The Otago Daily Times visits Palmerston where, thanks to an electoral boundary change, the rural town now finds itself in Labour territory.
There is bemusement in Palmerston about being lumped in to the Dunedin North electorate.
On a visit to the town this week, it seemed quite a few residents had no idea the rural service town was now part of the Labour fortress.
The penny dropped for a couple of people as to why they had seen a big red Labour bus visiting town recently - and why Labour's David Clark has been campaigning heavily.
Palmerston voters tend to assume the change makes the electorate winnable for National.
A major upset is unlikely - the left-leaning burghers in Dunedin far outweigh the couple of thousand new rural hinterland voters.
The only danger for Dr Clark might be the effect of vote splitting between him and popular Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei. The change will certainly affect the party vote result.
Voters in Palmerston identify with National, North Otago, and MP Jacqui Dean - not Dunedin.
There is probably some truth in Mrs Dean's assertion to Fairfax last year that voters would feel ''a bit mis-mothered'', which is greeted with laughter when the ODT puts it to a couple of people.
The Labour Dunedin North MP has made a good impression on cafe assistant Casey Linklater, who says Dr Clark is a ''lovely, lovely guy'', but she is a firm National voter.
The Otago Daily Times chatted to Miss Linklater (21) and her boss, Kelly Cameron, Kelly's father, Lyndon Hawkins, and other staff in their new cafe the Coffee Cup Cafe, which opens on Monday.
Finishing touches were being made when the ODT was allowed in on Tuesday. Soon after, a would-be customer was politely turned away.
Miss Linklater explains that she follows politics, and knew about the boundary change, which she felt had not been well publicised.
She believes National worked hard to keep the New Zealand economy at a level comparatively stronger than Australia's.
Her colleagues tease her a bit because of her knowledge of politics and the economy, but they agree with her favourable view of National.
The new cafe is beside the Fish N Chip Shop, also owned by Mrs Cameron and her parents.
''The locals are crying out for somewhere,'' Mrs Cameron says.
Mrs Cameron says the area was not hit by the layoffs at Macraes gold mine to the degree many expected.
The mine was rehiring, and businesses had steady traffic flows from the town's position on State Highway 1.
The layoffs had not caused large numbers of young families to leave the district.
The ODT was sent down to the new cafe as an example of the town's buoyancy, after inquiring at the local garage.
Despite the splendid day on Tuesday, the town was quiet, and the ODT had started to worry that no-one was keen to talk bar the town's independent Dunedin North candidate, local pharmacist Adrian Graamans.
Mr Graamans, who has an Uncle Sam-style ''wanted'' poster promoting his campaign on the pharmacy front window, reckons the effect of the boundary change has been underestimated. He believes it is now a marginal seat.
He jokes that if he is elected, Dunedin North could become the most important seat in the country, able to consider each issue on its merits in Parliament.
He has a beef with the Government over the pharmacy contracts overhaul, which has made the pharmacy business more uncertain and not solved issues it was supposed to address, he says.
He does not expect to win but says he enjoys chatting to customers about politics, a topic that was not on the radar before.
Some residents in Palmerston tell the ODT they are not interested in politics, have never voted, or simply do not want to share their view.
A woman settling in for a smoke outside a second-hand shop makes it clear she is not interested.
A friendly young woman - also a non-voter - in the local vet's suggests the ODT head to Quested Builders, behind the main street.
Builder and managing director Neville Quested (59) says politics is the ''furthest'' thing from his mind at present, although he is quite interested in the boundary change.
Based in 1860s-era stables, Mr Quested says he would love to have the money to restore the building to its former glory.
He is about to have a private sector hip operation, because the public system was overloaded.
After a slow start this year, building has picked up again.
He has been pricing new buildings, including a crib and a farmhouse. Of the mining layoffs: ''People have got over that issue, and realised life still goes on.''
The attitude is similar at the local hotel, where a group of men are having an after-work drink.
One jokes that politics is not usually discussed, because they are too busy talking ''religion and library books''.
They are National supporters too, although one is sick of the Government centralising everything in Auckland to the detriment of places like Dunedin.
''Why have four or five million [people] in Auckland, and no-one down here?''
