Hawkes Bay council merger shapes up as big issue for voters

National MP for Napier Chris Tremain. Photo / Mark Mitchell

After being relinquished by National's Chris Tremain, the battle for the seat of Napier has been heating up between Labour's Stuart Nash and National newcomer Wayne Walford.

Mr Tremain won Napier in 2005 - the first time the seat had been taken from Labour in more than 50 years.

After failing by almost 4000 votes to regain the seat for Labour in 2011, Mr Nash stepped down the following year as chief of staff in the office of then party leader David Shearer and has been fiercely campaigning since to win it back. His refusal of a position on his party's list reflects his determination to succeed.

A proposal to amalgamate Hawkes Bay's five councils has proven divisive in the electorate and has been publicly supported by Mr Walford and denounced by Mr Nash.

The merger has been delayed until after the election but it has not stopped Mr Nash - a former list MP - using it as an election platform.

Changes in police numbers, the Ruataniwha water storage scheme, house prices, jobs and economic development were also at the forefront of Napier voters' minds, Mr Nash said.

Another contentious issue was the Napier-Gisborne rail link, "which Labour and I believe absolutely should be reopened for the economic health and well-being of the East Coast", Mr Nash said.

Mr Walford, ranked 63 on National's list, stepped down as chief executive of the Hawkes Bay Chamber of Commerce in July to focus on his campaign. He also cut off his characteristic ponytail, describing it as a "barrier to communication".

Although he admitted when his campaign began that he wasn't well known throughout the electorate, Mr Walford said more people were recognising him as his campaign ramped up. The economy was the biggest issue facing the electorate.

An internal National poll conducted at the beginning of July had him trailing Mr Nash by about 10 per cent and he expected them to be "probably on an even keel now".

Greens candidate Paul Bailey said after achieving 9.8 per cent of the party vote last election he was confident the party would reach its 15 per cent target this election.

"That's the national target, and that's what I've targeted here."

Boundary changes in 2007 saw the Napier electorate at least double in land area since 2002.

The boundary was extended further north this year, bringing an additional 1500 rural voters into the electorate. The change has been seen as good news for Mr Walford as the majority of voters in the affected area supported National at the 2011 general election.

The last-minute addition of Conservative candidate and Sensible Sentencing Trust founder Garth McVicar has added another dynamic to the race.

Mr McVicar said he had been approached by "all political parties" over the years but his frustration over granting paedophiles name suppression had proven a tipping point for him.

Seat stats

• Boundary changes in 2007 saw the Napier electorate at least double in land area since 2002.

• National received 16,538 party votes in Napier last election, 6617 more than runner-up Labour.

• National MP Chris Tremain has had the seat for the past three parliamentary terms. Before that, Napier was held by Labour for more than 50 years.

• Almost 52,000 constituents in the electorate were of voting age at the last election.

• The biggest proportion of voters (29.4 per cent) were in the 30-49 year-old age group.

• 67.6 per cent of residents identify as being of European heritage, 14.6 per cent as Maori, 6.9 as Pacific Islander and 9.2 as Asian.

• Most households in the electorate (17.2 per cent) earn between $50,000 and $70,000 a year.