Division over best course

SOUTH Dunedin residents are divided on whether embattled MP Clare Curran should continue to represent them in the capital.

After a brief and bizarre press conference, where a shaken Ms Curran said she would stay on as MP for Dunedin South before leaving without taking questions, the Otago Daily Times hit King Edward St to take the pulse of the electorate.

Right outside Ms Curran’s office a man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he did not believe she should continue.

‘‘She’s not up to the job.’’

His wife agreed.

‘‘I don’t think so either . . . I think she should make a clean break.’’

However, the ODT soon met Curran loyalist Judy Harvey, who spoke warmly of the MP’s work for the electorate, especially during the area’s severe floods in recent years.

Outside the KiwibankNZ Post Shop in King Edward St, Herbert resident Pat Gunn suggested Ms Curran should step aside.

‘‘I think competency is really important, and if she’s not competent in the job that she’s doing she should step aside.’’

Dinkum Donuts owner Shane Ayers agreed the repeated missteps from Ms Curran were troubling.

‘‘I think you make the mistake once — I can understand that. You keep making the mistakes ...’’

That said, he remained undecided as to whether he would vote for her again.

‘‘Yeah I don’t know — we’ll see what happens.

‘‘She’s still got another two years to go yet.

‘‘We all make mistakes, but do we keep punishing her?

‘‘Hopefully, she’s learned her lesson by now.’’