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CAMPAIGN JOURNAL: You don’t hear a septuagenarian “woop” often, but the local constituency of national leader Judith Collins didn’t hold back Tuesday night, giving a warm but shrill welcome to their MP’s homecoming.
The event was a debate for the candidates in Papakura, a safe seat Collins has held since the electorate was created in 2008 (and prior to that in the electorate’s previous appearance as Clevedon).
The debate was a first for Collins, as this is the first election since 2008 in which he has faced a candidate who is likely to return to Parliament: Labor MP Anahila Kanongata’a-Suisuiki, now a Labor MP.
RYAN ANDERSON / Stuff
Judith Collins, leader of the National Party, has represented the electorate for many years.
Kanongata’a-Suisuiki won’t win the seat, but her presence will make things interesting.
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The seat is blue – deep blue – and Collins, having represented it in some form for nearly two decades, began the evening by crawling through the crowd, greeting people by name. The crowd loves National, one said he had joined the Young Nats during Robert Muldoon’s leadership. A woman in the front row even went to hug her.
A debate in such a safe seat will always focus more on giving the incumbent the opportunity to meet the constituents, rather than winning hearts and minds. Given the extensive changes in the boundaries of Papakura’s electorate, Collins also had a good opportunity to meet new voters.
And what constituents were they.
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Labor MP Anahila Kanongata’a-Suisuiki at the Papakura candidate debate.
The debate was not so much a debate as a public meeting. The candidates were not raised by a moderator, but by the room.
The first question was about compulsory or coercive vaccination, a conspiracy theory that no New Zealand political party supports.
Kanongata’a-Suisuiki and Collins were on the same side and said that they had been vaccinated, but that they respected people’s right to choose not to vaccinate if they so desired.
“I can speak, having spoken to the leader about this,” Collins said, smiling for effect.
“When this vaccine comes, I would like to have it, because I believe in vaccines, but I also believe that not everyone believes,” Collins said.
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National Party Leader Judith Collins charmed the crowd at the Papakura candidate debate.
Other questions continued down a similar path, including why New Zealand “vilified” carbon dioxide emissions: “Why are we not promoting the benefits of carbon dioxide?” – and whether Collins would vote to repeal the abortion law reform (the constituent seemed to have forgotten that Collins actually voted in favor of the abortion law reform, while Kanongata’a-Suisuiki voted against).
The questions seemed to be so polarizing that Kanongata’a-Suisuiki and Collins were often on the same side of the answer.
One of the most common questions was not directed primarily at Labor or Nationals, but was the Advance New Zealand candidate, Vikki-Lee Pomare.
The constituent wanted to know what Advance New Zealand would do with respect to children who were encouraged to drop out of school and join the workforce.
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National party leader Judith Collins at the Papakura candidate debate.
Pomare, a woman in her 30s and a cool guy who runs a small clothing business in the electorate, said cleaning up student debt was the answer.
“We want to encourage no more debt for our student loans, so we eliminate student debt loans for our students. [SIC]” she said.
Collins joined in as well, turning the debate into something of a constitutive clinic, and Collins advised attendees to keep their children in school.
“Many parents think they are doing the right thing [encouraging their kids to leave education for work], they are doing the wrong thing. If you have an education, you have better options in life, ”Collins said.
“It is not fair to expect children to take on the role of parents; The first priority of a father is to take care of the child, ”she said.
STUFF
Judith Collins speaks to reporters after the first televised election debate of 2020.
With Advance New Zealand, the New Conservatives, and the Outdoors Party participating in the electorate, the debate sometimes turned into an air of half-baked conspiracy theories.
Pomare said he had been “gaining more knowledge in the areas of environmental sustainability and radiation, electromagnetic, biomagnetic and geomagnetic fields. [SIC]”.
“I am currently studying 5G, understanding technology and protection strategies at the Building Biology Institute; Topics include differentiating 5G from previous technologies, the massive expansion of current infrastructure, health effects, how to identify and mitigate the health hazards 5G presents, and learn to see through misinformation and industry solutions, ”he said.
New Conservatives candidate David Arvidson did not seem keen on culture wars, aside from a petition to roll back abortion law reform, but was eager to promote frequent binding Swiss-style referendums, which seemed to fall apart. well in the crowd. .
He even offered this as a solution to the New Zealand housing crisis.
RYAN ANDERSON / Stuff
The candidates in the debate discussed everything from 5G to bomb shelters.
“Did you know that the Swiss not only have enough houses for themselves, they also have nuclear shelters because the population demands it?” He said.
The Open Air Party candidate, Teena Smith, seemed flustered by the debate before it started; She chatted with an audience member before the proceedings began, while seriously reviewing her notes.
Unlike many outdoor party candidates, who appear primarily motivated by opposition to Poison 1080, Smith said the current administration’s abortion law reforms encouraged her to enter politics.
“I have historically voted for the Labor Party until the term abortion bill was rushed through Parliament at the start of Covid during shutdown,
“I ask you, what are they doing with the fetuses? What are they used for?
“Investigate, you will find out,” he said.
Despite persistent fears about “term abortion,” new abortion legislation only allows abortions after 20 weeks if a healthcare professional reasonably believes it is appropriate, and it is not correct that the law was sped up during the first confinement.
Smith spent so much time on the topic of abortion, he ran out of time to discuss 1080 in much detail.
She barely started her 1080 spiel when the moderator interrupted her, warning her time was running out.
“Ten seconds,” interrupts the moderator.
“Okay, I’m going to skip all that, we don’t need to go there,” he said, before finishing.
With candidates like this, Collins was always going to play home. Kanongata’a-Suisuiki managed to stick a pick. After Collins claimed to have the strongest team in Parliament, Kanongata’a-Suisuiki said Collins’s team showed no qualms about rolling it as soon as it became clear that it had lost the election.
“If Jacinda has the privilege of being Prime Minister, before 10pm, the top ten will get Judith out,” he said.
The crowd thought this was a little below the belt, and so did Collins, “that’s a bit off putting,” he said.
Despite the occasionally curious questions, Collins displayed a remarkable ability to make his audience feel heard. To the voter calling for the repeal of the “horrendous” abortion law, Collins said
“It’s something that I personally disagree with,” Collins said, before saying he supported reform to make abortions safer and healthier for people who decided to have one.
Collins ended her answer with a joke (one she had previously made in Parliament), recalling that a doctor had advised her mother to abort her.
“I realize that there are some people who wish they had followed the doctor’s advice. I’m very grateful that he held me back, ”Collins said with a laugh, even the woman who asked the question seemed to be smiling.
