Editorial: Agreeable candidates stand out

Meet the Candidates held at Napier Intermediate school, 9th September 2014. Photo / Glenn Taylor

On Monday night I attended a political debate like no other I have ever attended.

Hawke's Bay Today has been hosting Meet the Candidates meetings in conjunction with NewstalkZB and on Monday night we held the Ikaroa-Rawhiti debate at Irongate School in Flaxmere.

Last night we hosted the Napier Candidates, but it is the Ikaroa-Rawhiti debate I want to focus on here.

It was different to any debate I had been to because unlike others, including our Meet the Tukituki Candidates debate last week, the candidates seemed to be supportive of each other and did not make direct attacks at their opponents.

I moderated the debate and the speakers were Current MP and Labour candidate Meka Whaitiri, the Maori Party's Marama Fox, Mana's Te Hamua Nikora, Independent candidate Cathryn Eden and the Green Party's Henare Kani. The Expats candidate Vicky Rose did not attend the debate.

Don't get me wrong, each candidate was passionate about what they believed in and wanted people to hear what they had to say. They just weren't totally opposed to what the others said and quite often Mr Nikora would begin answering a question by saying that Ms Whaitiri and Mrs Fox had basically said what he wanted to say.

The sense I got was that while most candidates wanted to be elected, their main concern was that the electorate had a strong voice in Parliament, uniting the people.

It was quite a change from some of the negative campaigning that has been going on locally.