"It's also a message to the rest of the country that National is changing - it's becoming less of a rich white man's party."
Conversely, the Labour Party launched its campaign last week amid the waterfront opulence of Auckland's Viaduct Harbour.
"That's just the mirror image of National going into Labour territory. It is like war - they're trying to win over the territory of the opponents."
Left-leaning commentator Chris Trotter said it could be inferred that National's attempts to win Pasifika support were having some success.
"This move probably reflects a growing confidence on the part of the National Party that they will get a hearing, at the very least, from Pasifika voters."
This could have been boosted by the so-called anti-smacking bill of 2007, which caused a rift between conservative Pasifika voters and the Labour Party - "justifiable or not, especially when you consider National joined forces with Labour to ease the passage of the bill", Trotter said.
The same was true of the legalisation of same-sex marriage last year.
Labour Party president Moira Coatsworth said the party continued to enjoy strong support in South Auckland and had several outstanding candidates in the region.
"The issues we are campaigning on - jobs, affordable homes - are really important for people in South Auckland."
Labour's choice of the Viaduct was due to the central location, although busloads of supporters still made their way there from South Auckland.
National's campaign director, Steven Joyce, said the party had not done in-depth polling of South Auckland but there were indications of stronger support than usual. APNZ
