ACT Leader Richard Prebble said today in response to media questions as to why ACT’s support has increased by 50 percent, “ACT has been raising the issues of concern to New Zealanders, the Treaty industry, run away social welfare, law and order and the increasing red tape and bureaucracy. ACT has put forward carefully researched practical positive solutions, a timetable for Treaty claims, a hand up rather than a hand out for welfare, Truth in Sentencing, and a regulatory responsibility law to curb red tape.

“ACT’s polling has always said that the support for Labour was marshmallow soft and as the electorate learned of Labour’s policies such as de facto compulsory trade unionism and the tax and spend, Labour’s support would melt.

“The rise of the Alliance is also bad news for Labour. The Alliance is now in a position to demand that any future Labour/Alliance Government makes Mr Anderton Deputy Prime Minister and implements the Alliance’s more radical socialist programme. This is driving middle of the road supporters across to both ACT and National.

“What’s important about the poll is that it confirms the trends; that the Left’s support is falling and support for the Centre-Right has risen in every poll since Jenny Shipley announced an election.

“What the voters don’t want is for Mr Peters to be holding the country to ransom. This latest poll shows that by a party vote for ACT, the country can prevent a repeat of the shambles three years ago.

“I predict the next set of leadership polls will confirm another trend: that Mrs Shipley is pulling in front of Helen Clark, by an increasingly significant margin. The opposition leaders in this country only deliver victory for his or her party when they are more popular than the incumbent Prime Minister. Miss Clark is on her way to becoming the Neil Kinnock of New Zealand politics-an unelectable Labour leader, losing an unloseable election,” said ACT Leader Hon Richard Prebble. ENDS

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