NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Banks or Brown? It's too close to call

Bernard Orsman
By Bernard Orsman
Auckland Reporter·NZ Herald·
15 Sep, 2010 05:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The front-runners, John Banks and Len Brown. Photos / The Aucklander, Richard Robinson

The front-runners, John Banks and Len Brown. Photos / The Aucklander, Richard Robinson

Manukau Mayor Len Brown has a slender lead over Auckland City Mayor John Banks, but the race for the Super City mayoralty is too close to call.

A day before voting papers start going out for the Super City elections on October 9, a Herald-DigiPoll survey shows Mr Brown with 29.8 per cent support, only two percentage points ahead of Mr Banks on 27.8.

The gap is within the 3.6 per cent margin of error, and both men are behind "undecided" - the choice of 35.2 per cent of the 750 people polled.

The figures have barely changed from last month's poll, which showed Mr Brown on 29.6 per cent and Mr Banks on 28.7 per cent.

Pollster Dr Gabriel Dekel said a trend since early polls of Mr Banks gaining ground, if combined with a low voter turnout among ethnic groups and low-income people who supported Mr Brown, could result in a Banks victory.

The survey found support for the minor contenders has fallen to below the margin of error since last month's poll.

North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams has dropped from 3.9 per cent to 1, and businessman Colin Craig is down from 3.5 to 1.9.

Last night, Mr Brown said he had been ahead in all the polls this year, but that was irrelevant as postal voting was about to start.

"I'm out there doing everything I can to connect with the community and give them a positive vision for Auckland's future," he said.

Mr Banks said Aucklanders had to consider who was the best leader to make the tough decisions when they were needed most - and vote.

"It's a very hard-fought battle for the hearts and minds. On election day, it will be very close," he said.

One poll question found Mr Banks would be the best mayoral candidate in a crisis like the Christchurch earthquake, but another found that Aucklanders appear to be taking a shine to Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker, who has won praise for his handling of this month's quake in the Garden City.

The poll gave Mr Banks 27.9 per cent support as the leader for a crisis, comfortably ahead of Mr Brown, who was on 19.2.

But the two local mayors could face serious competition in the crisis stakes if Mr Parker were to enter the Super City mayoralty.

Asked if they would rather vote for Mr Parker if he stood as a mayoral candidate in Auckland, 36.2 per cent of those polled said yes and 43.6 per cent said no.

Mr Parker said he was "incredibly humbled" by the survey result.

"Right now I'm probably in the middle of a bit of sleep deprivation, and it's just the kind of boost that I need. I must say it's a generous thought."

He's not in any great hurry to seek Super City glory.

But he joked: "If I don't have a job by the end of the [election] in Christchurch, if they wouldn't mind delaying the election up there for a week or two, I might be happy".

- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: JARROD BOOKER

TONIGHT
Watch the Herald mayoral debate live on nzherald.co.nz

Readers can send in their own questions for candidates to nzherald.co.nz here or via the nzhdebate Twitter account.

Discover more

Opinion

Who will you vote for to be Auckland's first Super City Mayor?

04 Aug 01:18 AM
New Zealand

<i>Graeme Hunt:</i> Anchors group seeks to add might to Super City

29 Aug 05:30 PM
New Zealand

<i>Ask Phoebe</i>: Council, board and CCOs all have their part to play in Super City

31 Aug 05:30 PM
Airlines

Super City sold to Aussies

08 Sep 05:30 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Major blaze shuts down East Tāmaki Rd as crews tackle scrap yard fire

10 May 07:18 PM
New Zealand

'Little miracle': Family's fight as rare lung cancer strikes 3yo

10 May 06:00 PM
New Zealand

Ciara-Jordyn Merekara Woods-Ryan has been diagnosed with a rare lung cancer

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Major blaze shuts down East Tāmaki Rd as crews tackle scrap yard fire

Major blaze shuts down East Tāmaki Rd as crews tackle scrap yard fire

10 May 07:18 PM

Part of East Tāmaki Rd is closed due to a large scrap yard blaze.

'Little miracle': Family's fight as rare lung cancer strikes 3yo

'Little miracle': Family's fight as rare lung cancer strikes 3yo

10 May 06:00 PM
Premium
Ryan Bridge: Our high airfare curse is one of economics not competition

Ryan Bridge: Our high airfare curse is one of economics not competition

10 May 05:00 PM
Meet the woman who peels 20kg of horseradish a day

Meet the woman who peels 20kg of horseradish a day

10 May 05:00 PM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP