Watch the full Local Focus interview for Rob Vinsen's views on the region's biggest issues, and our less important quickfire questions.
Stoats are probably a greater threat to our biodiversity than humans, according to Whanganui District Council candidate Rob Vinsen.
Vinsen is determined to help homeowners by making rates more affordable, but he says that would come by cutting funding to things like public transport.
"Is there a great demand for public transport? I see no point in providing, at the cost of the ratepayer, a public transport system with nobody on it."
Climate change is another issue Vinsen believes ratepayers aren't concerned with. He says "councils can do very little". He does suggest replacing Whanganui's gas-powered wastewater treatment plant with a renewable energy source "is probably the best thing we could do" to decrease emmissions.