Claire Trevett: Wily Winston leaves National's man floundering

Peters' latest line is that voters are simply taking him on a trial basis. Photo / Nick Reed

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is the Bear Grylls of national politics. He knows every survival trick going. His most recent came while campaigning at his Whananaki family home on the Northland byelection campaign. Peters said it was a perfect place to catch a flounder with your feet.

Asked how this was accomplished, he explained: you see your flounder, stand down-current, shuffle about to muddy the waters so the flounder can't see you and then quickly stand on it. It's the perfect summary of his campaign strategy.

Muddy the waters so the voters can't see the poacher, then snare them. And what a right royal mess Peters has kicked up in the sand for National. On Monday he was wooing the teachers. Tuesday it was the farmers in Dargaville. Wednesday was the ladies, at Ladies Day at the Whangaroa Golf Club. Peters' man on the ground in Dargaville was Rob Stevenson, a farmer who had supported National.

He even sought selection for National for the seat after Sabin resigned. Now this farmer was Winston's "for a range of reasons". He wasn't alone - Focus NZ was formed by farmers and its candidate, Joe Carr, has now endorsed Peters. When even the farmers are revolting against National, things aren't going well. National also clearly knows that. Its candidate, Mark Osborne, said on Sunday he had not been privy to the party's internal polling. The only reason for that is because it must be appalling.

Peters' latest line is that voters are simply taking him on a trial basis. "I'm not asking for your loyalty for 77 years, or even seven," he told them in Paihia. "I'm just asking for 2.5 years and if I don't do better than the lot that's in there already, you can kick me out." He's picked the right time and the right lines.

National would point out the flounder was apt for another reason: Peters is accused of lying like a flatfish, from the promises he can upgrade Whangarei Port and deliver a rail link to it to his promise to work with National on the Resource Management Act and Korean Free Trade agreement. He added to his list of promises yesterday, introducing free SuperGold Card ferry rides between Russell and Paihia, because Aucklanders have them for Waiheke so Northland oldies were "not getting a fair deal".

National has repeatedly pointed out Peters can deliver nothing but noise because he's in opposition. He's certainly delivered that on the byelection trail.

National's advantage is that it is in Government so when it promises something, it can deliver. However, on the byelection trail that is also a weakness. Government cuts two ways - you might get credit, but more often you get blame for what you haven't done.

It's obvious National has held back showering the electorate with promises after the backlash over the 10 bridges pork barrel. Since then there has been only a reannouncement of generic rural broadband policy, despite Prime Minister John Key saying several policy announcements were coming.

But it may not be a coincidence that the closer the polls, the more roadworks pop up around the electorate. National is saying it with tarseal.

There are so many roadworks that the 750 new jobs Steven Joyce claims credit for creating may well all be stop/go sign holders. They are on the way into and out of most towns. They are on highways, backroads, high roads and low roads, bridges and underpasses.

Sceptical onlookers have a theory National deliberately timed the roadworks for the byelection to blunt the line that Northland doesn't get its fair share. Whether National could so quickly hustle up such an onslaught of tarseal is debatable, but they'll happily point to the action as a living monument of its caring and sharing love of Northland. It also has the added bonus of holding up the relentless progress of Peters' bus.

Alas, it has been to little avail. Osborne admitted he had never caught a flounder with his feet but he had caught tuatua with his toes. When it was suggested you didn't exactly "catch" tuatua he insisted they moved a lot quicker than might seem, courtesy of their massive tongues. Again, this is a perfect summary of his attempt to catch Peters. The latest 3 News Reid Research poll showed Peters and his big tongue were well and truly outrunning Osborne.