By Fellow Wāhine and Sister, Kate Fabian
“Can you help a sister out”, Anna McMartin has put out the call for support.
As a fellow sister, I warmly support Anna McMartin and her recent reflection on the state of local government elections on her page “The End is Naenae“, and have signed her petition. (Petition Link)
Anna rightly highlights a subtle yet critical vulnerability in local politics: the gradual, “quiet drip, drip, drip” erosion of standard electoral processes and community trust. Her call to bring local council elections under the independent oversight of the Electoral Commission—moving away from outsourced private contractor models—is a vision that affects all of us.
My own experience supporting campaign activities in Upper Hutt closely aligns with the systemic challenges Anna describes. Understandably, this issue hits close to home. In my case, I feel deep empathy for Anna and the position she was put in—particularly because many of the most serious candidate rule concerns I formally raised involved the very candidate Anna dedicated her time and heart to support, who was pushing transparency and accountability. While it is heartbreaking to see well-meaning supporters impacted by a campaign that repeatedly pushed boundaries, my concerns sent to electionz.com (https://linkly.link/2xuLp) were never about targeted opposition; they were about upholding fairness across the entire election.
Having attended the briefing run by Electoral Officer Warwick Lampp where the rules were clearly outlined, it was concerning to watch compliance disintegrate on the ground. I saw “treating” through giveaways, e.g. campaign T-shirts, alongside materials missing mandatory authorisation statements. When these breaches were formally compiled, the response from electionz.com revealed the core problem: private managers exercise broad discretion behind closed doors, often resolving infractions with private warnings and apologies which did not seem to fit the outcomes outlined in the handbook and briefing, while local Council CEOs remain legally powerless to intervene. If this is able to be treated in the same vein and this is all the accountability and transparency that is required, then the concerns Anna has raised over other candidates could be treated in the same way and it all go away with a private apology. Leaving the voting public and other candidates genuinely unaware of the infractions.
Leaving supporters like Anna McMartin, myself and others to challenge. As with Anna McMartin and her petition to bring to light her concerns and changes, within the current system, it would appear, a mere private apology to Warwick Lampp is all that is required.
When rules are broken without public transparency and accountability, it can undermine the genuine efforts of honest volunteers along with candidates, and leaves supporters like Anna to start a petition highlight how deeply flawed this private model is. (emails – https://linkly.link/2xuQ4)
I felt very strongly about this and at the time wrote to many candidates around the country to highlight similar issues to which Anna is raising in her petition.
OIA Response https://linkly.link/2xvJA
Anna McMartin has submitted OIA requests to UHCC and I believe this is one which has relevance to the matter which Anna is referring to in a post regarding ex-Mayor Wayne Guppy and Graham Bloxham on the 21st July 2026.
https://linkly.link/2xvOX
Anna and myself may not see eye to eye on some things, but in this instance, I commend Anna McMartin for opening this necessary conversation. By transitioning local body elections to the Electoral Commission, we can ensure consistent national standards, public transparency for breaches, and a level playing field where no candidate can exploit systemic loopholes.
Once again, from one sister to another, thank you to Anna McMartin for bringing this back into the light and raising the profile of this issue around the motu.
To support this cause head to the petition and sign (Petition Link)
A “thank you” to Kate Fabian for sending this letter to The Upper Hutt Connection.
26/10/26
