KEY POINTS:
A poll which suggests Winston Peters faces a tough fight to regain his Tauranga seat is only likely to motivate him more, Prime Minister Helen Clark said today.
The One News poll released last night showed National's Simon Bridges holding 48 per cent support against Mr Peters' 28 per cent.
Mr Peters is going to try to win back the seat in this year's election after losing it to National's Bob Clarkson in 2005.
He has been under pressure over donations to New Zealand First and will rely on winning the seat if his party do not make the 5 per cent threshold at the election.
Helen Clark said: "I think Winston will take the poll just as a motivation to get out there and work harder.
"I guess he will be looking at his strategies, he probably won't read too much into that poll at this particular point."
Mr Peters lost Tauranga to Mr Clarkson by just 730 votes, but NZ First secured 5.7 per cent of the party vote nationally which gave it seven MPs.
One of the advantages Mr Bridges has in this year's election is that he is able to spend much more time in the electorate than Mr Peters, who is foreign minister and is often out the country.
Helen Clark said this morning on TV One's Breakfast programme that would make it harder for Mr Peters.
"On the other hand, he's a household name and brand," she said. "People have written him off before and he's come back."
The One News poll put Labour's Anne Pankhurst in third spot with 15 per cent support.
The poll also shows party vote support for NZ First at just 6 per cent - down from about 15 per cent in 2005.
National's party vote support in the seat was at 55 per cent and Labour's at 31 per cent.
The poll had a margin of error of 4.3 per cent.
- NZPA, NZ HERALD STAFF
