Editorial: Little sense is official start date for election hoardings

Mark Dawson, editor, Wanganui Chronicle

Saturday was the official day to start erecting election billboards ahead of the September 23 ballot.

So did Whanganui National Party candidate Harete Hipango jump the gun with the hoarding that has been out and about on the back of a trailer for a couple of weeks? And does it really matter?

The Electoral Commission, which writes the rulebook, makes no mention of billboards on wheels as opposed to those staked into the ground.

And while it names July 22, it also cedes sovereignty on the issue to local councils to do their own thing.

Here in Whanganui, the district council apparently has no provisions and is happy to cede sovereignty right back to the commission.

But perhaps the real issue is: Do we need a start date for electioneering?

The candidates have been in voter-appeal mode since they gained their nominations - they have been regularly seen at the River Traders market and elsewhere touting for support; plenty of flyers have been handed out; and we have already had one candidates meeting, courtesy of the local National Council of Women.

And if Ms Hipango was a bit too quick off the blocks with her mobile sign, where does that leave Labour contender Steph Lewis and the emblazoned red T-shirt she has been wearing for some time?

In short, what is wrong with billboards going up at any time rather than at some arbitrary start date? It's an election and we want the candidates up front and pitching for votes with the aim of engaging as many of Whanganui's citizens as possible.

The only issue with billboards is for the district council - and it is nothing to do with the election.

If billboards are unsightly, offensive, too big, seriously obstruct views, not in a designated spot etc etc, then the council needs to send parks department staff round with a big shovel.

But surely it is only for those sorts of reasons that hoardings should be banned.