the Māori population, particularly over the foreshore and seabed controversy. This resulted in a surge of support for the National Party, although most polls indicated that this subsequently subsided. National also announced it would not stand candidates in the Māori electorates, with some smaller parties following suit. The foreshore-and-seabed controversy also resulted in the establishment of the Māori Party in July 2004. The Māori Party hoped to break Labour's traditional (and then current) dominance in the Māori electorates, just as New Zealand First had done in the 1996 election. A large number of so-called "minor" parties also contested the election. These included Destiny New Zealand (the political branch of the Destiny Church) and the Direct Democracy Party. Polls A series of opinion polls published in June 2005 indicated that the National Party had moved ahead of Labour for the first time since June 2004. Commentators speculated that a prominent billboard campaign may have contributed to this. Some said the National Party had peaked too early. The polls released throughout July showed once more an upward trend for Labour, with Labour polling about 6% above National. The release by the National Party of a series of tax-reform proposals in August 2005 appeared to correlate with an increase in its ratings in the polls. Direct comparisons between the following polls have no statistical validity: No single political event can explain the significant differences between most of these polls over the period between them. They show either volatility in the electorate and/or flaws in the methods of polling. In the later polls, the issue of National's knowledge of a series of pamphlets (distributed by members of the Exclusive Brethren and attacking the Green and Labour parties) appeared not to have reduced National Party support. Candidates For lists of candidates in the 2005 election see: Candidates grouped by electorate Candidates grouped by party list Major policy platforms Labour Party The Labour Party platform included: student loans: writing off interest if the recipient stays in New Zealand health: a pledge of extra public-hospital operations Treaty of Waitangi: accepting no lodgements for Treaty-claims after 1 September 2008 increasing rates-rebates a "KiwiSaver" program, aimed at getting first homeowners into their own homes sponsoring 5,000 new apprenticeships increasing community police-force numbers by 250. a "Working for Families" tax-relief/benefit programme aimed at lower to middle-income families National Party The National Party campaigned on the platform of (National Party Press