What the politicians think: Helen Clark

Helen Clark

Labour leader Helen Clark says her message to undecided voters is that their choices on Saturday are "stark".

"We've offered stable government. We've got good results across economic and social policy and we've brought a lot of hope to people."

National leader Don Brash offered a return to a "very divided society where a lot of people have no hope".

Helen Clark says if she had had another week to campaign she would have met more people and visited more places, but is happy with what she had achieved in the time available.

She says the depth of the economic choices for voters has been the forgotten issue of the campaign, and it had not been well covered by the media.

"Labour's been a very proactive party on economic growth and development, and it doesn't happen by accident. I don't think the campaign's really got into those issues so much and that's something more in-depth media coverage could have done."

Yesterday she campaigned on the Kapiti Coast and at Victoria University in Wellington on Labour's achievements and plans. She also blasted the right over the issues of stability and trust.

"The key issue is that only Labour can form a stable government in the interests of all New Zealanders," she says.

"We are looking at very unstable lineups on the right of politics with the added factor that National's policies threaten to blow New Zealand apart. I'm meeting a lot of people very concerned about what would happen to social cohesion."

She believes the campaign's turning point was last week with the revelation National leader Don Brash "hid the truth" about his knowledge of Exclusive Brethren involvement in anti-Labour and anti-Greens pamphlets.