ACT Deputy Leader Hon Ken Shirley today said National shouldn't have thrown in the towel in Tauranga and should have sought a judicial recount in the electorate.

"Over 70% of Tauranga voters do not want Winston Peters as their MP and yet National has walked away from its last chance to see him thrown out. National ran a half-hearted campaign in Tauranga and one has to wonder what their real agenda was. If National was committed to getting the destructive influence of New Zealand First out of Parliament, winning Tauranga was their chance to do it.

"Katherine O'Regan's personal desire for the fight to end should not have been put ahead of the right of Tauranga voters to know that Winston Peters majority of just 62 votes is in fact correct. I can't imagine why she is ready to simply give up on Tauranga when the fight isn't over.

"ACT worked hard in Tauranga and made the strategic decision not nominate a candidate to maximise the chances of Katherine O'Regan defeating Winston Peters. I am personally disappointed by her willingness to give up so easily," said Hon Ken Shirley.

ENDS

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