Whanganui electorate candidates (from left) Craig Dredge (Act), Marion Sanson (Green), Steph Lewis (Labour), Carl Bates (National) and William Arnold (NZ First) at a Meet the Candidates evening at Fordell Hall.
Whanganui candidates for parties not called Labour or National have put in the work to secure votes but none are expecting to be the electorate’s next MP.
Party votes - and lots of them - are what they’re after.
Early voting for this year’s election opened on Monday.
Act candidate Craig Dredge said the party’s policies had received positive feedback in the community.
“It’s nice to get out and about to meet people. That’s what this is - the business of people.
“We forget that sometimes and politics gets in the way.
“There are certainly people who are ready for real change.”
He said Act’s “three Cs” - cost of living, co-governance and crime - were also top of the list for voters.
However, it was the cost of living issue that resonated most.
“People just want a bit more money in their pockets and they’re worried. Everyone is crying out.
“Hopefully, people turn and do their business now. The worst would be to have a low voter turnout.”
Animal Justice Party’s Sandra Kyle was late to the race but has been on stage for four candidate meetings.
Her party’s policy towards farming - a complete transition to a plant-based economy - hadn’t resulted in the rural community throwing tomatoes at her, she said.
“Last week I was in Hāwera speaking to a room full of farmers.
“I tried to make it clear - I’m not against farmers and I feel for those who might be doing it hard at the moment.
“We are all human beings and we need to find common ground.”
Green Party candidate Marion Sanson said she had also been well-received in rural areas such as Westmere, Fordell and Pātea.
“That’s as far as I can tell from up on the platform. I’m sure there were a few mutterings from the back and the sides, though.
“The message to farmers, some of them anyway, is the need to shift their practices. There is a focus on agriculture and its emissions.”
Sanson said the party wanted affordable, energy-efficient homes.
“Even with National, the Greens worked on getting homes insulated. Now we have grants for clean energy homes.
“I think that will be popular - encouraging people to put in solar panels and heat pumps, to use electricity instead of gas burners and open fires.”
The Greens’ dental-for-all policy was resonating with the community.
“It‘s interesting how Labour and other parties sometimes pick up on these good policies. We want to make it universal and all-of-life.”
New Zealand First’s William Arnold said 470 people attended party leader Winston Peters’ recent public meeting in Whanganui.
He said there was a positive vibe around the party at the moment.
Access to good health and education and the cost of living were the big issues on people’s minds.
“Even if I wasn’t running as a candidate, I would be saying it - the government hasn’t handled it very well.”
The party’s “comprehensive agricultural policy” had gone over well in the electorate’s rural areas, such as South Taranaki.
“It’s designed to make things easier for farmers to do their business,” Arnold said.
“I think we’ll do really well. It’s in the hands of the voters ultimately.”
Arnold said no one would be more surprised than him if he secured enough votes to become Whanganui’s MP.
“Strange things do happen. I have a lot of support in the community, just through talking to people around the place.”
Sanson said she hoped people didn’t give her a candidate vote and she would be happy if there were none at all.
“You have to be strategic.
“I think Steph [Lewis, incumbent Whanganui MP] has been doing a good job in Wellington, more than perhaps people expected.”
Kyle said despite their vastly different views, all the candidates had got on well at the meetings.
As for her party’s chances, “miracles can happen”.
“It would be wonderful to get to 5 per cent [of the vote] - that would get us six MPs - but of course, that’s highly unlikely.
“Even if we win one electorate, that gives us a voice in Parliament.”
Dredge said, nationally, it would be a closely run race.
“Especially with Winston back in the mix. He‘s the gift that keeps on giving but you have to admire the tenacity, whether you like him or not.
“Anyone who steps up as a candidate, no matter which party, you have to admire the courage.”
The other Whanganui electorate candidates are Steph Lewis (Labour) and Carl Bates (National). Profiles of both were published in the Whanganui Chronicle on Saturday, September 30.
Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
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