Battle for Mt Roskill nearly over
Mt Roskill will likely have a new MP on Saturday after seven consecutive years of former Labour leader Phil Goff holding the seat.
The by-election was forced after Goff was elected as Auckland mayor in October’s local body elections.
It’s too soon to say how much the by-election will cost tax payers, but the electoral commission say it generally costs around $900,000 varying on the electorate.
The seat has historically been a seat held by Labour and Goff has left big shoes to fill.
However, there could be a shake up of not only Mt Roskill but also Parliament if National candidate Parmjeet Parmar takes out Labour candidate Michael Wood.
The seats will remain unchanged if Wood wins, however as Parmar is already a list MP, if she wins it means the next National list MP also enters Parliament.
Mangere’s Misa Fia Turner - number 53 on National’s list - would enter Parliament.
Parmar missed out on the 2014 election by just over 8000 votes to Goff.
National, however secured the Mt Roskill party vote with 14,275 votes, 2000 more than Labour.
Despite National winning the party vote, a quarter of National voters also voted for Goff, securing him the seat.
Goff was the MP for Mt Roskill from 1981 and aside from a threeyear break between 1990 and 1993, he has held on to the seat that whole time.
However, it’s not only Parmar and Wood who are standing. Five other candidates have thrown their hats in the ring.
They are Independent Tua Schuster, Roshan Nauhria from the NZ People’s Party, Brandon Strong from The Cannabis Party, Andrew Leitch from the Democrats for Social Credit and Not a Party’s Richard Goode.
The electorate is the most ethnically diverse in the country and includes the Auckland suburbs of Mt Roskill, Lynfield, Wesley, Hillsborough, and parts of Three Kings and Sandringham.
Those eligible to vote but aren’t enrolled are still able to have their say if they enrol by December 2.
More than 3000 people have already voted and polls will close at 7pm on Saturday.