• Opinion – Nash likely to continue as Napier MP but bright future for Nimon

Opinion – Nash likely to continue as Napier MP but bright future for Nimon

To be quite blunt, Napier’s incumbent MP and Labour Cabinet Minister Stuart Nash had it easy in the previous two elections when he crushed two unelectable National candidates.

This time, he has his work cut out to extend his Parliamentary career against a young contender who has the name, the intellect and has done her homework.

While Nash, given his track record as a visible and hard-working electorate MP, is primed to regain his seat, his opponent, National’s Katie Nimon, has shown she is motivated, business-savvy, and street-smart.

Nimon, of Nimon Bus family fame, certainly has a bright future as a politician even if she may not quite make it this time. She has told me on my Radio Kidnappers show, Austin on Air, that she is in it for the long haul. I also understand that while Nash is confident, he has acknowledged that Nimon will get there eventually.

Call it a kind of teacher-student scenario, even if they are on different sides of the spectrum Nash and Nimon have the same drive needed to succeed in politics. They are ideologically opposite, but there is something in Nimon that Nash grudgingly admires and certainly the young hopeful will concede that the Labour stalwart has worked hard to retain his seat for so long.

While a week is a long time in politics and polling day is even longer, it will be surprising if Nimon upends Nash and will certainly be a talking point in the post-election analysis. 

Some may say that by nature Nash is obsessive which is why he is able to juggle three demanding ministerial (and associate) portfolios with a demanding electorate and a young family.

There have been tales of him recently finishing up a parliament session to fly back to Hawke’s Bay and put up billboards after midnight. Being prepared to hammer stakes in the early hours points to why he is a Minister. Nash also has that political pedigree, being the adoptive great-grandson of the legendary 27 th Prime Minister Sir Walter Nash.

But, then again, it is fair to say that Nimon has that same drive in spades. She is on the cusp of 30, is the general manager of her family business and is the boss of her own mother and other senior family members. I also have it on good authority that she regularly travels on her company’s school buses to ensure they are neat and tidy. To the point that on one trip to Waimarama, a child asked her if she was the cleaner and she responded that she was the boss - there to ensure everything was in order.

But before you think it is all about Nash and Nimon (which it probably is), there are other candidates in this race, quite a few of them in fact. Some have credentials, but at least two will be lucky if they garner more than 100 votes each (and I am being charitable there).

Deborah Burnside, a successful Napier businesswoman and wife of a former Hastings District Councillor and one-time ACT candidate, Robert Burnside, is the enthusiastic candidate for the New Conservatives.

She has previously tried to be the National candidate and while her heart may still be a tinge of blue, she has emptied the tank in her quest to become the New Conservative candidate for Napier. Long shot you may say, and you are probably right, but she will undoubtedly shout you down if you say that too loudly in her presence.

In all the debates between the candidates, one would have been left with the impression that Burnside represented a major party, but that may just be forcefulness of character rather than political skills.

And then there is the Green candidate, James Crow. If you had to pick him out of a line-up of potential Green Party contenders, he would probably be your last choice. While he is ideologically in that space and aligns with a sustainable future, Crow is not your
stereotypical Greenie. While he wears the occasional beanie and (custom-made) track pants, he is a successful entrepreneur and businessman. As with many Green candidates, he could not see anything worse than getting into Parliament, but he is there to drive the party vote message.

Judy Kendall, the Act Party candidate, is an interesting one. Before journeying north, she spent many years in the bowels of the Beehive as a civil servant. She knows how Parliament operates and now wants to cross the great divide to become an elected representative.

Tentative at first, she was quite confident in my last radio interview with her. While she admits she is an outside bet, she is also quite cynical of the motives of at least two of her opponents. She believes Burnside and Nimon are simply in the game to raise the profile of their respective businesses, but it will be up to her to show that she is the real deal by polling high in the candidate and party votes. Then again, the party vote will probably take care of itself with leader David Seymour riding high in the polls.

As for the rest, some may say the less said about Climate Change denier (and Covid-19 sceptic) John Smith the better, while former Christchurch United Future candidate Ian Gaskin probably does not have a groundswell of support in Napier.

Expect a Nash victory, but don’t bet against a Nimon victory – if not now, some time soon.

Either way, the fiercely independent Napier constituency will choose the candidate that meets its needs no matter which party is riding high in the polls.

Andrew Austin is a local political commentator and host of Austin onnAir, a weekly political show on Radio Kidnappersn www.radiokidnappers.org.nz.

All opinions expressed here are his and not necessarily those of Hawke’s Bay App.

Tags