The Aro Valley debate

I would have loved to have attended the Aro Valley debate last night, but sadly I was not in Wellington.

The Dom Post has a photo and story.

I love the water pistol for candidates who go over their time limit.

Dom Post reports:

In a meeting meant to entertain as much as anything else, Mr Appleby was a crowd-pleaser, noting Prime Minister Helen Clark’s emphasis on trust.

“You can’t even trust her photograph. I don’t want a 19-year- old running this country,” he said, referring to her airbrushed billboard image.

He had one answer for every issue from tax to law and order, student fees and health. “If we legalised cannabis . . .” he repeatedly shouted through a window to the crowd outside, who could not make it into the packed community hall and had complained that they could not hear.

Don Franks, a Rongotai factory hand standing for the Workers’ Party, filled out his opening address with a socialist song.

UnitedFuture’s Vaughan Smith took inspiration – setting his closing address to a rap accompanied by foot-stomping and finger-clicking from the audience.

I’d love to hear feedback from people who did attend, on how it went.