Kaikōura candidates find plenty to like in opponents’ policies

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

Rival candidates at an election meeting in North Canterbury found they had plenty in common.

Candidates from four political parties were put in the unusual position of praising each other’s policies at an election meeting at Balcairn Hall, near Amberley, on Monday evening.

More than 100 people packed into the hall to hear from three candidates vying to be Kaikōura MP, including sitting MP Stuart Smith (National), Emma Dewhirst (Labour) and Jamie Arbuckle (New Zealand First).

The fourth candidate was Lan Pham, the Green Party’s Banks Peninsula candidate, who was filling in for Richard McCubbin.

During the course of the evening, the candidates were asked to name policies from each of the other parties they liked.

Smith said there was a lot of collaboration between the parties in Parliament.

He said New Zealand First had "borrowed a number of our policies", he liked the Green Party’s energy policies, and National and Labour often worked together on legislation.

"I don’t think people realise we do get on. We collaborate behind the scenes otherwise we wouldn’t get things done.

"Question time isn’t a true reflection of what goes on."

Dewhirst said she liked New Zealand First’s fair pay policy, there was alignment with National on several transport initiatives, and the Greens and Labour aligned on many issues including freshwater.

Arbuckle said he liked Labour’s policies on removing GST from fruit and vegetables and supporting seniors’ housing, there was alignment with National on regional development and he was "a big fan" of the Green Party’s Jobs for Nature programme.

Pham said she agreed with New Zealand First on the need to invest in the New Zealand Defence Force to monitor the coastline.

She was pleased to hear National supported the principal of Te Mana o te Wai (mana of the water), and she hoped Labour would keep to its promise of no mining on conservation land.

The only conflict was during a question of supporting Hurunui’s beach communities facing coastal erosion, where an audience member felt Dewhirst was not answering the question.

None of the candidates offered solutions, but agreed local and central government needed to collaborate with local communities.

Pham said it was time to develop a national adaptation plan to provide guidance for councils.

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