The new candidate crop is impressive (Nov 9)
A huge crowd of 450 turned out to the Britomart Country Club for our Auckland Central show and a queue formed before the doors were closed at the Wellington Central debate on Wednesday. So, it's been a hectic time of it for the Back Benches crew. One thing has stood out for me, at least as far as my experience goes, and that is the number of young people turning up and (particularly in Auckland) the numbers of young people turning up that don't necessarily follow politics. I'm not sure if that's reflected in candidate meetings across the country but it demonstrates the 'yoof' aren't averse to getting stuck into issues, given the right forum.
The other thing that I've been enjoying is hearing from the new candidates, some of who are quite impressive. Mention must go to the two young ACT candidates that have been on the show. David Seymour held his own under difficult circumstances in a packed live format with formidable seasoned opponents Nikki Kaye and Jacinda Adern. And with a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy) and a Bachelor of Engineering under his belt, some have quipped that he is the real B.A.B.E. Seymour was a senior policy analyst at a Canadian think-tank called Frontier Centre for Public Policy. Indeed, he's already penned a first book, titled 'Birth of a Boom: Saskatchewan's Dawning Golden Age.'
No less impressive is ACT Wellington Central candidate Stephen Whittington, who handled himself (and others) with ease at the Back Benches show on Wednesday. Previously an advisor to Roger Douglas in Parliament, he now works in a tax law team of a large Wellington corporate. Whittington has been named as one of the top 10 debating speakers in Australasia, and in 2009 was named as 15th best speaker in the world. So, he has the chops, on paper at least. On Wednesday, he was goading Grant Robertson about Labour's plans to introduce a minimum alcohol price plan, saying that a bottle of whisky at his favourite bar would jump to over $70 a bottle.
These two are ones to watch out for; to see whether they could transfer their talents into public office. Special mention also has to be made of Green Auckland Central candidate Denise Roche, who, once the nerves abated came across natural, funny, and very likeable. With a helium voice, she cleaned up the quiz with her rapid-fire answers. National candidate Paul Foster-Bell (who fascinatingly, spent three years working and living in Tehran) and super-slick Green Party candidate James Shaw, put in solid performances on Wednesday's show. Watch out for these people beyond the election and in the near future - you will get a fascinating window into the direction of New Zealand politics.
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