KEY POINTS:
If blondes really do have more fun, then the backbenches of the National Party must be an absolute riot.
On it sit three blondes who admit they are sometimes mistaken for one another _ and it seems senior Labour minister Trevor Mallard may be one of the ones who gets confused.
In the House last week Mr Mallard couldn't resist firing a barb in the direction of National's female MPs, saying they looked very similar and it was hard to work out who was who.
"Some of us have a little bit of a problem in that a number of the women on the National Party benches look very similar," Mr Mallard said.
"Certainly in looking at their hair colour, I can say it looks like they share their shampoos or hair dyes, and they do look somewhat similar."
The blonde brigade includes Otago MP Jacqui Dean, Aoraki MP Jo Goodhew and list MP Nicky Wagner.
And it seems that National's production line of blonde women is far from finished, with three new candidates in this year's election _ Nikki Kaye (Auckland Central), Louise Upston (Taupo) and Amy Adams (Selwyn) _ also fitting the bill.
Ms Upston and Ms Adams both brushed off Mr Mallard's comments.
Both said they would prefer people judged them on their abilities and what they stood for, rather than their hair colour or appearance.
Said Ms Upston: "A lot of people would say to me they're quite surprised that I'm an activist for the National Party and now a candidate, because I don't fit their stereotype of the party."
Among the three sitting MPs, there was laughter when the Weekend Herald approached them for comment.
"Anybody who takes the time to get to know us will find we're all very different," Ms Goodhew said.
"He [Mallard] should stick to running the country before it's too late."
Ms Wagner said Mr Mallard had never made any attempt to get to know the difference between them.
Ms Dean said she was more than happy to be mistaken for the others.
"We've got better things to think about than the colour of our hair."
