National says it did not include 2007/08 but did include 2008/09 because it was in Government for seven months of that year. It also included the budgeted spending for the 2014/15 year which was not yet on the NZTA website - totalling $750.6 million. It claimed that was 40 per cent higher than the Labour spend of $537.8 million from 2001/02 to 2007/08.The Herald calculated the average yearly spend under both Labour and National since 2004/05 - excluding the 2008/09 year. Between 2009/10 to 2013/14, National has spent an average of $103.3 million a year on Northland roads.
From 2003/04 to 2007/08 Labour spent an average of $86.4 million a year - 16 per cent less than National.
Jobs
Claim:
Joyce claims 7500 new jobs were created in Northland over the past year.
Verdict:
The Household Labour Force survey shows 74,100 were employed in December 2014 compared with 66,700 in 2013 - 56,000 of whom are in fulltime jobs. However, the unemployment level has remained stubbornly high at 8 per cent - the second highest in New Zealand.
Economic growth
Claim:
Joyce says that Northland's economic growth was well above the national average and one of the top three regions for growth.
Verdict:
Regional gross domestic product figures released by Statistics NZ last week showed Northland's economy had grown by 7.8 per cent over the past year - the most since 2007. That was above the national average of 6.7 per cent but Northland had the second lowest level of growth since 2009. Its economy has grown by 13.9 per cent since then - well below national growth of 22.4 per cent. Only Taranaki was lower at 7.9 per cent. Northland also had the second lowest level of GDP per capita - $34,825.
On Winston Peters
The National Party tweeted an attack on Peters on March 1, titled "how much does Winston care about Northland?"
Claim: NZ First hasn't bothered to stand a candidate in Northland since 2005.
Verdict: True. The last time NZ First stood a candidate in Northland was 2005 when Peters' brother Jim Peters stood and got 2547 votes.
Claim: Winston Peters is clear he won't live in Northland and would only visit when he is not in Wellington or at home in Auckland.
Verdict: Peters has said he would move up to his house in Whananaki if he wins. However, pushed further about whether it would be his permanent, primary place of residence he has hedged.
Claim: If elected, Peters would bring in a new MP from Invercargill and Northland would lose a local MP.
Verdict: First part is possible, second is true. The next person on NZ First's list is Ria Bond from Invercargill but Peters has said she may forgo the seat. Even if she does, nobody else on the NZ First list is from Northland.
Claim: Peters won't even commit to standing for Northland in 2017, even if he wins.
Verdict: Peters says that will be decided by NZ First's board. "But the reality is, do I want to have a period to deliver for Northland from a parliamentary seat as their representative? Yes, I would."
Claim: NZ First would axe the Puhoi to Wellsford motorway.
Response: NZ First says the party was not against it, and it would be hard to axe something that had not even been planned and costed.
Claim by a supporter of Peters: The photo used by National in the tweet is photoshopped to make Peters appear more ruddy and grey.
Verdict: Unclear. The National Party claims a party photographer took the photo on April 8, 2014, and "minor corrections were made to make it suitable for use as a graphic on social media". One News footage shows Peters was wearing different clothes and had longer hair on April 8 than in the photo. The photo does match footage of Peters on May 13 after he was ejected from Parliament during questions about Judith Collins. On that day Peters was sweating and flushed and later claimed he had the flu.
The scaremongering
Losing Northland would mean National had one less MP so would no longer be able to rely only on Act's David Seymour to pass legislation.
Claim: On extending the Telecommunications Development Levy to pay for rural broadband and cellphone coverage, Amy Adams said in Northland: "That requires legislation and for us to be confident we can legislate to do that we have to have a strong voice in Parliament. So what we would say to voters is if you want to see us able to legislate to deliver on those commitments we need to have strong mandate to do that and voting for Mark [Osborne] will help us do that."
Verdict: Unlikely. United Future supports it in principle based on what they have been told but are waiting for further details.
Claim: Prime Minister John Key told Turners and Growers in Kerikeri that National could struggle to pass the Korean Free Trade Agreement because other parties were "all over the place" on trade.
Verdict: Nonsense. United Future, Act and Labour have all said they support it.
Claim: Key said that National would have to water down its planned Resource Management Act reforms to get them through Parliament because only Act supported them.
Verdict: Likely true. National had to shelve similar reforms last term because it could not secure United Future's support. However, Peter Dunne and NZ First are still waiting on details before making up their minds about the next batch.
The sports
Claim:
Peters tweeted from Northland College: "Played rugby for Dargaville team when my brother was principal here." Jim Peters was principal from 1987 to mid-2002 - a period over which Winston Peters was an MP and aged between 45 and 57.
Verdict: Two Dargaville club rugby stalwarts said Winston Peters did play rugby for Dargaville High School but they did not recall him playing for Dargaville Rugby Club as an adult, although his brother Ian had. Peters' press secretary said it was her blunder and clarified Peters played for Dargaville High School only.
Claim: Mark Osborne told the Herald: "I can benchpress 220kg." Peters has disputed this, pointing to Osborne's Northland record last September for benchpressing 180kg.
Verdict: Osborne released a video he claimed showed him lifting 220kg in a training session. His written bio says he can press 200kg.
