Winston Peters, when he was Foreign Minister, attends a meeting at the 40th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial meeting in Manila in this August 1, 2007 file photo. Peters has offered to stand aside while authorities look int
IN PHOTO: Winston Peters as Foreign Minister attends a meeting at the 40th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial meeting in Manila in this August 1, 2007 file photo.Peters has offered to stand aside while authorities look into fraud allegations involving political donations made to his party, media reported on August 29, 2008. The leader of the New Zealand First Party, Peters made the offer as he met Prime Minister Helen Clark about the allegations, which he has denied, Radio New Zealand reported. Reuters/Cheryl Ravelo

Armed with an aggressive campaign plank and a matching style, former minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has added a new excitement to the Northland by-election. Peters kicked off his campaign for the March 28 election at Wellsford with an appeal to voters to send the Government a message that they have "had enough".

Peters, who lost the election in September 2014, is asking for another chance. His pitched campaign has the entourage travelling in a specially-painted campaign bus called "Force for the North", carrying the slogan "send them a message". Peters is telling voters that the province was once the "jewel of this country" and actually the capital "until they moved things to Auckland and then on to Wellington" In street corner meetings he renews the appeal to voters to back him so that he can be a strong advocate for a region that has been neglected by successive governments, reports TV Nz.

Neglect of Region

"Northland ranks very high on social deprivation that that's an absolute indictment of National's woeful treatment of this region," he told a street corner crowd in Wellsford, reports 3 News. The by poll was caused by the resignation of National's MP, Mike Sabin. The seat is considered a stronghold of National for decades. But Peters says he is confident that he can win by focusing on the way the region has been neglected.

He also appealed to the National voters to vote for him, pointing out that the Government will not change if he takes the seat. But the region will benefit from the strong message he will be taking to Wellington. However, Peters' presence is played down by rivals.

Prime Minister John Key said Peters has no chance of winning. “This is all about Winston, and Winston not feeling that relevant since the election,” he said. Labour also started its campaign. Peters' opponents are not sparing him in their attacks. ACT's Robin Grieve described him as "yesterday's man" and minister Steven Joyce compared Peters' campaign to end-of-career tours by ageing pop stars.

Multipolar Contest

Peters is pitted against a large number of candidates. They include nominees of National, Labour and ACT, and a handful of independents and four others. Nominations closed on Wednesday, and 11 are left in the fray.

For the March 28 election, Labour's leadership nominated Willow-Jean Prime, for a third time, despite losing the seat twice, reports NZ Herald. On National Radio, Labour leader Andrew Little defended his candidate's chances. He replied to a question that Prime has a “profile and understanding you might not see sitting in Wellington or Auckland.”

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