Creepy or cool, Palmerston North City Council's Orange Man video encouraging residents to vote has got people talking.
Creepy or cool, Palmerston North City Council's Orange Man video encouraging residents to vote has got people talking.
These are summaries of on-camera interviews of Palmerston North City Council candidates conducted by Local Focus.
Mark Arnott
Mark Arnott's favourite book is Johnny Enzed: The New Zealand Soldier in the First World War 1914-1918 by Glyn Harper. He loves military history. His favourite music genre is '60s and '70s.
"Definitely Palmerston North, don't like the Palmy, nobody asked for it, it would have cost millions."
Asked which party he would be with if running for Parliament, Arnott replied: "I've actually voted three ways in my life and really vote depending on policies of the day."
The biggest issue facing Palmerston North is the condition of its roads.
Crime is an issue in the city as it is all around the country - there's a lot of anti-social behaviour.
"We certainly need to be working with police a lot better and community groups, but lots of this stems from home so parents: put down those phones and teach your children."
He has been in business for more than 20 years and says he would bring a lot of good ideas to the table.
"If you keep on doing the same thing you get the same result, so vote for change."
Karen Naylor
Karen Naylor's favourite book is Iron House by John Hart and her favourite music genre is jazz.
She prefers Palmy over Palmerston North and the favourite evening meal she cooks herself is creamy chicken pasta.
Asked which party she would be with if running for Parliament, Naylor replied: "None of them."
The biggest issue facing Palmerston North is the affordability of rates and the unfundability of the council's long-term plan.
"We do need to invest, we do want our city to be an attractive place to live, but at the moment we are doing too much and it's not affordable for our ratepayers."
As a nurse she has learnt to care and advocate for people. Prior to that Naylor worked in banking and finance so takes a strong interest in the numbers.
"I constantly, when there is any decision in front of me, I think what would the community think about this."
Rhia Taonui
Rhia Taonui's favourite music genre is opera and RnB, while the favourite meal she cooks herself is scrambled eggs. She prefers Palmerston North over Palmy.
Asked if she was running for Parliament which party she would be with, Taonui replied: "We're talking about local government".
The biggest issue facing Palmerston North is not activating our diversity. She is conscious Palmerston North is promoted as culturally diverse - 123 languages and 159 cultures - but this isn't reflected in council policy and strategic planning.
While Kāinga Ora is focusing on building one and two-bedroom homes, Pasifika families and families living in intergenerational homes need bigger houses.
"We've also got teenagers who have decided not to go flatting as it's just too expensive, they'd rather live with mum and dad and stay living with mum and dad, which is fine. My kids are the same, they've come back home."
Youth are the at-risk group in the region.
"Our kids are not born violent, they are not born hating people, all that stuff can be unlearnt."
Taonui has a background in education, community services, local and central government.
Kaydee Zabelin
Kaydee Zabelin's favourite book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte or anything by DH Lawrence, while her favourite music genre is '60s, '70s, and '80s rock "with a bit of Disney for doing the dishes with".
Asked if she preferred Palmy or Palmerston North, Zabelin replied "or Papaioea, all of the above".
If she was running for Parliament she would be with the Greens.
The biggest issue facing Palmerston North is "how we are going to pay for all the things that need to be done". Changing Government regulations, crumbling roads, global disruptions and supply chain issues, the need for a new wastewater treatment plant, and not enough houses are issues the council needs to grapple with.
"The council worked really hard to keep rates down this year and pulled a lot of levers, kicked a lot of cans down the road, to be able to make that happen for ratepayers. So I'm pretty interested to see the flow-on effects for that in the next couple of years where we do have a lot of stuff that we need to pay for."
The at-risk groups in the region include those who are doing it really hard financially, Zabelin says.
"I think there is a growing risk of vulnerability for families because we've had such a high property price in an inflated market here. So I feel there is a category of people who have taken on a lot of debt to be able to purchase properties and get themselves into the property market and that leaves them vulnerable to falling house values."
