New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has made a brazen pitch for Maori votes, telling Kiwis in a speech in Auckland, "If Christopher Luxon wins, Maori lose".
Almost one million Kiwis have voted early for this weekend's election, expected to be won by Mr Luxon's centre-right National party.
However, polls show a tightening race, and National's preferred outcome - a two-party coalition with ACT - is unlikely to come off.
Instead, National will have to govern with New Zealand First, the party of wily populist Winston Peters, who at 78 is on the brink of another political comeback.
On Thursday, Mr Hipkins used a speech at a Maori meeting place in south Auckland to ratchet up his criticism of the three parties.
"In this election I’ve talked about how disappointing it’s been for National, ACT and New Zealand First to use race to divide us," he said.
"Unfortunately one of the few things they actually agree on is taking Maori backwards."
Maori issues are shaping the Kiwi election.
ACT has pledged a referendum on the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, which could rewrite the country's constitutional arrangements.
Leader David Seymour calls it a "bottom line", meaning it will be a top priority in coalition talks with National.
The three right-leaning parties have also pledged to roll back the newly created Maori Health Authority, and contentious "co-governance" agreements forged by Labour.
Co-governance agreements, which bring Maori and non-Maori around the decision-making table, have been expanded to more public services under the Labour-led government.
National has vowed to scrap them, restricting their use to the management of natural assets as agreed in treaty settlements.
Polling shows public sentiment is behind National and the right, and Mr Hipkins concedes Labour has not done enough to win over Kiwis.
"I’ve made a conscious decision this election to speak openly about race because ... as a government we could have done a better job at advocating the decisions we’ve made," he said.
"Non-Maori have nothing to fear and everything to gain from Maori having more self-determination, better health outcomes, better education outcomes or co-governance arrangements."
Mr Hipkins voted on Thursday, casting an out-of-electorate ballot at the Mangere Arts Centre.Across town in western Auckland, Mr Luxon visited a childcare centre in Te Atatu, a Labour-held seat for the past three decades, showing confidence that it will make electoral gains in Saturday's poll.
Mr Luxon has regularly stopped into childcare centres over the past month to highlight the party's FamilyBoost policy, a childcare rebate to low- and middle-income families.
However, journalists were not interested in that policy and instead asked Mr Luxon about Mr Hipkins' attack that if he wins, Maori lose.
"What I'd say is that when National win, Labour loses and that's a very good thing for New Zealand," he said.
"Chris Hipkins is a very, very desperate individual now, and he has been throwing muck at walls for weeks on weeks to see what sticks and I just think that's a pretty low blow.
"National governments and Maori have worked incredibly well together."
Mr Luxon's party is running a policy-rich campaign, issuing dozens of plans - though no Maori-specific plans, unlike Labour, which has published a Maori manifesto.
National argues lifting standards and conditions for all Kiwis will in turn help Maori, which languish below national averages on many standards, including employment, health and life expectancy, and suffer higher incarceration rates.
"When you talk to Maori, what are their number one issues? Cost of living, housing, education, health care, law and order. The same issues," Mr Luxon said.
"We want to improve outcomes for Maori and non-Maori."
National has faced criticism for its lack of Maori representation, with only three MPs in its 34-strong caucus.
