"The city rail link is a litmus test of the tense relationship between key ministers and Auckland.
"[Transport Minister] Steven Joyce simply doesn't believe in the possibility of managed growth and investing in public transport," Mr Twyfordsaid.
Labour's Auckland policy also follows through on some of its concerns during the setting up of the Super City by giving the Auckland Council the power to take back transport issues from a "corporate board", defining the powers of local boards in law and introducing Maori seats.
Mr Twyford said Labour opposed the unelected Maori Statutory Board that allowed members to sit and vote on council committees, but was vague about the "transition" to elected Maori seats. There was no commitment for Maori seats at the 2013 local body elections, he said.
Despite Labour's push on Auckland issues - leader Phil Goff launched a public transport push two weeks ago - it is not clear how focused Aucklanders are on matters close to home.
Dr Raymond Miller, of Auckland University's political studies department, said Auckland issues were generally not relevant to national election campaigns.
"The big issues are national issues: the economy, asset sales, a capital gains tax, retirement age. The other issues tend to be issues you talk about more when it is a local body election."
Dr Miller said that apart from transport, the parties tended to apply national issues to Auckland. For Labour it was poverty and housing. For National, the economy.
"The only issue that really stands out as being a local one has to do with issues around public transport versus building highways."
Dr Miller said Labour was trying to exploit the disagreement between Mr Brown and the Government on transport but he did not think it was having much impact with voters.
Green MP Dave Clendon said most voters were concerned with hip pocket issues at elections, but he believed there was still a place for secondary issues which could persuade some people to change their party vote.
The Green Party does not have Auckland policies, even though it strongly supports the city rail link and plans a specific Project Papakura announcement at Edmund Hillary School in the town as part of a wider policy to bring 100,000 children out of poverty by 2014.
Mr Joyce, who is National's campaign chairman, said the issues in Auckland were similar to those nationally: the economy, debt, interest rates and balancing the books.
He said transport was an election issue, but National was seen as having made good progress in Auckland, particularly with regard to road and rail.
Asked about the differences between the Government and Mr Brown over the inner-city rail link, Mr Joyce said he believed that many Aucklanders supported the Government's caution over the costs and benefits.
However, he did not believe the rail link was an election issue, saying he had not been approached on the street about it.
