Bread and butter of the South stood up

Mosgiel cafe staff were left cheesed off after a Judith Collins no-show as she campaigned in Dunedin yesterday.

The National Party leader spoke to party faithful, visited businesses and took aim at Labour’s economic policies and the lack of action on the new Dunedin Hospital.

She said three weeks of the wage subsidy cost about the same as the hospital project.

A speech to the Otago Chamber of Commerce also appeared to get a positive reception.

However, a missed engagement at a local cafe sparked disappointment.

Ms Collins was scheduled to visit Blend Espresso in Mosgiel to try one of its cheese rolls before she attended a public meeting.

Media had been told to head to the cafe to cover the occasion, and a large plate of the southern delicacy was waiting.

But Ms Collins never showed.

A cafe spokeswoman said staff were called late on Wednesday and asked to make a special batch of cheese rolls for Ms Collins.

"She didn’t come. I even did my face up for her."

It was only through the grapevine that she heard Ms Collins would not be visiting.

She said some customers would have been upset because they had heard about her visit and had turned up expecting to see her.

However, she said staff were putting on a brave face and trying not to show their disappointment.

A spokeswoman for Ms Collins said she was running late after leaving a Chamber of Commerce event and ran out of time.

Later in the day, Taieri candidate Liam Kernaghan visited the cafe instead.

The public meeting itself was a happier affair, and Ms Collins was warmly welcomed by the several hundred people present at Taieri College.

Much of her time yesterday was spent in the Taieri electorate, a seat the party is hoping to flip from Labour.

Ms Collins said she was confident the party could do just that.

Yesterday was her first visit to the electorate during the campaign.

When asked about that, she said she was "all over the country".

"I have to say that it is a big country."

She received murmurs of approval from the Taieri crowd as she talked about the need to rebuild the economy and pay back debt.

Several Labour ministers— among them Phil Twyford, David Clark and Kelvin Davis — came under fire.

Ms Collins said when she spoke to tourism operators in Queenstown shortly after a visit from Mr Davis, they were "surprised to find they had a minister".

Labour’s record in Government was scrutinised, and policies such as KiwiBuild derided as failures.

She said Labour was campaigning on fear, but National was campaigning on hope.

"I think hope should trump fear any day."

The visit came during a turbulent week for Ms Collins, and she could not escape questions about leaking MPs and the possibility of being rolled post-election if National lost.

On Wednesday, her campaign staff were caught lining a road in Ponsonby with National supporters for Ms Collins to stop and chat to, and she was barred from entering a shop by its staff.

Asked why there was no public walkabout in Dunedin, she said she had in fact walked around Dunedin, and the reception was positive.

Her arrival in Dunedin also came a day after Labour leader Jacinda Ardern was in town. — Additional reporting John Lewis