Taki candidates hit campaign trail
National and Labour candidates vying for a swing seat in Parliament are both new to national politics, but say they have plans on how to best serve the fastgrowing taki electorate.
The electorate, stretching from Foxton in the north to parts of Paraparaumu in the south, will have a new MP after September’s election with five-term National MP Nathan Guy not seeking reelection.
The seat has traded hands between parties over the years, with Labour’s Darren Hughes holding it from 2002 until Guy took it in 2008.
Terisa Ngobi won the Labour nomination, taking over from Rob Mccann, who successfully ran for the Ka¯piti Coast District Council last year, while Tim Costley won the National nomination.
Costley has been campaigning since the end of last year, including launching a petition to confirm construction of the taki to north of Levin highway.
Ngobi was only selected in March, but unsuccessfully ran for a seat on Horowhenua District Council in the Levin Ward in the 2019 elections, finishing mid-pack among the 19 candidates for five seats.
She said her father came from a union background and helped run campaigns for former Labour MPS Dame Annette King and Judy Keall, while she went to school with Hughes.
‘‘It’s always been in the blood.’’
A product of Scottish and Samoan parents, she wanted to see more Pacifika representation in Parliament, especially as Horowhenua had one of the fastest growing Pacifika populations in the country.
Born and raised in Horowhenua, she spent the past 16 years working in government and non-profit organisations.
Many groups in the electorate had benefited from Labour policies, such as winter energy payments, increased benefits, and coming to pay agreements with teachers and doctors, she said.
Costley went to Palmerston North Boys’ High School before embarking on a 20-year air force career.
He and his wife had spent much of the past two decades in the area due to family connections and work, and he was passionate about the area he was set to move to.
He wanted commuter rail improved between Waikanae,
taki and Levin, while transport links generally needed improvement.
The overlap of district health boards in the electorate, combined with the large elderly population, meant people needed better ways to get to health appointments, he said.