With just eight weeks to go until the 2020 general election, there are five candidates lined up to vie for the Waitaki electorate, which includes the Upper Clutha.

The election will take place Saturday September 19.

The Waitaki electorate has been represented by Labour (Jim Sutton) in the mid 1980s and from 2002 to 2005 (David Parker). Aside from that, it has been a blue seat since 1938.

Incumbent Jacqui Dean, who won the seat for National by 12,816 votes in 2017, is facing four candidates: Sean Beamish, ACT; Anthony Odering, NZ First; Liam Wairepo, Labour; and Dr. Sampsa Kiuru, Greens.

Jacqui Dean, National 

Jacqui Dean was first elected to Parliament in 2005. She has held responsibilities as Minister of Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Small Business, Associate Minister for ACC and Local Government and Opposition spokesperson for Tourism. She is currently the Opposition Spokesperson for Conservation and Local Government, and is a member of the Environment Select Committee.

Jacqui says she is a proud advocate for the people and communities which make up the Waitaki electorate and wants to see this region thrive.

“I intend to remain focussed on championing local needs around health and education, farming and small business, along with advocating for infrastructure support for this region.”

Dr. Sampsa Kiuru, Greens

Dr. Sampsa Kiuru has been selected as the Green Party candidate. 

Sampsa, who has been on the Waitaki roll for many years, lives in Clyde with his family and is involved with Clyde School PTA activities, local predator control and youth sports and is an avid cyclist.

His focuses include maternity care, healthy school lunches in schools, inequality and the environment.

“...I believe Green Party policies will best sustain our rural environments. We all deserve healthy environments, an equal chance for success, as well as protection from increasing CO2 emissions,” he said. 

“The Green Party has achieved so much to create communities that work for all of us, but we need to do more. The Green Party will push any government to go further and faster to address inequality as we began to do with the Wellbeing Budget.”

Nurseryman and horticulturist Anthony Odering is New Zealand First’s candidate.

Anthony Odering, NZ First

Anthony is a third generation resident of the South Island, having called Otago his home for many years.

He is a qualified nurseryman with a Diploma in Horticulture. 

“Being born to a working-class family has given him empathy for marginalised people and to work for better outcomes for communities,” NZ First says.

Anthony has a diverse career in the horticulture industry, from nursery production, forestry operations, and landscape construction, through to lab technician for mushroom spawning and operator of a hydroponic production facility.

Liam Wairepo, 21-year-old university student, is the Labour candidate.

Liam Wairepo, Labour

Liam grew up in Tauranga and has lived in Otago for about five years, and is studying a Bachelor of Arts in politics and a Bachelor of Science (University of Otago).

He told the Otago Daily Times he was standing for Waitaki to be a “strong, fresh and new voice”. One of his key concerns was wellbeing, especially in the electorate’s rural sector.

Liam has been a residential leader at Salmond College in Dunedin, and is also involved in Thursdays in Black Otago, a campus student-led movement against sexual violence, the Presbyterian Student Soul oversight committee, and is chairman of Southern Young Labour.

Sean Beamish is ACT's candidate for Waitaki.

Sean is an engineering professional from Otago. He has more than 13 years experience in management and leadership roles within multinational corporations, including several years spent in expatriate mentoring roles in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Papua New Guinea. 

His work focuses on the area of asset management and reliability. Sean lives in Lake Hawea with his partner Nicola.

Electoral boundary changes announced in April included a change in Waitaki boundary lines, moving Alexandra, Clyde and Roxburgh to the Clutha-Southland electorate, splitting Central Otago in two, while Cromwell and Maniototo remain in Waitaki.