Clayton Mitchell New Zealand First MP

The Northland by-election was an election which everyone – except New Zealand First – thought was unwinnable probably because the electorate had been considered a safe National seat for decades and Mike Sabin won it last year with a 9300 majority.

I was on the campaign trail with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters for a large part of the time, which meant I saw first-hand just how neglected Northland is.

I saw Decile 1 to Decile 3 schools with very few facilities. It was clear transportation in Northland is among some of the worst in the country with a run-down rail system which fails to link to the Whangarei port.

I also experienced Northland's roads – clearly the worst roads in the country, impassable when it rains, and costing primary industries in the North millions of dollars in lost revenue because they're unable to get goods to market.

Interestingly, Northland is a great provider of primary goods and these make up a considerable amount of New Zealand's GDP through exports, although 40 per cent of the electorate have a personal income of $20,000 or less.

It's hard not to be sceptical about the road and bridges upgrades and broadband rollout promises made by National during the Northland by-election campaign.

We had similar promises from National here in Tauranga. The promise was four-laning of Turret Rd Bridge, Turret Rd and 15th Ave.

Tauranga's central corridor upgrade was a pre-election commitment made by National. Now they're trying to get ratepayers to foot the bill by shifting their promise into the local road network.

Northland felt neglected and made their voice heard. In fact, many provincial areas are feeling neglected. It is of the utmost importance that National upholds all its election promises to the New Zealand that exist outside Auckland.