Responses were received from Whanganui candidates Hayden Potaka, Geoffrey Hipango, and Kiritahi Firmin, and Elijah Pue for Horizons (Raki Māori). Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and format.

1. How will your approach to future development uphold the mauri of our natural environment — including whenua, awa, and ngahere — and ensure intergenerational kaitiakitanga?

Elijah Pue: Future development must uphold the mauri of our natural environment by embedding principles of kaitiakitanga into planning and decision-making. This means protecting and restoring the vitality of whenua, awa, and ngahere through sustainable practices, community-led stewardship, and long-term ecological monitoring.

By involving hapū and iwi in governance and ensuring that development aligns with mātauranga Māori, Tupua Te Kawa and other kaupapa, we safeguard the spiritual and physical wellbeing of our ecosystems for future generations.

Hayden Potaka: For me, Tupua te Kawa — the intrinsic values of Te Awa Tupua — provides a guiding compass. It reminds us that all decisions we make about development, housing, and our built environment must first respect the mana and mauri of our taiao, and that people and place are inseparable.

Tupua te Kawa calls us to honour the mana of our environment and to act as kaitiaki. My approach is to ensure council development is guided by these principles, alongside Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

That means investing in infrastructure that safeguards our awa and whenua, strengthening stormwater and wastewater systems, and planning roads and pathways that are safer and more sustainable. It also means supporting papakāinga developments that restore whenua while meeting housing needs. Intergenerational kaitiakitanga means leaving our mokopuna a healthier, more resilient environment than we inherited.

Geoffrey Hipango: By bringing Iwi leadership and collaboration we are already seeing projects like Mouri Turoa where, through Awa Tupua legislation, we have seen a collaboration with DOC [Department of Conservation] that has led 259,894 native plants as part of riparian approach to protect waterways, 74.3 kms of fencing, and 143 hectares of weed control.

Kokohuia / Titoki wetlands, next to the port, where a whole collaborative community and agency approach is making transformational change in an industrial area that is also factoring in Balgownie dump site.

WDC [Whanganui District Council], Horizons, and DOC are committed to awa restorative approach through strategic framework of Heke Ngahuru as part of Awa Tupua Settlement.

I raise these as examples of the value that Māori Ward and tribal collaboration is able to set better ways of working and leveraging the efforts of this relationship. Within the above examples are the community who have an integral role to play in this.

Kiritahi Firmin: I work with our rangatahi and whanau on our papakainga on our Awa Tupua. We are a social service, and as a botanist and eco-therapist, kaitiakitanga at the heart is our rule of thumb. I’m born and raised Kaiwhaiki Marae. My kuia taught me everything I know about caring for our taiao and I do this on a daily basis.

2. In what ways will you support built environment initiatives that contribute to long-term economic wellbeing, such as reducing energy hardship and improving whānau ōhanga?

EP: Supporting built environment initiatives that enhance long-term economic wellbeing involves investing in housing and infrastructure that reduce energy hardship and empower whānau. This includes designing warm, energy-efficient homes, enabling intergenerational living, and improving access to transport, education, and employment. When communities are involved in shaping these solutions, they become more resilient, economically stable, and better equipped to thrive. Whānau Ora as an overall approach must be taken, whereby whānau are empowered to make decisions for themselves.

HP: Our whānau deserve warm, dry, affordable homes. I support energy-efficient standards, solar uptake, and insulation programmes that reduce energy hardship and allow whānau to redirect their pūtea into wellbeing. By applying Tupua te Kawa, we can design developments that strengthen both people and place. This also aligns with my campaign goal of growing local business and iwi-led enterprise — encouraging innovation, supporting Māori businesses, and developing whenua-based opportunities that create intergenerational economic wellbeing right here in Whanganui.

GH: Port Development does come to mind and requires a whole community approach, which is what Awa Tupua and strategic framework has. Having been involved with all parties it has been at times difficult but has saved considerable costs, which has been formally acknowledged. Being a trustee to Nga Tangata Tiaki has given me insight into relationships though, in my opinion, was seriously underfunded and monies that could have been put to more sustainable use by WDC.

Nga Tangata Tiaki has invested in a collaboration with Griffith University and with latest LIDAR mapping technology to scope the entirety of the Whanganui River catchment – this data will inform where best bang for buck investment should be concentrated on to reduce negative impacts of sediment. It would then be able to secure from this data further collaboration with Horizons, Ministry Environment, DOC and, where appropriate, WDC. As Māori Ward, my efforts would be to ensure advocacy and monitoring that this relationship is occurring and what are the measurables.

Forums involving the above, community and hapu are occurring. It’s a slow process but it is gradually reaping buy-in.

KF: We are resource consented and all-go to place a marae and eight whare on our whenua before the end of the year.

3. How will your policies promote the use of healthy building materials and systems that enhance the hauora of our tamariki, rangatahi, and kaumātua?

EP: Promoting healthy building materials and systems is essential for the hauora of tamariki, rangatahi, and kaumātua. This means using non-toxic, breathable materials and incorporating design features that support physical, mental, and cultural wellbeing — such as natural light, ventilation, and spaces for connection.

I learnt lots about this during the development of social housing on my time on the Ruapehu District Council. Buildings should reflect the values and needs of those who use them, creating environments that nurture health and dignity across all stages of life — and not used as political posturing, but wellbeing at heart.

HP: Healthy buildings mean healthy communities. I will advocate for the use of non-toxic, durable, and locally sourced materials that protect the hauora of tamariki, rangatahi, and kaumātua.

This aligns with Tupua te Kawa, recognising the interconnectedness of people and the environment. By encouraging innovation in design and building systems, we can reduce long-term costs, improve wellbeing, and create new opportunities for local businesses. This is part of my broader commitment to resilient infrastructure, thriving communities, and a sustainable local economy.

