Key to protestor: You're an idiot

National and Labour supporters jostle each other in Christchurch

The Dominion Post

John Key's presidential-style flying tour hit its first hiccup this afternoon as the National leader was met in Christchurch by Labour supporters chanting "the world is voting left".
View video: Nats and Labour backers clash in Square

Mr Key has chartered a 19-seater Beech 1900 plane to blitz eight towns and cities in the final run-up to Saturday's election.

He left Auckland at 6.30am to visit in Napier, Taupo, Christchurch and Nelson today, before taking in Wellington, Palmerston North and New Plymouth tomorrow. The whirlwind trip ends in Auckland with a bus tour through the city to his Helensville electorate on the eve of the election.

Throughout the day he has evoked Barack Obama's landmark victory in yesterday's US presidential election, urging supporters to vote for change here.

At Cathedral Square Mr Key received his most rousing welcome with 100 National supporters waving placards and cheering loudly as he arrived.

But he also encountered his first protest of the tour, with a very noisy group of about 20 Labour supporters also waving placards and nearly drowning him out as he spoke to the crowd through speakers on Ilam MP Gerry Brownlee's campaign van.

The Labour supporters crowded in around Mr Key as he shook hands with his followers, continuing to chant "vote Labour, vote Labour".

They wielded placards saying "Save Kiwirail" and "Save Kiwisaver".

The Labour supporters had their own take on the US election result, chanting "the world is voting left," refering to Mr Obama's win.

One Labour supporter repeatedly asked Mr Key to "tell the truth" about the changes National would make to the Employment Relations Act.

Eventually Mr Key's frustration boiled over.

"The truth is you're an idiot," he yelled back.

At one point exchanges between opposing supporters became heated, with placard bearers clashing over standing positions.

National supporter Judith Parrot, 75, said she had been pushed by Labour supporters and she had pushed back.

"I'll push them around too, I can be very vocal. I've been working for National since 1975 and I'm still doing it.''

Despite the loud opposition, Mr Key was mobbed by supporters who wanted to shake his hand, chat and get their photo taken.

Afterwards a relaxed Mr Key said the loud exchanges were all part of the "clash of ideas" that occurred during an election campaign.

Other protestors included a man wearing a Green Party rosette, yelling "How many Tranzrail shares have you got John", and a lone protestor loudly calling for the decriminalisation of all drugs.

But Mr Key was popular with the general public during a walkabout at Christchurch's Northland's Mall, where he received an unsolicited hand moisturise from an excited stall attendant and autographed one young man's sweatshirt.

He has been accompanied by two press secretaries and a police bodyguard.

Media from seven organisations are travelling with him on the chartered plane and have paid their own way.

MOOD FOR CHANGE

Mr Key has been in an upbeat mood and is clearly confident the election will go his way.

"The trip is achieving the objective, which was to cover as many spots around New Zealand as we could in the final two days and campaign hard to get out the party vote," he said.

"Ultimately we won't know until Saturday night but my sense is that there is a strong mood for change and that in the last week that's firmed in National's favour."

The trip was planned well in advance of the campaign and is designed to take in as many centres as possible, with the focus on the provinces.

Arriving in Taupo around 10am for his second campaign stop of the day, Mr Key told a crowd of about 100 supporters and passers-by it was important they mobilised as many people as possible to vote for National on Saturday.

"Last night America voted for change. On Saturday, we've got to get New Zealand to vote for change."

Change was a major theme of Mr Obama's successful US presidential campaign.

Mr Key also predicted that Louise Upston would take the Taupo seat from Labour's Mark Burton.

Mr Burton faces a major challenge in the seat after redrawn boundaries saw it take in large parts of National-leaning Cambridge.

Labour leader Helen Clark is spending the final campaign sprint in Auckland, where a high turnout in the city's southern seats was credited with swinging the election Labour's way in 2005.

BACON FOR BREAKFAST

Earlier, Mr Key urged supporters in Hawke's Bay to mobilise the party vote on Saturday, saying it was crucial that a National government had as many seats as possible.

Mr Key was hosted by about 100 supporters at a barbeque breakfast on the banks of a creek on Kennedy Rd in Napier.

He said he had made Napier the first stop on his sweep today because of the remarkable win in the seat by National's Chris Tremain in 2005.

Mr Tremain's win was the first time National took Napier since 1951.

Craig Foss also took Tukituki from Labour's Rick Barker.

"So I came back through and made it the first stop because I heard the bacon was good and I knew the boys had worked incredibly hard in backing the bay.

"When you go home this evening, when you go home tomorrow night, when you're out and about in the communities just go tell your friends this is one campaign and one election when you've got to get our supporters out changing the government, giving their party vote to National, making sure it's the biggest victory possible for a National Government because come Sunday we've got a lot of work to do."

In a short speech, Mr Key hammered National's campaign themes of quicker economic growth, safer communities, higher education standards and fixing the health system.

Dogs and children were rolled out for photo opportunities with one six-year-old local Sam Devine giving Mr Key a self-made card which said: "I hope the blue team wins".

AROUND THE COUNTRY

Mr Key will finish today's campaigning in Nelson's Trafalgar Square before flying to Wellington for the night.

Mr Key said the trip had been planned since before the campaign.

"It's just an opportunity to do a final sweep through New Zealand to get out as much of the party vote as possible and demonstrate we're taking nothing for granted."

He said it was important to concentrate on areas outside the main centres in the last two days of the campaign.

The tour has shades of the flying circus campaigning style common in the United States.

But where President-elect Barack Obama did his multi-state and multi-time zone sweeps in a Boeing jet, Mr Key's machine is rather less salubrious. He is flying in a 19-seater Beech 1900 with not enough headroom to allow him to stand straight in the aisle.

- with The Press and NZPA