Jim Thomson, Gervais O’Reilly and Stephen Wesselingh all voiced their opposition to the initiative at a "meet the candidates" meeting at East Otago High School last Wednesday night.
A by-election for the Waitaki District Council’s Waihemo ward, prompted by the resignation of Peter Newton in December after allegations of inappropriate behaviour at the council’s Christmas party, will take place on April 13.
Four candidates are vying for the seat, but Arlene Goss was unavailable for the candidates’ meeting, which was chaired by former Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton.
Since early 2018, the council, and subsequently the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark Trust, has made a bid to establish New Zealand’s first Unesco Global Geopark.
Mr Thomson, a Meadowbank farmer, received loud applause for his stance on the idea.
"I think the benefit of the geopark is about as beneficial as you coming out to Meadowbank and you having a look at my paddock of cow pats," he said.
"It’s a great idea, it’s sexy, but at the end of the day what we are talking about is we want good water, we want safe roads, and we want rubbish taken away."
Palmerston customer service representative Mr Gervais agreed it was a "nice-to-have", but the council needed to concentrate on its core functions.
Mr Wesselingh, an East Otago businessman and former Waitaki mayoral candidate, said he was never in favour of the geopark.
"I think it should die. The attractions are there, you can still go and see them," Mr Wesselingh said.
The application for Unesco Global Geopark status, which required international evaluators to visit the district, was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The council was unable to provide an update on its stance on continuing to seek Unesco status by deadline.
Other hot topics at the candidates meeting included reinstating monthly Waihemo Community Board meetings, and improvements to the district’s roads.
Voting documents were sent out on Monday.
