Lewers under pressure at NZ Taxpayers Union debate

A small but lively mayoral candidate debate was held at Walters Tavern in the Queenstown CBD this evening, with many members of the audience clearly unhappy with the performance of the current council.

The event, hosted by the NZ Taxpayers Union, was fronted by former TV news reader Peter Williams and used as an occasion to release the results of an NZTU poll of local residents (full results below).

One of the thorniest questions of the evening came from an Arrowtown resident who felt strongly that the council had not been transparent about the performance measurements (KPI's) for CEO Mike Theelen’s recent 15% pay increase as well as the treatment of Councillor Niki Gladding.

There was no clear winner from the evening but each debate appears to be making a gradual difference to voting intentions.

Here’s the full media release from the NZTU which shows the QLDC mayoral race unresolved with a massive 71% of voters undecided on which candidate to back.

“A new Taxpayers' Union - Curia poll of Queenstown Lakes voters shows that the mayoral race is wide open, ahead of the Taxpayers’ Union-hosted Mayoral Debate taking place in Queenstown tonight.

The independent poll of 500 residents found that while incumbent Glyn Lewers has the biggest support among voters, at just 11 percent, 71 percent of voters remain undecided.

Darren Rewi is on 6 percent, John Glover on 4 percent, Daniel Shand and Nik Kiddle on 2 percent each, and Al Angus on 1 percent.

On broader sentiment, only 28 percent of residents said Queenstown-Lakes is heading in the right direction, while 59 percent said the wrong direction — a net positive of -31 percent. 58 percent rated Queenstown Lakes District Council's performance as below average.

When asked about local issues, 77 percent of Queenstown Lakes residents said they support a cap on rates increases, while just 9 percent oppose and 13 percent are unsure.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said the results show tonight’s debate will be a key opportunity for candidates to win over undecided voters.

“With nearly three quarters of Queenstown Lakes residents yet to make up their minds, tonight’s debate is going to matter. These results clearly show that voters have strong opinions on rates and the overall direction of Queenstown Lakes District Council. We are expecting a robust debate tonight as ratepayers decide for themselves who stands for them."

Crux will release our own debate video on the afternoon of Friday September 12.