The event arranged by Business South brought 10 of the candidates together yesterday at Tūhura Otago Museum’s Hutton Theatre to respond to a series of questions about topics, including the city’s finances, leadership, community initiatives and opportunities for growth.
But just a couple of hours before the event, Local Government Minister Simon Watts and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop gave councils a three-month deadline for reorganisation plans to be delivered — or else central government would write them up itself.
Candidate Aaron Hawkins called the plan "cynical" and the timeframe of it "insane", while Bill Acklin seemed gobsmacked as to where councils go from this point.
Richard Knights said the government was "constantly pushing things down to councils" without helping fund them.
"It’s simply not sustainable."
Andrew Whiley said he had been on the record that reform of local government was required, as there were "67 councils for five million people", but "the devil was in the detail" and he wondered what support central government would offer, if any.
Carmen Houlahan was also surprised by the timing and timeframe of the announcement, but said "sometimes you’ve got to move with the changes".
"But if it happens, we would be the city [in the region] that would have the largest infrastructure benefits."
Candidates were also asked about whether Dunedin needed increased density — which all the candidates agreed, although Jo Galer and Lianna MacFarlane said it needed to be "in the right areas".
Infrastructure proved a contentious topic, with Mr Whiley and Ms MacFarlane against the Smooth Hill development; Ms Galer saying South Dunedin’s drainage and resilience needed to be prioritised; and Mr Hawkins saying during his term as mayor they were successful in changing things for the long term as well as catching up on decades of deferred projects.
Angus Mackay also voiced the idea of Dunedin becoming a "tech capital of New Zealand", while Conrad Stedman touted his business background and previous experience as a councillor.
The behaviour of the present council was also discussed, Mrs Houlahan suggesting stronger penalties needed to be introduced for councillors who consistently breached confidentiality agreements.
The candidates were also asked whether they would "invest" in Dunedin if it was a business. All the candidates said yes, although some, such as Lync Aronson, said "cuts" would need to be made first.
The by-election arose in the wake of councillor and former mayor Jules Radich’s sudden death. Voting opened on April 10, and the polls close at noon on May 12.
