Mr Collinge also returned to his National Party roots(prior to his Presidency he had been Chairman of the Mt Albert Electorate and as a member of the Rules Committee of the National Party) to serve as Chairman of the Auckland Central Electorate. Hewas involved in two general election campaigns –first as Chairman of the Electorate from 2002 to 2005 and then as Chairman of the Campaign Committee in 2005.
It was a time when the Electorate was gradually changing to National but still a Labour seat. While the seat still remained Labour, as Chairman of the Campaign,the Party Votefor National increased from 4,748votes to 12,403–a huge increase in the critical criterionfor the numbers of Members in Parliament.