The Wellington candidates aspiring to be the capital's Mayor have left a sour taste in the mouth of some commentators.
Tory Whanau, Paul Eagle and current Mayor Andy Foster went head to head in Newshub Nation's Mayoral debate on Saturday, laying out why they should have Wellington's top job and how they would get things done.
But NZ Herald senior Wellington reporter Georgina Campbell, reacting to the debate, told Newshub Nation she was "underwhelmed" by the lack of vision the three candidates have.
"When asked what their vision for Wellington was and to give one idea I was really unimpressed by their lack of ideas," she said.
The big issues facing the capital at the moment are housing, water infrastructure and public transport, but Campbell said Wellington needs more than just ideas to fix issues but ideas to move the city forward.
Throughout the debate, Eagle referenced putting issues under review before finding a solution to fix them, with the likes of reviewing council spending.
Former Ōhāriu MP Peter Dunne told Newshub Nation he was "stunned" by the "apparent lack of preparedness".
"He didn't seem to know a lot of things, or didn't seem to want to know a lot of things."
Politics researcher at Auckland University Lara Greaves said Eagle appears to want to "hit the ground reviewing" if elected, something she believes may not please voters.
"The other two have more detail, maybe less of an overall plan, but they can hit with detail with numbers," Dr Greaves said.
"On that surface level of the idea that, 'Oh, I'll put in place a review,' doesn't come across so clearly and I think it speaks to his broader campaign."
Dunne said it was a different story for Foster in the debate.
The former United Future leader said the current Mayor had a lot of detail but lacked passion - while Whanau had passion but lacked detail.
Dunne suggested merging two of the three candidates then "you might get a candidate".
Eagle, currently on leave from Parliament during his Mayoral campaign, wouldn't tell Newshub Nation if he would return to Parliament if he lost his bid to be Wellington's Mayor.
Campbell said Eagle needs to declare what his intentions are now if he isn't elected Mayor.
"Ratepayers and voters deserve to know, it's unfair on them that he's not being upfront on that."
Dunne agreed: "Voters do need to know the answers to these questions, it's about commitment."
Campbell feels if Eagle does return to Parliament, Wellingtonians are almost his "plan b".
"I think that's unfair on Wellingtonians."
She shared the same concern for Whanau's intentions of running in the general election next year for the Green Party.
"Is this more about central Government ambition than actually being the leader that Wellington needs."
Watch the full debate above.
