TVNZ defends election reporting after criticism from senior MP

TVNZ has defended its decision to exclude a Labour candidate from a report on the Tāmaki electorate. The broadcaster stated the 1News story focused on the contest between National and ACT candidates in the traditionally conservative seat.

Senior Labour MP Willie Jackson criticised the coverage on social media, calling it “lazy, useless reporting”. Jackson argued that omitting Labour candidate Max Harris helped create a narrative that the electorate is only a two-horse race.

A TVNZ spokesperson said the original report was superseded by a longer version in the Seats to Watch series, which included Harris. Harris noted that subsequent reporting acknowledged there are “three real contenders” in the race.

The Tāmaki contest involves James Christmas for ACT, Mahesh Muralidhar for National, and Max Harris for Labour. An unverified poll from The Daily Blog suggested the three candidates were neck and neck, with Christmas at 26%, Harris at 24%, and Muralidhar at 23%.

Where reports differ

• The reports focus on different aspects of Willie Jackson's political activities, with one covering his criticism of TVNZ and the other covering his campaigning in Māori electorates

Compiled from reports by The Post and Newsroom.