The Labour Party wound up its caucus meeting in Greymouth on Tuesday, vowing to reclaim former stronghold the West Coast-Tasman electorate.
Local MP Damien O'Connor lost his seat and his place in Parliament in the 2008 election but joined former colleagues at the meeting.
Labour held the caucus retreat in Greymouth as part of a three-day visit to the region, which the party hopes will reconnect it to voters - the electorate it lost by less than 1000 votes.
Mr O'Connor is next on the party's list and will return to Parliament when Michael Cullen retires.
He says Labour's policies delivered strong economic growth to the West Coast and that is a good platform for him to work from.
Mr O'Connor admits as a Cabinet minister he did not put enough time into the electorate, one of the biggest in New Zealand.
However, he says he will have more time to spend on the West Coast as an opposition MP.
