Vardon Rd: Back-pocket issues weigh on voters

Warren Gamble asks our litmus-test voters about latest campaign developments.

The Weekend Herald has been taking the electoral pulse of the Green Bay neighbourhood in West Auckland, which correctly picked the composition of the first MMP Parliament in 1996.

Issues ripe for party politicking are the likely flow-on of this week's Reserve Bank monetary tightening to higher home mortgage rates and an increasing focus on income tax changes - Labour and the Alliance promise tax increases above $60,000, National promises an average $10-a-week cut.

We also asked whether the rise of the Greens or the flurry of opinion polls had made an impression this week.

Have tax pledges influenced you?

Robina Thomas (undecided voter): "I think it's fair to raise taxes [on higher incomes]. Most of those big income-earners have got company cars and a lot of fringe benefits so I think it's only right they should pay a bit more."

Ross Dominey (Labour leaning): "I'm not particularly interested in a small tax cut here and there. If I thought I was going to get a more secure retirement fund I would be keen to pay a little bit more."

Pat Willy (National supporter): "I worry about those people who do earn good money. If they start upping their tax, making it onerous, they are going to go offshore."

What about home mortgage rises?

Graeme Mitchell (centre-right leaning): "I am paying the same or lower rate now than I was 22 years ago. I think a small rise is not going to hurt anybody."

Dave Thomas (undecided): "What we should be doing is offering an incentive to people who want to buy their own first home, a mortgage rate that is peanuts to start with."

Christine McGonagle (National supporter): "I have a sinking feeling about it, but that could be just because of the election. Why don't they [the Reserve Bank] leave things alone? I guess they are still pretty low, though."

What do you think of the Greens?

Robina Thomas: "I don't agree with [decriminalising cannabis] at all. I think small things lead to bigger things."

Graeme Mitchell: "When they come out with things on their Website [a link to an eco-terrorism site] it destroys my faith in them."

Dave Thomas: "There are some genuine people who care about our country and forests but there are a whole lot of people who just want to decriminalise marijuana so they will be left alone by the police."

What's your opinion of opinion polls?

Ross Dominey: "I pay attention to them and give them consideration and if they are done properly, I'm inclined to agree with them. It's been fairly conclusive when you've had three or four saying the same thing" [a centre-left victory].

Pat Willy: "I don't think in the final analysis they make a lot of difference. In the end people know who they will vote for. I think they keep you guys [the media] in work."

Christine McGonagle: "I listen to them and I think, 'Oh, my gosh, is that really what's going to happen'."