Labour's Nanaia Mahuta is the most preferred candidate for the Hauraki-Waikato electorate. That's from Māōri Television's third Māori electorate polll in which we asked 494 Hauraki-Waikato people for their take on the upcoming general election.
Asked for their choice of candidate, 61% of people saying they intended to vote for sitting MP and cabinet minister Mahuta, with 14% for the Māori Party's Donna Pokere-Phillips. But 17% were still undecided.
Asked who their preferred party was, two-thirds - 61% of respondents - said they intended to vote for Labour, 8% plumped for the Māori Party, with 5% for National, 3% for Greens, 3% for NZ First and 1% for ACT. About 14% were undecided.
The Māori Party has again been voted as the most preferred partner (46%) if Labour wins this year's election. The Greens came close, with 44%, and NZ First not far behind with 29%.
Meanwhile, 50% of respondents say they will vote for the End of Life Choice Act and 29% against, with 20% undecided.
Trending on from the first two electorates, 51% of respondents say they will vote for the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill and 34% against, with 15% undecided.
With the drought across the Auckland/Waikato area this year, water was a big issue for Waikato iwi. This came after concerns Auckland City would needed to take more water from the Waikato river because its dams were dangerously low.
The fate of the Ihumātao heritage site/subdivision was also another big issue Labour hoped would be wrapped up before the election. While there is talk about a resolution being made, no official announcement has been made.
The most important issues to Hauraki-Waikato in order are:
Meanwhile,16% of respondents say that someone in their household has lost their job due to Covid-19.
Polls were conducted from Tuesday, September 29, to Wednesday, September 30. A total of 494 voters were canvassed. Polling was by landline and mobile, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4%.