Prime Minister John Key says it is up to National candidates whether to attend public meetings and debates and he has no problem if they don't show, even when they are free.
Ohariu candidate Katrina Shanks and Waitakere candidate Paula Bennett have been not showed for electorate candidates' meetings this week.
Mr Key said it was up to candidates which meetings they went to.
"They run their own schedules and make their own decisions.
"But at the end of the day, one of the ways you get them to vote for you is when you engage."
He said there had been no instructions to Ms Shanks to shy away from meetings and debates to give United Future leader Peter Dunne an easier ride in the Ohariu seat - considered a tight contest between Mr Dunne and Labour candidate Charles Chauvel.
"We've made it quite clear we are running a party-vote campaign in Ohariu," Mr Key said.
He did not necessarily expect Ms Shanks to go a meeting if she was free.
"It's a matter for every MP to judge their own schedule."
- The New Zealand Herald
