Petone Environment Centre Candidates Meeting

Last night the Petone Environment Centre held a meet the (Hutt South) candidates meeting at the Petone Senior Citizens Hall - here's some highlights:


- Hutt South MP Trevor Mallard was a no-show, as was the Maori Party Candidate. No NZ First Representitive attended.
- Labour MP Mahara Okeroa told the audience not to worry about the $7.5 Billion surplus - he was "going to take care of that". (What, personally?) He also said that Interest-Free Student Loans were not an electoral bribe but "clever strategy".
- Alliance Candidate Kane O'Connell had the best sense of humour, even admitting the chances of getting to Parliament were nil.
- Mahara Okeroa couldn't remember Trevor Mallard's list ranking and got angry when he was challanged about it.
- Labour's local volunteers kept attacking National Candidate Rosemarie Thomas, but left normally a good sign that they're worried about losing the seat.
- United Future MP Murray Smith spoke in actual sentences, not slogans like every other UF MP I've ever heard.
- Destiny Candidate David Knight gave a good speech promising everything to everybody.
- Mahara Okeroa got into an arguement with a member of the public when asked if he thought of the job Trevor Mallard was doing as Race Relations Minister and what the Maori Caucus thought about it. For a second I thought he was going to come over and thump the poor guy, but he calmed down and said that there was a report from Mallard that the Maori Caucus was considering.