Some of the candidates present. Back row: Samuel Walmsley (left), Orphee Mickalad, William Wood, Mike Clement, and Dion Jensen. Front row: Zulfiqar Butt, Rachel Keedewell, Fiona Gordon, Jono Naylor.
Some of the candidates present. Back row: Samuel Walmsley (left), Orphee Mickalad, William Wood, Mike Clement, and Dion Jensen. Front row: Zulfiqar Butt, Rachel Keedewell, Fiona Gordon, Jono Naylor.
The room was as packed as the planet is. Some of the questions were as hard as trying to get everyone to take action on climate change.
Nineteen Palmerston North City Council candidates and three Horizons Regional Council Palmerston North constituency candidates did their best to handle the probing at Environment Network Manawatū's (ENM) Q and A session on Monday.
ENM chairwoman Stewart Harrex selected two questions for each candidate from a list of supplied environment-related questions. The candidates had one minute to respond to each question.
Asked what the council's role is in reducing the country's carbon emissions, Rachel Bowen said it has a leadership role to show what can be done. As an organisation with scale, the council has the opportunity to do things that might be outside the reach of small and medium-sized businesses and certainly individuals.
Asked if he would be a watchdog over council's purchasing and contracting processes, Bruno Petrenas said "absolutely". Elected members receive detailed reports and the council has a professional team of officers that handles these matters.
Samuel Walmsley said he supports city-wide composting alongside existing collections but everyone has the ability to compost themselves. People should be given the knowledge and know-how from the past so they can compost at home.
Orphee Mickalad said we need to step away from economic growth to more sustainable development. Every enterprise should be encouraged to focus on the green economy.
Some candidates were asked what the council can do to build the city's climate resilience. This photo was taken in August of an island farm near Glenduan, north of Nelson. Photo / Tim Cuff
William Wood proposed a citywide review of the stormwater system to identify weak spots. He said he was a big believer in good procurement. Asked what the council could do to build the city's climate resilience, he said it was mainly about town planning and making sure the city grows in a sustainable way rather than just layering houses on top of dangerous sedimentary areas.
Zakk Rokkanno said he was motivated to stand for council as he would like to make a personal difference for the community. He said solar panels should be installed on all new houses and council-owned buildings, as solar energy is "amazing" and a resource that should be tapped. "It's free energy once you have set it up."
Dion Jensen was asked if he would support a regular interconnected transport system both within Palmerston North and between cities and neighbouring towns. He replied it depended on what the plan is - not if it is a poorly designed strategy that creates more emissions. Jensen is in favour of more interconnectivity but what pressure is that going to put on infrastructure, he asked.
Patrick Handcock drew the most laughs when for his second turn in the spotlight he asked Harrex if she was going to give him a question about the "round economy" - his first was on the circular economy. He said he supports solar power but Palmerston North did not have the best sunshine hours.
Jacinta Fraser said she would like to see more people walking and cycling but Palmerston North is not a safe place to bike with trucks in town. She didn't want the city to experience what had happened in Pāpāmoa where - she said - too many houses had been built and not enough green spaces left.
Lorna Johnson said the Manawatū Food Action Network was a good example of community and council collaboration. There were a lot of individual groups teaching people how to grow their own food, running community gardens, and working to reduce food waste. Bringing them together had provided a critical mass of information and a better understanding of where the gaps are. The network is a good example of how collaboration between community groups and the council can have a positive and tangible effect.
Kaydee Zabelin said managing stormwater would be a big issue if the city keeps intensifying housing and there are fewer green spaces for the water to go to. The council needs to provide leadership to encourage business buy-in to the circular economy. Eco-sourcing is a good example of this model of production and consumption - plants sourced locally have a better survival rate.
Harrex read a question that said housing development on hills where there are nearby streams is leading to greater sediment loads, which impact life and freshwater. Zulfiqar Butt said he favoured supporting groups like Green Corridors to put more plantings in these areas. The council was already doing that, and planting is a natural way to reduce any kind of sedimentation.
A father of four, James Candish said he was motivated to stand as he wants to leave something behind for his children. He is enjoying being chairman of Ashhurst School's board of trustees. He said there are inefficiencies that need fixing and the mechanic in him would be turning things upside down and making them better.
Karen Naylor said the council needed to use every lever available to it to reduce the country's carbon emissions. It needs to ensure cycleways are safe, and make sure its policies are effective in delivering waste minimisation and carbon reduction outcomes. The council also has a role to play in educating the community about what it can do.
Asked what the council can do to build climate resilience, Mike Clement said there were a lot of talking heads up the front of the room who would say political catchphrases. But people have the answers to sustainable and affordable growth. Groups like ENM should be listened to.
Nathan Wilson said he was motivated to stand for the council as he is interested in local and central government. He is a contracted security officer for the Ministry of Social Development and handled a request from a woman to take off his mask politely, saying it was for medical reasons. Wilson said the council was doing a great job on its environmental and sustainability responsibilities.
Brent Barrett said growth is the foundation of the ecological and climate crisis. We need to acknowledge we live on a finite planet and there are limits to growth. Evidence to date shows that growth is already more than what the planet can manage over time in a system geared to either growth or crash. He received the most applause of the night.
Former Palmerston North City Council candidate Stefan Speller (left) gets candidates James Candish and Tania Lamb relaxing after the Q and A. Photo / Judith Lacy
Tania Lamb said three female councillors were stepping down (Susan Baty, Renee Dingwall, and Aleisha Rutherford) and she believes there needs to be a balance between male and female representatives. She said she had the skills necessary to move Palmerston North forward for the next 10 years and believes in listening to residents as she thinks sometimes they are not being heard. Lamb is concerned about potholes, cracks in footpaths and litter. She wants to bring people together to get the whole of the city beautiful again.
Glenn Mitchell said he was motivated to stand for the mayoralty as there was an increased sense of apathy and he wanted to increase the local election voter turnout and connection with people. Residents are not being consulted about Three Waters, yet water is one of the most critical and fundamental elements of human life and an issue that significant needs to come back to the people.
Rachel Keedwell was asked to explain the value proposition of supporting community group collaboration in relation to Horizons' environmental objectives. She said Horizons has a lot of collaboration with community groups. Horizons has shown by working together you can get a whole lot further. Keedwell said partnering with the community or central government means you get a whole lot more for the money available.
Fiona Gordon said she was working hard to ensure communities are empowered. There is so much work ahead and there is no way one organisation can achieve any of that by itself. It is critical to empower communities to get the mahi done together.
Jono Naylor said he was passionate about improving water quality across the region. Horizons is fixing up bad decisions humans have made in the past such as deforestation and where houses were allowed to be built. He doesn't want future generations to have to deal with bad decisions made today. Asked if he supported the city's growth focus, Naylor said he had reflected on his previous position as a supporter of growth. If everybody is better that is good growth, but if more people are using up more resources that is "kind of dumb". Naylor said capitalism is not working and socialism didn't work. He is excited to see what people with big brains come up with. In the past he might have bought into growth for growth's sake but not now.
