NPDC Takes The Guesswork Out Of Voting For Candidates In Local Election
We're taking the guesswork out of voting by asking candidates for their views on a wide range of matters from separated cycleways to the local economy and their top priorities if elected.
'We know from previous elections that people are keen to understand what candidate's stand for to help them vote, so we've made it easy for them to find out by asking candidates ten questions' says NPDC Manager Customer and Communications Ben Kohlis.
He says the questions asked are based on high profile topics that have been in the media, on social media and questions received through our Customer Service team over the past 12 months.
We offered candidates the chance to have their say on the big issues and have posted their unedited responses in their own words. Some of the candidates have no responses because we were unable to contact them or they declined to respond. Some have chosen not to answer all the questions.
Candidate profiles and their answers to questions proved popular last election seeing more than 185,000 page views on the dedicated NPDC election website.
'We received great feedback from locals in 2022 that it was really helpful and we had requests to repeat this again this year.'
Go to our Vote 2025 website Know Your Candidate section ( npdc.govt.nz/Vote2025/know-your-candidates) for the full candidate list, profiles and answers to questions.
What we asked the candidates:
Would you change any NPDC services to reduce rates?
With the transition from oil and gas in Taranaki, should NPDC be doing more to stimulate the local economy?
Central government provides social services for us all, but is NPDC doing enough to address rough sleeping?
Do you agree with the plan to deliver water and wastewater services through an NPDC Council-Controlled Organisation?
Does NPDC need to do more to support impacts of climate change?
Should NPDC have funded $50m towards building the Tuparikino Active Community Hub?
Should we build more separated cycleways across our district?
How are you going to vote in the poll on a Māori Ward for our district?
How should NPDC attract more major events to our district?
What are your two top priorities if elected?
In this election voters will make a choice on:
New Plymouth District Mayor.
Six Councillors in Kaitake/Ngāmotu ward (for voters in on the role in New Plymouth city to Ōkato).
One Councillor in North Ward (Waitara up to Waitomo District Council border).
One Councillor in the Te Purutanga Mauri Pūmanawa (Māori ward).
Five district-wide Councillors. (These Councillors represent the whole district.)
Four positions on the Inglewood and Waitara community boards. Note: the Puketapu Bell Block Community Board has been elected unopposed (four nominations received for four seats), while the Clifton and Kaitake community boards will require a by-election (three nominations for four seats)
NPDC will run a poll to decide if they will keep or remove Māori wards in at least the next two elections. Results are legally binding.
By the numbers:
82 nominations received for the 2025 election.
9 candidates are running for Mayor.
2 people running for the Māori Ward Councillor
77: the number of candidates in the 2022 local body election.
45%: The voter turnout in 2022.
62,673: Number of people enrolled in New Plymouth district as of 31 July 2025.
Fast Facts
Voting papers delivered from 9 September. Your voting pack will include a booklet of candidate profiles.
Voting closes midday Saturday 11 October.
Progress results are expected in the afternoon of 11 October, 12 October for preliminary results and 17 October for the final results.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
8 hours ago
- RNZ News
Should Māori born overseas automatically be NZ citizens? Father fights for children classed as illegal overstayers
John Bryers Ruddock pictured with his children, who are 8, 9 and 12. Photo: John Bryers Ruddock / Supplied The descendant of a Treaty signatory, All Black and " the voice of New Zealand" is fighting for Māori to have automatic New Zealand citizenship. John Bryers Ruddock (Ngāpuhi), recently returned to Aotearoa to live with his three children - ages 8, 9 and 10. But, he was born in Australia and all three of his children were born in Hawaii. As a result, he was now navigating an expensive process to get his tamariki recognised as New Zealand citizens. Despite their whakapapa including a number of famous New Zealanders - their great grandfather was All Black Ron Bryers, their grandmother was celebrated singer Rhonda Bryers, known as "the voice of New Zealand" and their great great grandfather was an original signatory to Te Tiriti, the children were technically overstayers and unable to attend school. Bryers Ruddock told Checkpoint , he had asked for a Waitangi Tribunal hearing to discuss the issue and wanted to see some kind of intervention. He said having his children being labelled as overstayers was not something as a father he wanted to put them through. "It's red tape after red tape," he said. "It's been a costly process so far, I have to finalise the court orders, so still dealing with that, I've spent over $17,000 so far." Bryers Ruddock said he wanted the tribunal to look at his case and change the policy around citizenship for people of Māori descent who were born overseas. "I just feel, you know, my mum was an ambassador for this country and culture... it's something I want to do for our people." Bryers Ruddock said he had sent in an application for the children to get citizenship under Section 61 of the Immigration Act, which allowed Immigration NZ to issue visas in special circumstances, and was waiting for a sponsor to help him get either a student visa or residency. The treaty claim had been lodged by Hastings law firm Manaia Legal, he said. John Bryers Raddock and his three children recently moved to Wellington. Photo: John Bryers Ruddock / Supplied Minister of Internal Affairs, Brooke van Velden, said in a statement provided to Checkpoint, she was not looking to change the citizen act and said the requirements of citizenship applied to all applicants equally. "The outcomes depend on the information provided for each case not the ethnicity of the applicant." The minister had the discretion to grant citizenship to people who didn't meet requirements bur had exceptional circumstances. Van Velden's office said it had not yet received an application about Bryers Ruddock's children and they needed to go through the application process with internal affairs first. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
UN letter: PM firm with ministers on who should be sending responses
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he has made it "pretty clear" to his ministers how they should handle correspondence with the United Nations, as the coalition's letter-writing saga drags on. Appearing at his post-Cabinet media conference on Monday, Luxon was pressed on RNZ's revelations that Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith had been consulted before David Seymour issued a forthright reply to the UN in July. "I'm not going to get into that," Luxon told RNZ. "We've canvassed that before." Luxon reiterated his "very clear position" that Winston Peters, as foreign minister, was responsible for coordinating all responses to the UN. Asked what it said about his Cabinet that multiple ministers appeared to misunderstand that process, Luxon was blunt. "It's pretty clear to them now," he said. "I've made it pretty clear." Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii However, new correspondence - as reported by RNZ on Saturday - show Seymour's staff stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's preferred approach was actually for a joint reply from "relevant ministers" Seymour, Goldsmith and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The controversy stems from a June letter from UN special rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples Albert K Barume, who flagged concerns that Seymour's Regulatory Standards Bill excluded Māori traditions and failed to uphold Treaty of Waitangi principles. Seymour, writing as regulations minister, fired back a response in early July, describing the critique as "presumptive, condescending and wholly misplaced" and "an affront to New Zealand's sovereignty". That letter was later withdrawn and both Luxon and Peters publicly rebuked Seymour for bypassing proper process. Peters eventually sent a government-wide response in August , striking a softer tone and expressing regret for the "breakdown in protocol". On Saturday, RNZ revealed new documents, obtained under the Official Information Act, which showed Seymour had run his draft past Goldsmith beforehand and been told his colleague was "happy for us to send it". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
Should Māori born overseas automatically be NZ citizens?
Should all Māori born overseas automatically be New Zealand citizens? Currently, that is not how things work, and a father of three is fighting to change that. John Bryers Ruddock, who is Ngāpuhi, recently returned to Aotearoa with his three children. Currently his children are illegal overstayers here, meaning they can't even go to school. He is now navigating an expensive and bureaucratic process to get his tamariki Māori recognised as New Zealand citizens, complicated by the fact they were born in Hawaii, and John, a New Zealand citizen was born in Australia. John Bryers Ruddock spoke to Lisa Owen. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
