Playhouse to host pre-election political debate

October 23rd, 2011
[Press release]

With Rugby World Cup over, New Zealand is now turning it focus towards the upcoming elections to be held on November 26th. The Mapua and districts community association and the Playhouse Cafe have joined forces to provide a political platform for the Tasman/West coast candidates to express their views, policies and answer a few questions.

The events entitled "Politics at the Playhouse, The Great Tasman Debate" will take place on Wednesday 9th of November from 7pm with all the major candidates attending as well as some smaller parties. Damien O'Connor (Labour), Chris Auchinvole (National), and Kevin Hague (Green) have all confirmed their attendance at the event, and an open invite has been given to all minor parties to be part of the democratic process.

The night will consist of two parts. The first will be a live debate between all attending candidates; the second part will take shape as a "meet the candidates forum" where people can approach party members with questions and comments.

The debate will commence with each party member being given two minutes to introduce themselves and their political views. A series of questions will then be asked on a range of local topics which affect the Tasman area. The looming amalgamation of the Tasman District Council and Nelson City Councils will be on the cards, issues on the local environment and economy will also be asked.

The debate will be hosted by Steve Richards of the Jester House and former West Coast/Tasman candidate himself.

A Facebook event page has been set up for the public to place their own questions on, called "Politics at The Playhouse, The Great Tasman Debate." Here people have a chance to voice their questions to the politicians, with a chance to have them asked on the night.

The debate part of the evening will be filmed and audio recorded, with Fresh FM and Mainland TV both agreeing to broadcast the event. The audio recording will be available for any interested broadcaster to use and an edited version of the debate will be released onto YouTube for the general public to view if they cannot attend the debate proper.

The second part of the evening will be a more intimate affair with members of the public being able to approach candidates on a one on one basis to ask questions and voice opinions. Separate tables will be set up for each participating member where they will have party media setup for people to take away.

Last election the West Coast/Tasman seat was hotly contested, with Chris Auchinvole winning the seat from Damien O'Connor by less than 1000 votes. Kevin Hague will also be pushing for the party vote with a sharp rise in Green support over the last few months in the polls.

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