The voice of Te Tai Tokerau has been silent as the Mana Party makes a "whole lot of noise" about who it will form an alliance with, according to Labour electorate committee chairman Haydn Edmonds.
"As Mana falls apart because it is unsure whether it represents the poor or uber-rich,promises made by the Hone Harawira at the 2011 by-election have not been kept," he said, adding that divisions were emerging within the Mana ranks as it struggled with its rich vs poor identity crisis, at a cost of those in Te Tai Tokerau.
Labour's candidate, Kelvin Davis, remained firmly focused on the real needs of the region, however.
"The educational achievement of Maori students is still behind non-Maori, and Kelvin has a proven track record of making rapid gains in raising Maori achievement," Mr Edmonds said.
"There's a housing shortage that has not been addressed, and has become critical. Despite promises made by Hone Harawira at the by-election, that it would be easy to create full employment by Christmas 2011, we are yet to see the results.
"It is time for creating real work opportunities in the North through strong economic development, and not the false hope of more idle promises.
"Mana's mess is self-inflicted, and the result of their leader going weak at the knees when he saw the dollar signs radiating in Kim Dotcom's smile," he concluded.
