Starting in Taupo, Bill English visited Rotrua, Karapiro, Cambridge, Pokeno and Auckland to wrap up weeks of campaigning
Bill English has made his final pitch to voters ahead of the election, warning that anything less than a convincing National victory will lead to "months of drift and "years of bad policy".
English finishes his two-day bus tour from Wellington to Auckland this evening, following stops in Rotorua, Cambridge, Hamilton and Pokeno today.
At each stop on his way north, he underlined the closeness of the contest and the need for volunteers to keep working until the final moments.
"We really just have now a few hours where you can persuade people to come and vote with us," he told a crowd in a shopping mall car park in Hamilton.
"Because on Monday morning, this country needs to get on with the job."
During a stop-off in Cambridge, English gave an impromptu speech in a church which had been converted into a pub. Before an audience of student volunteers and life-long, grey-haired supporters, he went back over the "clear choice" the voters faced at this election one more time.
"With National they can vote for us to build on the strength of the economy, to take New Zealand forward, to build on that position of strength to deal with a whole range of issues.
"Or they can vote for Labour, which will slow the economy and take New Zealand backwards.
"The reason in New Zealand why we don't have higher taxes, big government spending and more debt that could push interest rates higher, more unions in workplaces is because they've been tried before and didn't work.
"New Zealand would find pretty quickly that as the economy slowed and stalled, our ability to do all the other things people want us to do would start to be limited and we would end up with more debt that someone has to pay for."
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern has often accused National of "drifting" during the election campaign, saying her party would put an end to years of underfunding and inaction of core services.
English turned that back on Labour today, saying anything short of a strong mandate for National would put New Zealand's economy in the doldrums in coming years. Businesses had told him that they were putting expansion on hold until after the election result was known.
"We don't want months of drift, years of bad policy," English told the crowd in Hamilton.
"So you can vote Labour to take us backwards, National to take us forwards."
The last leg of the campaign was livened up by deputy leader Paula Bennett, who began chants of "I'm backing Bill" at each stop. Aboard the bus, she did a karaoke rendition of Aretha Franklin's You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman. In a stop-off in Pokeno, she jumped behind a shop counter to dish out four-scoop ice-creams, ensuring that finance spokesman Steven Joyce picked up the bill.
Prime Minister Bill English and Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett rolling ice creams for supporters at Original Pokeno Ice-Cream. Photo / Mark Mitchell
As the National Party bus approach Auckland, The Final Countdown played over the stereo.
There was a mixture of fear and excitement among National's support. "They need to get back in," a woman supporter said at Sylvia Park mall, as English posed for pictures outside the Body Shop. "We can't have it any other way. It would be untenable. I feel sick thinking about it."
"I am praying for him," said taxi driver Miguel Lozano, while English was hauled into the Walker & Hall store by staff for more pictures.
"My whole family is praying for him. There are eight of us, and we are all going to vote tomorrow."
English will spend election day with his family, who have played a central role in the campaign. Wife Mary and son Xavier, in crutches from a sporting injury, followed him north today. They mostly stood in the background, apparently weary from six weeks of campaigning.
English brushed off suggestions of tiredness. "I'm a box of birds. It's a shame we have to take the day off tomorrow."
