori seats, including Dover Samuels' northern seat. "There's an arm-wrestle in Te Tai Hauauru and ... a bit of an arm wrestle in Te Tai Tokerau and that's it."

The Maori Party selects its last Maori seat candidate, for Te Tai Tonga, this weekend, to be up against Labour MP Mahara Okeroa.

Mr Samuels faces Hone Harawira in Te Tai Tokerau and Mr Tamihere faces Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples in Tamaki Makaurau.