Act New Zealand's Dunedin North candidate Hilary Calvert faces something of a dilemma as she campaigns in this election.
At No 6 on the party list, Mrs Calvert would get into Parliament if Act gets more than 5% of the party vote - which everyone knows is the most important vote.
Act leader Rodney Hide is likely to retain his Epsom electorate, which makes every vote for Act count, but Mrs Calvert will still only get into Parliament if Act polls 5% or above.
The problem is that when Mrs Calvert is arranging her broadcast media advertising, she cannot say "give your party vote to Act" because if she does, that advertisement is charged against the $100,000 taxpayer funding Act receives.
And Mrs Calvert does not want Dunedin North voters to vote for her in the electorate vote, she wants the party vote.
The law also says she cannot buy extra broadcasting time.
What the party gets from the taxpayer is all it is allowed to spend.
With Prime Minister Helen Clark and National Party leader John Key locking the minor parties out from the television debates, the minor parties are left scrambling for ways in which to advertise.
Labour and National got about $1 million of taxpayer funding for broadcast advertising, with the Green Party, New Zealand First and the Maori Party getting about $250,000 each because of their MP numbers, Mrs Calvert said.
"By saying they won't debate us, they get an additional free time on television."
Minor parties have played a role in supporting all governments since the first MMP election in 1996.
The narrowing of the polls between Labour and National inevitably means that minor parties will again play a key role in the next government.
Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton has served as a cabinet minister for the past nine years and was, at one stage, deputy prime minister.
MMP enabled smaller parties to put ideas on the agenda that wouldn't otherwise have made it.
The Progressive Party, as a partner within the Labour-led Government, had good success with its ideas, leading up to the setting up of Kiwibank, four weeks' paid annual leave and paid parental leave.
"Labour is now putting Kiwibank on its billboards," Mr Anderton said.
"They weren't so enthusiastic about it when I came up with the idea.
''The same with four weeks' minimum annual leave and paid parental leave."
The Progressive Party had priorities for a new government, he said.
Given that Mr Anderton has been closely associated with Labour, he is unlikely to go into agreement with a National-led government, but Act might.
Mrs Calvert is travelling, at her own expense, between Dunedin, Queenstown and Christchurch, campaigning for Act and seeking the party vote to help her get into Parliament.
If Act reaches 5%, Dunedin could get five MPs - two Labour, one National, one Green and Mrs Calvert.
She did not stand at the last election but is back, bringing the passion to campaigning she demonstrated in 2002.
Asked why she put her law practice on hold to campaign, mainly at her own expense, she echoed the words of Mr Anderton.
Act had plans for the next government.
Because Act was a party of self-reliance, candidates did not go running to head office for expenses.
They quietly paid up themselves.
So it was with some irony she noted a taxpayer-paid taxi waiting for 45min outside an election meeting in Dunedin while an MP spoke to voters.
The MP was taken to the airport and flown somewhere else in the country, at the expense of the taxpayer, she said.
Both Miss Clark and Mr Key kept a low profile yesterday.
Miss Clark announced that a Labour-led government would let low-income people build 1500 houses on Crown land, in Auckland, in a bid to improve housing affordability.
The scheme was similar to one proposed by National, but under National's policy the homeowner would eventually be able to buy the land, while under Labour, the Crown would keep the land.
Mr Key announced National's plan to use the New Zealand superannuation fund to invest in infrastructure.
Labour is considering that sort of approach but in the case of National, it would change the law to allow the minister of finance to give direction to the fund guardians to invest 40% of the fund in New Zealand.
As much as Taking the Pulse hates a draw, none of the policies announced yesterday are going to make much impact south of Auckland.
