Wgtn Central: winner takes it all

Nine years ago, the capital city swung from ACT to Labour and has stayed red ever since.

But with two big names in Wellington Central politics – Labour MP Marian Hobbs and former mayor and National MP Mark Blumsky – quitting Parliament, the race has again been thrown wide open.

Anecdotally, private party polling suggests the race will be tight between Labour's Grant Robertson and National's Stephen Franks. Both are low enough down their party lists to make the fight interesting – they will probably need to win to make it into Parliament.

Mr Robertson, a former diplomat and prime ministerial staffer, would be a first-timer if elected, but he is no stranger to the cut and thrust of the political arena. He was sent in to Ms Hobbs' office several years ago to tame the woman who became known as "Boo Boo" for her public gaffes.

He posts shamelessly cute photos of his young niece on his website and held his campaign launch at a grungy Cuba St bar surrounded by youthful supporters. He speaks of the diversity of the city and wants to continue where Ms Hobbs left off. "I think people I'm talking to can see we've made a lot of good changes over the past nine years."

He says the public service issue is a big one in Wellington Central. "You've got a government that's invested in public services and public servants and plans to continue doing that. And you've got National, which is seeking to use the public services as a political tool to provide funding for other things."

Mr Franks will be hoping the bold blue party branding on his gold VW Beetle will prove more popular than the yellow of his previous party colours – he received just 3 per cent of the vote as ACT's Wellington Central candidate in 2005. The former MP lost his list seat when ACT's support was slashed.

Since then, he has been back working as a lawyer at Chapman Tripp. On rejoining the campaign trail this time, he says he has had to relearn a few tricks.

"You've got to revive that ability to ignore the question and just say what you want to say, which is the mark of experienced politicians. I always find I'm too earnestly keen to answer the question."

The competition has already got heated, with Mr Robertson, who is gay, questioning Mr Franks' tolerance during a public debate by reciting back at him one of Mr Franks' own lines: "Well, I love my dog, but that doesn't mean I should be allowed to marry it."

Both the earnest lawyer and the liberal campaigner say they are feeling optimistic, but not complacent. "New Zealanders are very polite," Mr Franks says. "You get an overwhelming impression that the whole world's with you, but I think each candidate gets that."

WELLINGTON CENTRAL

* Wellington Central covers Wellington City, Brooklyn, Mt Cook, Mt Victoria, Kelburn, Karori and Wadestown. It extends from Makara Beach in the west to Owhiro Rd in the south and Oriental Bay in the north.

* The 2006 census showed it could be described as the best educated electorate in the country. It ranked first among all the general electorates for the share of the population over 15 who had a bachelors degree, (26.3 per cent); a postgraduate and honours degree (6.2 per cent); a masters (6.8 per cent); or a doctorate (2.1 per cent).

* Wellington Central also had the highest median family income ($97,400).

THE CANDIDATES

* Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party: Michael Appleby

* RAM - Residents Action Movement: Grant Brookes

* Kiwi Party: Rebekah Clement

* Libertarianz: Bernard Darnton

* Workers Party: Don Franks

* National: Stephen Franks

* The Republic of New Zealand Party: Justin Harnish

* Greens: Sue Kedgley

* Independent: Al Mansell

* Labour: Grant Robertson

* ACT: Heather Roy

* UnitedFuture: Vaughan Smith

* Jim Anderton's Progressive: David Somerset

* Alliance: Richard Wallis

- © Fairfax NZ News