In the lead-up to the election, Newshub is featuring profiles of some of the main candidates running in some of the most contested electorate seats around the country.
This week we are looking at Ilam in Christchurch.
Ilam is home to a diverse voter base with many students, retirees and working professionals residing in the electorate.
It simultaneously has some of the most and least affluent residents in the city, with Census data showing roughly half of Ilam's residents earn less than $30,000 each year but it has the second most people in Christchurch earning more than $70,000.
The seat was held by National's Gerry Brownlee since it was established in 1996 until Labour's Sarah Pallett beat him by roughly 3500 votes during the red wave of the last election.
Brownlee has decided to run on the list only, making room for Hamish Campbell who has moved from Wigram after losing to Labour's Megan Woods last election.
Ilam is an important electorate in this election as it determines whether The Opportunities Party (TOP) will make it into Parliament since it is consistently polling under the 5 percent threshold.
TOP's leader Raf Manji has been running a strong campaign in the electorate. In 2017, he ran as an independent and came in second with 23 percent of the vote.
Manji wants to remove the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) requirements for the city and review the current chlorination status.
While Campbell said he wants to urgently address youth offending which he claims is driving a lot of the crime in Ilam.
The incumbent, Pallett, wants to continue the work she is doing in her community. As its MP, Pallett said she has got a commitment for a new cell phone tower, supported students in advocating for half-price fares and secured over $7 million across 25 schools for infrastructure improvements.
Here's what Ilam's candidates have to say:
Q: Why have you chosen to run for Ilam?
Raf Manji: "Ilam is home for me and I've served the community for the last 20 years, both as an elected councillor and as a volunteer and trustee for community organisations. This is my 4th Ilam election in the last 10 years."
Sarah Pallett: "I was honoured to be elected as the MP for Ilam in 2020 and have spent the last three years working hard for each and every person in the electorate. In my time as the local MP I have delivered for Ilam, achieving a commitment from Spark for a new cellphone tower in McLeans Island, for example - an area used by thousands of locals and visitors alike, but which didn't even have reliable 111 coverage. I have supported local students by advocating for half-price fares for students and secured over $7 million across 25 schools for infrastructure improvements as well as being here, boots on the ground, working for the hundreds of constituents with individual issues large and small. This is a job of service, serving the community, and I would love the opportunity to continue doing just that."
Hamish Campbell: "I was born and raised in Ilam. Three years ago, after a successful international career in medical research, my wife Carol and I made a deliberate decision to move back to Ilam. I love this community and I'm working hard to earn the opportunity to advocate for it as its next MP on issues like the cost of living and restoring law and order. I'm raising my kids here, run two local small businesses and care deeply about Ilam."
Q: What is the first thing you will do for your electorate if voted in?
Sarah Pallett: "As the incumbent MP I have a lot of work still to do! The everyday business of working for the people of Ilam never stops - so this is what I would continue to do."
Hamish Campbell: "I'll be advocating for urgent action against the serious young offending driving a lot of the crime making people feel unsafe in Ilam. I'll also work quickly to set up an office so I can deliver on my promise to be a highly accessible and visible local MP. The office will serve as a platform for me to effectively support and advocate for the people of Ilam. The people of Ilam want an MP who is actively engaged and consistently present. During the campaign, I have enjoyed knocking on the doors of over 15,000 people and I will continue to work within the community if I am luckily enough to be elected."
Raf Manji: "Remove the MDRS requirements for the city and review the current chlorination status."
Q: What is your long-term goal for the electorate?
Hamish Campbell: "For a community with a lower cost of living, higher incomes, safer streets and a thriving research and development sector fostered by our world-class university and our local businesses."
Raf Manji: "A safe place to live with quality public services and affordable housing."
Sarah Pallett: "My long-term goal is to achieve fair outcomes in every respect - health, housing, education etc for each and every person here in Ilam. We have a really diverse community here with a multitude of needs - everyone deserves a fair go. I am also enormously proud of the wonderful university that we have here and look forward to seeing it grow in reputation and achievement."
Q: What did you do before politics?
Raf Manji: "I moved to Christchurch in 2002 and volunteered for local community organisations (Christchurch Budget Services, Pillars, Refugee Resettlement Services), studied and did policy research and invested in tech start-ups. Prior to moving to NZ, I traded global financial markets for investment banks in London."
Sarah Pallett: "I was a midwife and midwifery lecturer before I entered politics. Serving the community to the best of my ability seems to baked into my DNA!"
Hamish Campbell: "I have a PhD in cancer and viruses. Throughout my career, I have been actively involved in medical research in these fields, as well as in autoimmune disease research. For the past few years, I’ve also been operating our two small businesses in the Ilam electorate, an online florist business and with family an organic apple orchard."
