OPINION: Is National's choice of a 17-year-old candidate to do battle in Palmerston North in next year's general election a sign the "youthquake" effect has reached the political establishment in New Zealand? Immigration is one of those hot-button issues that invariably brings out the dog whistlers in an election year, with Winston Peters leading the pack. But looking over past election outcomes in Palmerston North it is not hard to see why the city has long been regarded as a Labour stronghold, pretty much regardless of what has been happening elsewhere around the country, or why. The Muldoon tidal wave saw outsider John Lithgow capture Palmerston North for National, when usually voters in provincial electorates would heartily reject candidates being parachuted in by a party. In the event, Lithgow only lasted one term before Walding won his seat back and Lithgow was never to be heard from again.

Source: Stuff November 27, 2019 17:15 UTC