Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Mayoral rival upset at Banks' rejection of TV debates

Updated at 2:40 pm on 11 September 2010

A contender for the Auckland mayoralty is upset that his rival, John Banks, has declined invitations to appear on two televised debates.

Maori Television Service and TVNZ 7 both say Mr Banks was the only one of the three invited contenders to decline their invitations.

Mayoral candidate Andrew Williams has accused Mr Banks of being unprepared to face public scrutiny.

A spokesperson for Mr Banks says he is sharing platforms with his rivals almost every second night, and needs to also focus on his own campaigning.

Maori Television says that in place of the studio discussion, Len Brown and Mr Banks have agreed to a camera crew following them for a day on the campaign trail.

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