4 October 2004

Media release Hon John Banks QSO

Banks camp upbeat by weekend exit poll

Hon John Banks says there’s no credibility in the recent newspaper polls, which put him 8 – 14 points behind mayoral hopeful Dick Hubbard.

“These polls are across-the-city polls, interviewing anyone who is sitting by the telephone in the middle of the day. In fact my 12-year-old son got polled during the school holidays and they even presumed he was eligible. What’s more, most people polled won’t vote.”

Mr Banks said he was more interested in exit polls – interviewing only those who have cast their vote. He said his campaign team did an exit poll over the weekend, with the results putting the candidates neck-and-neck.

Today the Banks campaign team cited an across-the-city poll on voter intentions commissioned by the Sunday Star Times and published on 7 October 2001 - a week before polling closed. The newspaper declared that “Fletcher (41%) holds a narrow lead” with Banks on 39%. A week later Mr Banks convincingly won the mayoralty.

“I have never done well in across-the-city polls in three years and so these recent newspaper polls are no real surprise. What I do know is that the feeling out on the street is good. Auckland is in great shape and it is a better place than it was three years ago,” said Mr Banks.

“Voters are telling me they’re voting on the substance, on policies, and who will be the strongest candidate to continue to drive Auckland’s momentum and tackle its tough issues. Let’s not forget that gridlock traffic is the number one public issue and history tells us being “Mr Nice Guy” won’t fix that.

“My campaign team remains upbeat and we continue to work hard for every vote. There is only one poll that matters,” said Mr Banks.

ENDS

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