Election 2023: Act Party Whanganui candidate Craig Dredge focused on party vote

Craig Dredge is the Act Party's candidate for the Whanganui electorate in the 2023 general election. Photo / Supplied

The main goal for Craig Dredge, the Act Party’s 2023 candidate for Whanganui, is to secure party votes rather than advocate for his own place in Parliament.

Dredge said his connection to Whanganui was loose as he was born and raised in Feilding and currently lived in Taihape.

There was a connection to the city on the other side of his family though, as it was where his wife’s parents were born and raised.

“It’s a nice way to honour the memory of my wife’s father by standing for Whanganui,” he said.

However, he said his main goal was not to be elected himself, but rather to advocate for people to party vote for Act.

Dredge decided to enter politics after returning a few years ago from Australia where he had spent 14 years teaching, saying he “didn’t recognise” his own country.

“I think New Zealand has certainly lost its identity.”

To get New Zealand’s identity back he believed real change was needed and wanted to add a voice to this for Whanganui.

As the principal of Taihape Area School, he also saw how national issues like the cost of living and housing crises affected the lives of local children on a daily basis.

If elected, he said he would advocate for a reduction of the Government’s involvement in the education sector. In particular, he was a fan of Act’s focus on charter schools.

“Giving people a monetary value to choose where they want to do their schooling, that’s good common sense. I think giving people the right to choose is definitely the right way to go, especially with education.”

As he was still working as a principal, Dredge had not been able to spend much time campaigning. He was unable to attend a recent debate between Whanganui candidates in Stratford, with Act instead represented by Taranaki and King Country candidate Brent Miles.

He will take leave in September to campaign.

“I’ll be getting out there, talking to people and saying party vote Act,” he said.

Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.