Majority of Bay voters undecided | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty Times Weekend conducted an unscientific poll of 500 people in the region this week asking which way they intended to vote in the election.

Four weeks out from the election, more than half of voters in the Bay of Plenty electorate remain undecided on who they will vote for in their electorate vote.

The undecided figure is also high in the party vote, at 48 per cent, although Tony Ryall and the National Party have a steady lead in both the electorate and party vote.

An election poll of 500 voters was conducted by the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend this week in Papamoa, Te Puke, Welcome Bay and Maungatapu.

If the election were held today, National's Mr Ryall would win the Bay of Plenty electorate with 27 per cent of the votes, with his nearest rival, Labour candidate Carol Devoy-Heena, getting 7.8 per cent of the vote. NZ First candidate Ray Dolman polled at 2.4 per cent, and the Maori Party, Greens and Act garnered 1.2 per cent, 0.2 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively, despite the fact they are not standing candidates in the electorate.

The Conservative Party, which will soon announce its Bay of Plenty candidate, received 1.2 per cent of the electorate vote.

Mr Ryall's lead comes as no surprise, as in 2008 he held the second-largest majority in the country 17,604 votes on his nearest rival behind only National leader John Key.

National received 59 per cent of the party vote in the Bay of Plenty.

In the party vote, this week's poll had National ahead at 30.6 per cent, followed by Labour (10.2 per cent), NZ First (3 per cent), Conservative (1.8 per cent), Maori (1.4 per cent), Green (1.2 per cent), Mana (0.6 per cent) and Act (0.2 per cent).

Three per cent of people said they would not vote for either the electorate or party votes.

Mr Ryall said now the Rugby World Cup was over, the focus had shifted to the election.

In reaction to the poll, Mr Ryall said the feedback he was getting in homes and workplaces was "overwhelming support" for John Key and National.

"It's the same as the last couple of elections." The pressing issues in the electorate were the Rena clean-up and the impact of the Psa virus on the kiwifruit industry, he said.

And with a large amount of swing voters still undecided, Mr Ryall intends to campaign hard for the next month, holding 50 "street corner meetings".

"We'll be out earning every vote we can for this John Key-led government."

Labour candidate Carol Devoy-Heena said she had struck a large number of undecided voters during her campaign.

"People shake their heads and say they don't know.

"I think people will start making up their minds fairly soon the as the firmer policies develop and now everybody will be firmly fixed on the election, because there's nothing else like the Rugby World Cup diverting them."

Mr Ryall's lead was "not a surprise but it is disappointing", she said.

But the undecided voters could offer an opportunity for Labour.

"We have got to work on that and sell our policies.

"Usually undecided voters are not particularly interested because they don't feel that politics affects them directly."

The biggest issues in the electorate were the cost of living, as well as the impact of Psa and the Rena disaster.

"Cost of living is affecting a lot of our people, with the GST rising, and the lack of wages rising," Ms Devoy-Heena said.

"We have got a problem with a lack of sustainable work in the Bay of Plenty, it's often contract, casual, part time.

"That makes it really difficult for people to make ends meet, for families. I really feel for people."

NZ First candidate Ray Dolman said the large number of undecided voters in the poll matched what he was seeing on the campaign trail.

"The whole election is [about] these undecided voters. They are obviously unhappy with what's going on and they haven't yet found an alternative.

"That's my job to get out there and give them an alternative."

Mr Dolman identified the big issues in the electorate as asset sales, jobs and the economy, roading, Psa and taxes.

Nominations with the Electoral Commission officially opened on Thursday, and close on Tuesday before being made public the following day.

Research from America showed parties in government tend to do well after a major sporting victory in their area like the World Cup. Victoria University media studies senior lecturer Peter Thompson says that would suggest National could possibly benefit by the All Blacks' win.

"Partly from people simply feeling slightly better about the general direction of life and well-being in New Zealand and therefore feeling that there's less need for a change of government," he said.

Dr Thompson said an All Blacks loss could have made disaffected people less likely to vote and could have caused a temporary increase in pessimism.

After the 1987 Rugby World Cup win, the Labour Government returned for a second term with an increased majority.