Rangitata candidates grilled at first Meet the Candidates event

Co-governance, climate change and Three Waters have proven hot topics as voters in the Rangitata electorate get their first chance to grill their candidates.

More than 200 people packed Timaru’s West End Hall on Thursday night at the Rotary-organised Meet the Candidates event.

Six of the seven candidates standing in the electorate took to the stage to introduce themselves, their policies and answer audience questions with 10 minutes each.

It was a vocal crowd, with a general feeling of frustration from many who asked questions, with many that clapped, cheered and vocalised their agreement to policies such as repealing co-governance, the banning of sex-change operations and claims there was no climate emergency.

New Zealand First’s Robert Ballantyne, Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Barbara Gilchrist, Labour’s Jo Luxton, National’s James Meager, New Conservative’s Karl Thomas and New Nation’s Dolf van Amersfoort all spoke. Michael Clarkson, of Rock the Vote NZ, put in an apology for the evening.

ACT’s Toni Severin also represented her party on the night, after the party’s Rangitata candidate Elaine Naidu Franz resigned after it emerged she compared Covid-19 mandates to concentration camps.

It was the comments of Thomas that really got the crowd cheering as he introduced himself and his party’s ideals which included a claim that there was no climate emergency.

“Fossil fuels are here to stay,’’ he said.

There were also shouts of “yes”, cheers and clapping as he told the crowd “kids should be allowed to be kids, not sexualised and made to question their gender”.

The cheering continued as he said that if his party was elected there would be a complete ban on all sex change operations and puberty blockers.

Meanwhile, van Amersfoort told the crowd he was “begging for the party vote’’.

“Looking at my opponent/colleague sitting on the couch there (Meager), I don’t think there’s anyone that’s actually been doing more work campaigning than that young Mr Meager.

“So, if that was a criteria I would give him the golden handshake.’’

Incumbent Luxton was asked by Timaru man Tom Henderson if she supported the Three Waters proposal, as advocated for by the Labour Government.

Luxton said the Affordable Water Reforms had already passed into legislation.

“There was a choice – either pay thousands and thousands of dollars in rates in the future, or you have your water pipes fixed for you,’’ she said.

She said people deserved good drinking water.

The subject then drew laughter and clapping when audience member John Barton asked Luxton where the money was coming from.

“That is so good that that is going to be done for free,’’ he said.

“So somebody is going to pay for it, but not us.’’

Luxton replied with “we all pay taxes don’t we?’’

“Oh so we will be paying for it,’’ Barton retorted.

Luxton said everyone would be paying for it. “You pay for it now, as ratepayers, too.”

Severin told the crowd she would be happy to work with National “and if you want to go out there and represent National for your electorate vote, that’s great’’.

“If you think it’s somebody else, that’s fine,’’ she said.

She was questioned by audience member Jacqui Barnes about ACT’s stance on the Ministry of Disabled People.

“One in three New Zealanders have a disability, and one in four New Zealanders are affected by knowing someone with a disability,” Barnes said, saying ACT was going to eliminate the Ministry of Disabled People, but Severin refuted that.

“It is not a demographic, it is a need. However, we will be monitoring it as they are there to help the disabled.’’

Fellow audience member Ian Hanley said based on the latest poll “it would seem that ACT and National might get 60 seats and may well be dependent on NZ First’’.

“David Seymour seems to be allergic to NZ First,’’ he said.

“Is it your view that you’re happy to not be in government and let Labour, the Greens and Te Pati Māori be the Government of the future?”

Her reply: “No. It’s 62 at the moment, not 60 and yes we’ve said that we will not work with Winston Peters’’.

It was Winston’s name that was called out when Ballantyne made his way to the stage.

“Go Rob, go Winston’’ a woman in the crowd yelled, as members in the audience cheered.

The cheers continued as Ballantyne announced NZ First would formally withdraw New Zealand from the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People.

But one of the biggest cheers of the night was given when he said under NZ First, all government departments would “revert to English names’’.

When it was Meager’s time at the podium he told the audience, as a representative of one of the major parties, he wanted to hear what “the issues are for you’’.

Those issues included what his stance on co-governance was.

Meager said it meant different things to different people and there was no way to explain that to everyone.

“We do not believe in co-governance of public assets,’’ he said.

“We acknowledge the Treaty settlement process, but we do not know why we need co-governance on things like water pipe boards and things like regional councils.

“We acknowledge a place for Ngāi Tahu and Māori and recognise an interest in resources.’’

When asked if the party would “go with Winston Peters’’, Meager’s response was interrupted.

“You can yell over me all you like – I’ve done crowd control at this sort of thing before about a month ago, and it went really well, and I can do it again,’’ Meager said.

“But the only way we can guarantee a change of government is a party vote for National and take that decision out of our hands.’’

When asked if the Government was still funding Ukraine, Meager said

“If the Ukraine comes to New Zealand for help, as a defender of democracy and free society we should be willing to stand up and help them.’’

Gilchrist, a registered nurse and conservation worker, said it was pleasing to see the hall full, and thanked people for voting.

Speaking for a full 10 minutes on three key policies of her party, there were no time for questions from the floor. Gilchrist said the four main things Kiwis want are love, happiness, physical safety and financial security, and her party also wanted that for others.

The Rotary Club of Timaru North event was a first for the organisation.