Politics is working a weekend shift in the Auckland suburb of Mt
Albert. Melissa Lee and her National Party supporters were out on the streets
trying to bounce back from a week of controversy.
But Ms
Lee herself was off-limits for interviews.
With a bruised
campaign on her mind, Ms Lee put on a brave face to get ready for an extensive
pamphlet drop today.
But while she was happy to smile for
the cameras her campaign manager blocked her from interviews, hoping to flick
the switch on the media spotlight, and detract from allegations Ms Lee used
taxpayer funds for a National Party advertisement and for suggesting the new
Waterview motorway would divert criminals from South Auckland away from Mt
Albert.
More than 150 supporters
volunteered to help Ms Lee this weekend. But as they walked down one side of the
street, a Labour supporter walked up the other, even stopping to put a flyer on
Ms Lee's car.
Labour candidate David Shearer says there
will be no let-up in the Labour campaign.
"We're not
taking it for granted, and we've got a great team out there today just trying to
keep the momentum going forward," he says.
A campaign
manager for Ms Lee says events of the past week have thrown her schedule out of
order and meetings have had to be put off. But he says today is a chance for the
focus to go back on the community and to gauge reaction from
voters.
With just under a month until the June 13
by-election, that reaction will be crucial.
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