By Hokey, Its Election Time

Friday, 19 September 2025, 1:56 pm
Article: Diane McCarthy - Local Democracy Reporter

A new online election show has boosted candidate participation in Kawerau recently and will be filming in Whakatāne on Wednesday.

It’s in the Ballot features Wellington political commentator Sam Somers running a version of classic Kiwi game show It’s in the Bag, with an election twist, in town halls throughout the lower and central North Island.

Filmed in the Kawerau Town Hall, where television personality Selwyn Toogood himself hosted the show, the election show can be viewed on the It’s in the Ballot YouTube channel.

Only two Kawerau candidates did not participate. With four of its current councillors not standing for reelection, there will be some new faces around the council table next term.

Separate videos, of an hour or longer, are devoted to each district ward, as well as one for the mayoral candidates.

After a one-minute introduction, the candidates are asked to pick a bag number to reveal a question previously submitted by members of the public.

The candidate has one minute to answer the question. With around 30 questions there is plenty of ground covered.

Other candidates have opportunities to butt in and answer someone else’s question or pass on a question.

A long-standing and contentious question for Kawerau candidates was around whether non-locals should be charged to use the town’s free swimming pool complex.

The cost to Kawerau ratepayers of providing the pool is around $1 million a year.

Mayor Faylene Tunui said the council was looking into ways it could be done without penalising locals and making them “pay twice”. Mayoral candidate Carolyn Ion said it would be a decision for councillors to make around the table.

The general ward candidates Anthony Worsley, Tracy Hill and Justin Ross had previously been asked the same question.

Mr Worsley wanted residents to be issued a card for free use of the pool. Ms Hill was keen to keep it free for all, while Mr Ross was concerned about how “local” would be defined.

“A lot of people whakapapa back to Kawerau that we don’t know are local.”

At large council candidate Berice Julian said if the council was to start charging an entry for the pool it would cost between $60,000 and $80,000 a year to have someone there to collect the money.

“Would we actually collect between $60,000 and $80,000 with people coming in? I’m not quite sure that we would.”

Mr Somers said while several Whakatāne candidates had not responded to his invitation to take part in the event at the Whakatāne War Memorial Centre on Thursday, around half had, including at least four mayoral candidates. He said often some candidates simply showed up on the day.

-LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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