GH: [With respect to] “healthy building materials”, if you are referring to affordable homes that meet requirements for healthy living, I would be supportive if WDC has identified this as a need to increase access to housing.

My question would be: is the housing trust they are putting together for WDC only housing initiatives, or is this a trust that speeds process for private sector commercial development? Again, WDC should be the enabler for this, and I would be supportive of reducing inefficiencies within WDC bureaucracy – faster building consent and review of district plan that inhibits and does not reflect the housing needs of today.

There are a number of housing initiatives that are being planned and have been advanced by private sector organisations. A preference, if affordable, is for local building industry and tradies that in turn supports economic growth, but this needs to follow responsible housing planning, access to green space, and proximity for services. WDC needs to be able to secure crown infrastructure funding. I’m not overly in favour of WDC building homes – that to me is not the core role. The detail is in the proposed housing trust.

Please also note that marae and Iwi have identified and have advanced housing initiatives for Whanganui community. Access to prime land should also feature and have advanced this planning, inclusive of tiny home development, housing for the elderly, and transitional homes.

It is imperative that we have essential services within our communities. WDC is an enabler for this to occur. As a former practitioner, manager and governance for 35 years in the health and social service industry, the housing crisis which impacts on health is a multisystemic focus that WDC resource consenting and planning – trades, building industry, private development and community with Govt support – must address.

Iwi have also recognised this and have built a tribal economy that is only going to strengthen; refer to the recently released Nga Tangata Tiaki Annual Accounts 2025. Therefore, partnership with Iwi is critical going forward as investment will be localised.

Te Oranganui Trust – with 200 staff, GP services, community nurses, and working with vulnerable communities – are in process of a long-term lease with old St George School buildings. This is a good example of tribal investment taking over from a building that WDC would have had to carry the financial burden and providing much needed health and social services to the community.

Maori Wards add value to WDC and the community we all live in because we recognise the impact that our tribal organisations have but are seldom acknowledged – [they are] invisible.

KF: Our people building whare need to have access to all technology, information, etc, that discuss and showcase healthy building materials. Materials that don’t cost an arm and a leg. Materials that we can test. Materials that we can understand and see the benefits, financially and for our hauora.

Building our papakainga and working with civil and construction contractors, these discussions don’t come into play. Sadly, we’ve not had the luxury of having these discussions beforehand.

Note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and format.

1. As a UNESCO City of Design, what will you do to improve the integration of housing, transport, and public services (e.g. parks, schools, hospitals) to make Whanganui a more liveable city?

Josh Chandulal-Mackay: During the next term of council a key piece of work will be the development of a spatial plan for Whanganui. This will sit over the top of key regulatory plans like Whanganui’s district plan and will consider how to achieve sustainable growth over the next several decades.

Central to this is making sure that growth takes into consideration proximity to green space, access to recreational activities, housing density, flood mitigation, and land availability across agricultural, industrial, commercial and residential development. It will consider access to public transport, cycleways, footpaths, parking and the other aspects of what makes a liveable community.

The role of the mayor will be to act as a champion for the process, and to lead the conversation with the community.

Peter Oskam: UNESCO City of Design is a defining feature for Whanganui. It gives us license to start with a clean slate in everything we do. To become more human-centred in our designs, this encompasses software, policies, processes, products and, architecturally, I feel this could play a big role in progressing Whanganui’s CBD.

I am not overly precious over some of our heritage buildings and good new design of building and city living with the interaction of visitors can be seen as our new heritage.

Andrew Tripe: Cut the red tape: make building consents faster, cheaper and easier, enabling much-needed housing for our community. Deliver more housing: set up a housing trust to build 1,000 houses over the next decade at no cost to the ratepayer. Plus make infill housing easier, and enable smaller blocks on peri-urban land as well as second-storey apartments on Victoria Ave.

2. How important to you is it that the council’s new housing entity eliminates fuel poverty and improves a sense of community for its residents?

JCM: It is essential that the new housing entity considers the needs of the tenants who’ll be the people most affected by new affordable housing developments. The two foremost priorities are security of tenancy and affordable rents, alongside access to social services, well-being support and broader community connection. Loneliness is a major cause of death for older people and it’s imperative that the new housing entity prioritises human-centred design to combat loneliness.

AT: Incredibly important. I have spoken to those people who live in social and community housing, and public transport and walking distance to shops and libraries is vital to their wellbeing. [As is] mixed tenancy: number of bedrooms, age of tenants, etc.

3. What is one architectural initiative you would champion as mayor that could leave a lasting legacy for Whanganui?

JCM: My policy platform is split into five key strands, one of them being ‘Whanganui as a Centre of Design & Culture’. As part of this strand, I am proposing to begin preliminary discussion with iwi about the development of a Te Awa Tupua Cultural Centre for Whanganui.

This is a long-term aspirational project that will require a long lead-in time and a Herculean fundraising effort, however it can build on the eco-cultural hub feasibility study already completed by the Regional Māori Tourism Organisation. The centre would celebrate Te Awa Tupua and would explore 600+ years of indigenous settlement along the banks of the Awa and how that history has woven and intermingled with colonial settlement post-1840.

AT: I have three!

• Retaining heritage and mixing heritage with modern.
• Floating River Amphitheatre: A performance and events stage that literally floats on the Whanganui River, linking culture and community with the awa.
• The Light of Whanganui: An iconic lighthouse-like structure at the river mouth, powered by renewable energy, symbolising guidance, resilience, and progress.

You can read more about each candidate and their policies on their campaign websites: 

• Josh Chandulal-Mackay – www.joshformayor.co.nz
• Peter Oskam – www.oskamformayor.org
• Andrew Tripe – www.andrewtripeformayor.nz