Mayoral Hopefuls to Debate Airport Issues

All the main Mayoral candidates on the Kapiti Coast are expected at Kapiti’s first major election meeting on Sunday, August 26.

The ‘Pre-Election Paraparaumu Airport Meeting’ will start at 2.30pm on Sunday at the Kapiti Primary School, corner of Kapiti and Rimu Roads, Paraparaumu.

All contenders for the ten councillor seats are also being invited; as well as all other mayoral candidates.

The meeting’s organisers, the Paraparaumu Airport Coalition (Inc), say mayoral candidates Iride McCloy, Jenny Rowan, Chris Turver, and Harold Thomas, have all said they’ll be there.

The meeting will be chaired by Regional Councillor Margeret Shields, who is a former MP for Kapiti.

A major announcement is also expected from Te Ati Awa’s Mr Peter Love, who will be representing the original Maori landowners, Te Whanau a Te Ngarara.

The Maori landowners, who were forced off their land by the Government in the 1940”s, have stood out against plans by Auckland businessman Noel Robinson, to establish a major ‘Big Box’ development on the land.

Councillor Alan Tristram, the Airport Coalition convenor, says he met privately with Noel Robinson last week and issued a second invitation for him to attend and speak at the meeting.

Cr Tristram says that – at this time – he hasn’t heard whether Mr Robinson will show up.

“We’ve lent over backwards to ensure that this vital election meeting is independently chaired – and democratically run,” says Cr Tristram.

He says he has also invited the present Mayor, Alan Milne, to attend,

Cr Tristram says:”Alan Milne can throw light onto the present situation – and why this issue has torn the community in half.”

ENDS

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