Meet the candidates events planned in South Canterbury

Thursday, 4 September 2025

Council and mayoral candidates will be putting their best foot forward at three upcoming events across South Canterbury this month. (File photo)

As local body elections draw closer, voters across South Canterbury will get to chance to hear from council and mayoral candidates at several upcoming meet the candidates events.

Federated Farmers South Canterbury will host one such event at the Fairlie Community Centre on September 10 and candidates for the Mackenzie District Council’s Opuha ward, the Fairlie Community Board, mayoralty and Environment Canterbury (ECan) had been invited.

The following week, on September 17, it will host an evening including candidates for Timaru’s mayoralty, ECan, and the Timaru, Pleasant Point-Temuka and Geraldine wards at the Phar Lap Raceway at 6.30pm.

Federated Farmers South Canterbury president Greg Anderson said the events would be open to anyone, and while there would be some rural related questions, the theme of the evening would be “pretty generic’’.

Attendees at the meet the candidates event, organised by Rotary Club of Timaru North, ahead of the general election in 2023.

He said a series of questions would be sent to candidates ahead of the evenings, and time permitting, questions from the audience would be taken at the end of the events.

Meanwhile, on September 24, the Rotary Club of Timaru North would host its first ever meet the candidates evening, at West End Hall, following a similar first-time event for the general elections in 2023.

Organiser Tony Brien said members wanted to host the evening as a service to the community, as that was what the organisation was about.

“The elections are important,’’ he said.

“Rotary wants to do this for our community and it’s a follow on from the general election. We are a service organisation to support the community.’’

He said all mayoral and Timaru ward candidates had been invited but he was unsure how many would be there on the night, at this stage.

There was no political links to the charity organisation and Brien said while the rundown of the evening was still to be decided, there would be no particular focus on one subject.

There are 15 candidates for the Timaru ward of the Timaru District Council and three mayoral candidates.

“It will be very general,’’ he said.

He also acknowledged the large number of candidates - three for mayor, and 15 for the Timaru ward, and said there would be some logistics to work through ahead of the evening.

The event was also timed as voting papers would be posted to households between September 9 and 22, with voting closing on October 11, giving attendees the opportunity to hear directly from candidates before casting their votes, he said.

Brien said the group was an active one hosting its annual Bookarama next month and Hadlow To Harbour at the beginning of the year, and it raised funds for the community.

Those attending the evening could help this by giving a donation at the door, he said.

The event starts at 7.30pm.

Voting papers for the local body elections would be posted to households between September 9 and 22, with voting closing on October 11.

South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce chief executive Wendy Smith said the Chamber would not run a meet the candidates event this year.

It is the second consecutive local body election that it has chosen not to run such events, with Smith telling the The Timaru Herald in 2023 that it would not hold any that year because of resourcing.

On Tuesday, she said while it was not running a meet the candidates event this election, she hoped the mayoral candidates across all three districts - Timaru, Waimate and Mackenzie, would be interviewed by the Chamber, and those videos shared on social media.

“This has been chosen as the most effective way to engage with a broader audience and to ensure our members can hear from the mayoral candidates and the practice used by other Chambers,’’ she said.