KEY POINTS:
The financial squeeze is being felt in the canteen at the Talley's factory in Motueka.
A notice on the wall reminds staff to please settle their accounts weekly - and lists seven people who have overdue accounts.
It is Tuesday lunchtime and Talley's staffer Kerry Holtham sizes up Prime Minister Helen Clark as she makes a campaign stop at the factory. He decides to ask her a question.
With all the public spending Labour is doing, won't she have to raise taxes? And isn't the work she's talking about bringing forward on school buildings and other infrastructure just maintenance that should have been done already?
Helen Clark says it is definitely the wrong time to slash spending and talks about how Finance Minister Michael Cullen has got the Government's accounts in good shape.
But Mr Holtham is not happy. He is struggling to afford food for his two children and is finding that lemonade is cheaper than giving them milk.
"I've got two young children, a 3 and a 5-year-old," he said. "I'm working on a low income wage, and I'm just finding it really hard to support them all the time."
Mr Holtham said he makes $50,000 a year and is working 60 to 70 hours a week to make ends meet.
He gets Working For Families assistance but is still finding it hard.
Despite his obvious unhappiness, Mr Holtham is leaning toward voting for Labour at the election.
"I'll most probably vote for Labour, I just don't trust National."
So Labour can take some heart that its overriding message to voters - National can't be trusted - is gaining some traction in the income territory that both Labour and National are heavily targeting in this election.
Helen Clark got a broadly positive reception during her all-day visit to Motueka, which is in the West Coast/Tasman electorate seat held by Damien O'Connor.
And at a public meeting later in the day in the Motueka Memorial Hall, the Prime Minister hammered home her message that supporters should vote for her party and not for a potential coalition partner.
"It's not helpful for us to have Labour supporters voting for other parties ... it's harmful."
