Maungakiekie

The Maungakiekie seat, which takes in Ellerslie, Penrose, Otahuhu and One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie), was considered highly marginal in the first MMP election in 1996.

Bordering true-blue Epsom and Tamaki to the north and Labour strongholds Mangere and Manukau East to the south, Maungakiekie is a multicultural melting pot.

In 1996, National's Belinda Vernon defeated Labour's Richard Northey by just 228 votes. But in 1999, Labour's Mark Gosche won the seat back from Vernon by 2512 votes, mirroring the country's huge swing left.

Vernon's "Boaging" to 23 on the National list after several years at number 10 may reflect the party's diminished hopes in the area, and none of the other candidates have been headline-grabbers to date.

Hard-hitting campaigning may be difficult for Mr Gosche's opponents as the wife of the Minister of Transport, Housing and Pacific Island Affairs has been in Wellington Hospital with a brain haemorrhage for the past two months.



Almost one quarter of Maungakiekie's residents are Pacific Islanders and another 20 per cent are Asians.

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