Maori poll puts Labour in front, Greens second

By VERNON SMALL

Labour has cemented its grip on the Maori vote but there has been a surprise jump in support for the Green Party, despite it having no Maori MPs.

A Marae-DigiPoll survey released yesterday showed Labour drawing 61.2 per cent party support among Maori.

The Greens have more than doubled their backing since 1999, in second place with 11.7 per cent.

National's promotion of several high-profile candidates on its list has had only a limited effect.

It polled 9 per cent overall but only 6.5 per cent among those on the Maori roll. It did much better among Maori voters on the general roll, drawing 13.5 per cent party support.

At the 1999 election National won 5.7 per cent of the party vote in the Maori electorates.

National Party Maori candidate Greg White was yesterday reported as criticising some party spokesmen including former Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash and key party strategist Murray McCully, for making racist comments. Leader Bill English denied National was playing the race card, and said Mr White had apologised for his comments.

Victoria University political scientist Tim Bale said the improved support for the Greens among Maori was due to several factors, not just their stance on genetic modification.

They had polled well among young voters, were sympathetic on treaty issues and would have Maori candidates in winnable positions on the list.

In the Marae survey, New Zealand First, which took all the Maori seats in 1996, scored only 5.6 per cent, and Maori parties Mana Motuhake (4.4 per cent) and Mana Maori (2.1 per cent) made little impact.

The Greens said they would rank up to five Maori candidates in their list top 30. Maori lawyer Metiria Turei would be in the top 10, said Greens co-leader Rod Donald.

The survey of 990 was taken between June 1 and June 18 and has a margin of error of 3.1 per cent.

Sixty per cent of respondents were on the Maori roll.

Labour dominated in the electorate vote, suggesting it will again win all the Maori seats. It gained 40.8 per cent backing from those on the Maori roll, although 32 per cent of those questioned were undecided.

New Zealand First was second with 5.1 per cent, ahead of Mana Motuhake on 4.8 per cent.

Only 2.7 per cent of those on the Maori roll said they would vote for a Green candidate with their electorate vote, but 11.1 per cent on the general roll would vote for a Green.

In the preferred Prime Minister stakes, 60.3 per cent voted for Helen Clark, 7.7 per cent for Winston Peters and 4 per cent for Bill English.

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