Elections 2023: All on the line for Ilam candidates (Ilam electorate profile)
In the lead-up to the 2023 general election, The Press is profiling Canterbury’s electoral races. Here’s what you need to know about the five candidates running to be Ilam's MP. (By reporter Sinead Gill)
The hotly contested electorate of Ilam, in the northwest of Ōtautahi/Christchurch, borders Waimakariri and Selwyn and has Christchurch Central to its east.
Before 2020, Ilam (and its forerunner Fendalton) had always been won by a National Party candidate. Its first MP, Sidney Holland, was National’s first prime minister in 1949.
National’s streak ended in 2020 when Gerry Brownlee — who was Ilam’s first and only MP since the electorate was redrawn and renamed in 1996 — lost to Labour’s Sarah Pallett by about 3500 votes.
Pallett is campaigning to keep her seat at the October 14 general election, but a Taxpayers’ Union Curia poll of 400 residents suggests National will comfortably steal it back.
Hamish Campbell - a medical researcher and lecturer with a PhD in cancer and viruses - is National’s new Ilam candidate. He ran for the Wigram electorate in 2020, losing to Labour by nearly 15,000 votes.
The electorate race is made all the more interesting by the inclusion of Raj Manji, a former two-term Christchurch city councillor with a background in finance who is now the leader of The Opportunities Party (TOP).
Manji, who became TOP leader in 2022, has openly said the party’s focus in the 2023 election was winning the Ilam electorate. He ran for Ilam as an independent in 2017, coming second to Brownlee and losing by 8200 votes. TOP has not yet been in Parliament.
With TOP polling firmly below 5% and neither Pallett nor Campbell high on their party lists, their only hope for being in Parliament is to win the Ilam seat.
Mike Davidson (Greens), Irinka Britnell (Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party), Chris O’Brien (New Conservatives) and Juanita O’Connell (Democracy NZ) are also contesting the seat.
Based on 2018 census data, Ilam is home to some of the most and least affluent residents in the city. It covers the suburbs of Ilam, Fendalton, Avonhead, west Merivale, Bryndwr, Burnside and Upper Riccarton.
Nearly half of Ilam’s residents earned under $30,000 a year, had the city’s highest proportion of people earning under $5000, and the second most people earning over $70,000.
The electorate was home to over 17,000 full time students, or 21% of the electorate, in 2018. It ranked third highest in Aotearoa both for numbers of full time students and for part-time employees, and among the lowest for full-time employees. Home ownership rates are average.
Ilam isn’t the youngest electorate in the city, but ranks the highest by far for 15 to 19-year-olds (third overall across New Zealand electorates) and relatively high for 20 to 24s (6th), 80 to 84s (13th) and 85+ (9th).
Ilam has the smallest percentage of Māori and Pasifika of the Christchurch electorates, and has the second-most Asian residents.
Ilam residents enjoy healthier lifestyles than their counterparts, based on some data collected by the census. The electorate ranks first in the country for students cycling to classes, and second for employees cycling to work.
It also ranks the lowest for the number of regular and ex-cigarette smokers, and is 10th overall in Aotearoa for number of people who have never picked the habit up.
Addictive Eaters Anonymous
After ten years of depression, my life had hit rock bottom
I remember being ‘different’ around food for most of my life. This included things such as being the person who had two cream buns at morning tea when everyone else had one; eating icing sugar by the spoonful directly from the packet; and being the family member who went into the kitchen after dinner to eat the leftovers. There are numerous other examples – too many to list. I could overeat anything. If I couldn’t get my preferred favourites (e.g. chocolate), I’d be eating the vegetables.
Poll: Should the government levy industries that contribute to financial hardship?
As reported in the Post, there’s a $30 million funding gap in financial mentoring. This has led to services closing and mentors stepping in unpaid just to keep helping people in need 🪙💰🪙
One proposed solution? Small levies on industries that profit from financial hardship — like banks, casinos, and similar companies.
So we want to hear what you think:
Should the government ask these industries to contribute?
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60.1% Yes, supporting people is important!
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25.7% No, individuals should take responsibility
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14.3% ... It is complicated
Poll: Do you have a go-to adverse-weather checklist for your family? ☔⚠️
As reported in the Press, the same low-pressure system that lashed the North Island over the weekend is now making its way south, bringing heavy rain and strong winds with it. It’s a soggy start to the week for many of us.
With more wild weather on the cards, we’re curious: do you have a go-to adverse-weather checklist for your family? Or are you more of a “grab the torches and hope for the best” household?
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44.4% Yes - we like to be prepared
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38.9% Nah
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16.7% This is on my to-do list!
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