New Zealand First's chances of making it back into Parliament have taken another hit, with a new poll showing Shane Jones is well behind in the race for Northland.
NZ First is hovering around 2 percent in the polls, well below the 5 percent needed to make it back into Parliament without winning an electorate seat.
The party's put a lot of effort into Northland, but Jones is running a distant third according to a TVNZ-Colmar Brunton poll released on Sunday morning.
Jones is on 15 percent, behind National's Matt King - the incumbent - on 46 percent and Labour's Willow-Jean Prime, on 31 percent.
He's ahead of the Greens' Darlene Tana Hoff-Nielson (3 percent) and New Conservatives' Melanie Taylor (2 percent).
As for the party vote, Labour is on 41 and National 38 - a difference within the margin of error. ACT is on 8 percent, New Zealand First on 7 percent, the Greens on 4.7 percent and New Conservatives on 1.9 percent.
The results were released on TVNZ's Q+A. Just over 500 people were polled between July 29 and August 4.
At the end of May, $2.1 billion of the $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund - administered by Jones - had been allocated, and $498 million of that was approved for Northland projects.
Northland makes up just 3.7 percent of the country's population, but got 23 percent of the total spend.
Jones initially promised Q+A an interview, host Jack Tame said, but pulled out late on Saturday night.
Without NZ First, Labour will be either depending on the Greens to get back into power - another party at risk of falling below the 5 percent threshold - or hoping to be able to govern alone.
ACT's David Seymour said the poll showed Northlanders "don't take bribes".
"Northlanders I speak to are offended by the idea that their votes are up for sale. Voters are clearly rejecting NZ First’s style of politics."
He was pleased with ACT's 8 percent showing, saying that would bring their Northland candidate Mark Cameron into Parliament if replicated nationally.
