KEY POINTS:
The political parties say they are ready to hit the hustings, with billboards and leaflets either on the way or already out, and candidate selection completed or nearly so.
* Labour: President Mike Williams said electorate billboards will start to go up this weekend, followed by a phase-in of party-based billboards.
He expected Labour would "get close" to its spending limit, of $2.4 million and fundraising was "steady".
Labour's last electorate candidate will be revealed today, in Waikato.
* National: President Judith Kirk said the party had already unveiled some billboards - on taxes, education standards, nurses and doctors and its youth policy.
It would "have to wait and see" if it spent up to the limit of $2.4 million.
The party has released its list and has candidates in all general electorates. It won't stand in the Maori seats.
* Green Party: Campaign manager Gary Reece said advertising was well under way, with the first campaign billboards launched on September 5. Hoardings would go up from this weekend. He said the party would not hit the spending limit "but we have a sizeable budget for our size".
It has confirmed candidates in about 50 electorates and is finalising others, as well as which Maori seats it will stand in. It has about 45 on its list.
* NZ First: President George Groombridge said the party had completed its candidate selections and released the top 15 on its list. It had its new campaign booklets "and will be [in] action first thing on Monday".
The party would use small billboards, which could be easily moved. He expected the party would be well within its spending cap. Fundraising was going well. "We've had a faithful group out there supporting NZ First, despite all the hoo-ha that's going on."
* Maori Party: Hone Harawira said the party had finalised its party list of 19 and had candidates in the seven Maori seats.
He said it would advertise in a limited way but relied more in door-knocking. It will have some billboards.
* United Future: President Denise Krum said the party would not use billboards but would have hoardings. It would also deliver the "Dunne Report" to households, a "state of the nation" style booklet.
The party has released a list of 22 and has more electorate candidates to name next week. It is aiming for 50 electorate candidates overall.
* Act: Has released its top 12 list candidates and expected to add to it soon. It also plans to stand candidates in about 60 electorates, including one Maori electorate. About 300,000 of its 20-point plan leaflets had been sent out and billboards would be out soon.
* Progressives Party: President Matt Robson said the party would stand in at least 25 electorates and list rankings were expected to be finalised this weekend. The party's budget was expected to be $150,000 on top of its broadcasting allocation of $100,000.
