Getting to know by-election candidates

Voters can gauge city council hopefuls through an informative podcast series.

The ‘‘By-election OI Special’’ series of podcasts are designed to provide insights into the majority of by-election candidates vying for a seat on the Dunedin City Council.

Each 15-minute recording features five quick-fire warm-up questions followed by seven long-form inquiries and 12 short-answer responses.

To ensure fairness across the board, participants had no prior access to the material and were required to answer entirely on the spot.

Subjects tackled during the discussions were wide-ranging including how the council could support tertiary education institutions, approaches to homelessness and the role of Mana Whenua in local governance.

Candidates were also pressed on finding equitable ways to pay for infrastructure projects without cutting public services, assessing the success of civic funding for arts and culture, and the importance of established procedural rules.

Further attention was given to the rain, sea and groundwater issues as well as community challenges facing South Dunedin.

The initiative was created by the Otago Institute for the Arts and Sciences president Dr Barbara Anderson alongside local access radio station OAR FM community liaison Jeff Harford and operations director Domi Angelo-Laloli.

The ‘‘By-election OI Special’’ interview podcasts are available via Spotify, iHeart, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and the OAR FM and OI websites — oar.org.nz and otago-institute.org.