Papatoetoe voters seek answers at talks led by the local community

Community groups are taking the lead in connecting voters with candidates in Papatoetoe’s re-run election.

A packed Papatoetoe Town Hall last Thursday saw candidates front up to voters at a forum organised by Bluespur Consulting, not Auckland Council.

Auckland Council administers the vote rather than organises public events.

Leauanae Zeprina Fale, organiser and chief executive of Bluespur Consulting, said the event was created to improve access and accountability.

“When Auckland Council weren’t stepping in to host one, we felt it was important to get our community together, rally behind each other and put our candidates to account,” she said.

“Accessibility is one of the biggest barriers… so this is one of the ways we’ve stepped up to improve accessibility for our people.”

Papatoetoe local Omer Gilroy, right, with Namulau'ulu Nu'uali'i Eteroa Lafaele at the Papatoetoe Town Hall forum. Photo/PMN News/Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata

Among those attending was Papatoetoe local Omer Gilroy, who said the forum gave her a rare opportunity to hear directly from candidates.

“I’m born and bred in Papatoetoe… 38 years living here. My family’s been here for a combined 80 to 90 years."

“I wanted to see who had the most passion to get Papatoetoe back into what it was… one of the best suburbs in Auckland that was highly sought after,” she said.

“I could have seen a little bit more passion[from the candidates]… a little bit more.”

The re-run election was triggered after irregularities were found to have materially affected the original result.

Candidates speak to residents during a community-organised ‘meet the candidates’ forum at Papatoetoe Town Hall. Photo/PMN News/Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata

Gilroy said the situation had left her feeling frustrated and uncertain about trust in the system.

“We’ve just got to try and trust the system and carry on… but to get that trust back is going to be hard.

“I think it’s great that we had another chance to meet these candidates."

Lotu Fuli, Manukau ward councillor, said the event was important given the circumstances.

“It was really important… because it is such a crucial election,” she said.

Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board member Maria Meredith, Papatoetoe candidate Swanie Nelson, and Manukau ward councillor Lotu Fuli at the Papatoetoe Town Hall forum. Photo/PMN News/Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata

Fuli said Auckland Council had not organised a forum due to time and budget constraints.

“I understand that because of the time crunch and because of the budget, Council couldn’t set one up ourselves… but I’m really glad that the community took the initiative and set one up because it is really important.”

“There’s a lot of mamae, there’s a lot of hurt… a lot of it was about the fact that it was re-run and that trust and that transparency,” she said, reflecting what candidates had raised during the forum.

Most candidates attended the forum, though five of the 20 standing were not present. It is unclear why they were absent.

Auckland Council said its role is to administer the electoral process, rather than organise candidate engagement events.

“Auckland Council’s role is to administer the electoral process in a fair, transparent, and impartial way and to foster voter participation in the election,” General Manager Governance and Engagement Lou-Ann Ballantyne said.

“Meet the candidates events are typically run by community groups and other organisations, rather than the council.”

The council confirmed no funding was allocated for candidate forums during the re-run, with resources directed toward general voter awareness.

Ballantyne said steps had been taken to support voter confidence, including working with NZ Police and the postal service to strengthen safeguards, alongside communications encouraging people to protect their voting papers and take part.

Voting for the Papatoetoe re-run election remains open until midday on April 9, with 20 candidates contesting four seats.

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