23 Sep 2011

National hopeful rules out electorate deal with Brash

9:39 pm on 23 September 2011

ACT Party leader Don Brash will now stand as a candidate in the Auckland seat of North Shore, but there will not be any deal with the National Party to help him out.

On Friday, Dr Brash said he had changed his mind and will now stand in an electorate at the 26 November election. The former National Party leader had first opted to stand on the list only, so he could concentrate on a nationwide campaign.

He will be up against broadcaster Maggie Barry, who is at No 58 on the National Party list, and losing to Dr Brash would lessen her chances of getting into Parliament.

Ms Barry says there will be no deal as was the case in Epsom, which is targetted by ACT's John Banks, and Ohariu, which is held by United Future's Peter Dunne, where the National candidates have been directed to concentrate on the party vote only.

"Absolutely not, that (a deal) is not on the agenda at all. We are campaigning very strongly on the North Shore for the party vote in the first instance and the electorate vote for me after that."

Dr Brash says the ACT Party board has persuaded him to stand in North Shore - an electorate to which he has strong personal links having lived there for 17 years.

The party's deputy leader, John Boscawen, will stand in the Tamaki electorate, where ACT won the highest number of party votes in 2008, with North Shore the second highest.

Meanwhile, Mr Boscawen said a decision will have to be made soon about confirming the third spot on the party list, understood to be former party president Catherine Isaac.