Election Special - New Poll Extended Coverage - Delamere Sacking Extended Coverage - Americas Cup Fans Sail In From Vladivostok

ELECTION 1999

INTRO: John Campbell: Poll tonight shows Greens thriving in the political hot house - 8 green MPs in the house including Sue Bradford and Nandoor Tanzsos which will surprise some.

Jane Young Live: That makeup [with Sue Bradford and Nandoor] seems to be selling well and plans to attack the Greens over them have backfired . Nandor plans to keep his dreads but is prepared to wear a suit. Fitzsimons is also relaxed about the dreadlocks and says there is no rule about them.

Poll - Results

Party Vote:
Labour - 34% down 3%
National 29% down 1%
Alliance 11% up 2%
ACT 9% 11
Greens 6% 8
NZ First 5.5%

In the poll Labour and the Alliance need Greens to majority of one. National ACT together with 52 Mps - are out of the action. As the Greens are rising at Labour's expense - ACT is munching away at National's vote.

Preferred PM

Helen Clark into the Lead on 23%
Jenny Shipley on 20%
Anderton - up sharply - on 10%

On performance ratings both women improved on most questions with Helen Clark performing better than Shipley.

Jane Young (Political Editor - Live) Neither Labour nor National are anywhere near making it on their own. Trend in all the polls has been National is missing out - not by a big deal. The Alliance don't like the Greens and some management problems could be there . Q: This is not what was expected? Yes. People haven't gone back to the big parties as expected. Both major parties are being eaten away at. The next government is definitely going to be a coalition government.

DELAMERE SACKING: The Government has revoked 21 immigration permits issued by sacked Minister Tuariki Delamere. Delamere remains unrepentant. Whenever Maori try to - as they are told - "get off their backsides" they are obstructed, he says. Tuariki Delamere turns up to Parliament in a protest bus. He lost his job yesterday for approving residency approvals for 21 people - there will not be a special one-off case made says acting minister Wyatt Creech. ACT MP Donna Awatere Huata now faces the sack if she is found to be involved in the scheme. The Chinese investors say that New Zealand has lost face.

- WHAKATANE: In Whakatane many Maori are behind Delamere - but not non-maori. The Labour Candidate says that it is just a stunt to martyr himself.

- AUCKLAND: Tonight the Chinese investors are considering taking legal action against the government. ACT is tonight expecting an interim report on Donna Awatere's

COMMENTARY: The poll was taken before the Delamere sacking. These events could be good for National. We can see this is something Delamere has been planning since APEC and that he has raised it in several cabinet meetings.

OTHER NEWS

RUSSIAN AMERICAS CUP FANS: Pair sail all the way from Vladivostock to watch the America's Cup. The yacht does not have an engine - any emergency equipment. Boris and Renata sailed to Rota Island and then. They were due to be deported but they were saved by a lawyer and got a one month visitor permit. They have permission to stay for a short time. Good timing on the same day the Minister of Immigration was sacked.

© Scoop Media

Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

CONTACT ALASTAIR THOMPSON

• Mobile - 021707044
• Twitter - @althecat
• Google+

• Linkedin
• Facebook
• Email - alastair@scoop.co.nz