Candace Kinser had spent more than an hour answering questions from Great Barrier residents when she disappeared into the kitchen at the Claris Sports and Social Club.
The National candidate for Auckland Central had come to the island to campaign, but with the kitchen short-staffed, she picked up a tea towel and started washing dishes.
It was an unlikely end to a political meeting, but perhaps a revealing one for a candidate who says she wants Great Barrier to be treated as something more than an afterthought in an electorate dominated by central Auckland.
And Kinser left with a concrete commitment for one group of residents in particular: she would advocate for Great Barrier to receive the same SuperGold Card ferry concessions available to Waiheke.
Great Barrier’s SuperGold Card holders currently cannot use the card on ferry travel, despite the card being accepted for free travel to Waiheke.
“Making sure that there’s parity of treatment for the Gold Card users, for example, on the ferries,” was one of three things she said Great Barrier residents should be able to come back and ask her about in three years if she is elected.
For an ageing island population, the issue is more than symbolic.
Kinser identified connectivity, healthcare and infrastructure as her three priorities for Great Barrier, saying the island needed an MP who would make sure it was not overlooked.
“I think the three biggest areas are really making sure that the Barrier doesn’t look like it’s just an afterthought to the electorate,” she said.
“And keeping the focus on connectivity in all its forms.”
That included mobile connectivity, freight and physical access to the island.
Kinser also identified healthcare as a priority, particularly mental health, drug and alcohol services, diagnostics and preventative care.
“One of the most valuable services that government can offer, particularly remote populations, is just making sure that they are comfortable in an emergency or for preventative measures around healthcare and treatment,” she said.
Great Barrier currently relies on community fundraising to help support its ambulance service, an issue Kinser said she would advocate on.
“I think that the services that St John provides are fantastic,” she said.
“I think that the combination of charities plus government is really important.”
Kinser has significant experience in the health sector, including almost six years as chair of the Cancer Society Auckland Northland and as a founding trustee of the Well Foundation for Waitematā Health.
She said that experience had shown her the importance of the services surrounding core healthcare.
“I think it’s really important to have a very strong focus on that wraparound care,” she said.
Kinser’s professional background is also heavily rooted in technology, entrepreneurship and innovation.
She was chief executive of NZTech, helped establish TechWeek and was involved in building Biomatters, a biotechnology software company launched out of The Icehouse.
The Icehouse is a familiar name on Great Barrier, with the organisation bringing businesses and executives to the island for retreats.
Kinser said her entrepreneurial background had shaped the way she thought about employment in remote communities.
“If you can’t find the job, you know, by knocking on doors, I think in this sort of location, absolutely in particular, there’s, you know, if you are able to find a gap in the market, create that opportunity.”
She said tourism, infrastructure, digital connectivity and programmes such as the digital nomad visa could all create opportunities for Great Barrier.
“I would have thought would be fantastic for a remote location like this because you do have internet connectivity,” she said.
Kinser grew up in Hawaii and attended high school and university there, and said the island environment felt familiar.
“I think that being able to get away and last night, we, you know, my campaign team and I walked down to the waterfront, we were admiring the beautiful phosphorus glow, you know, that was coming in on the waves,” she said.
“And, yeah, it was absolutely stunning. And you can’t, you know, you can’t beat that.”
She said she wanted more New Zealanders and international visitors to experience Great Barrier.
Transport and freight were also high on her list, with Kinser saying the island needed better connectivity and economic access.
On fuel, she said the existence of a monopoly was something that deserved scrutiny.
“I think anytime there is a monopoly on any service or product that is required, then that’s not necessarily a good thing,” she said.
“I’d be more interested in understanding is there space, you know, to actually open up that competitive environment on the island?”
Marine protection was another major topic during her visit.
Kinser said she supported reducing bottom-trawling areas while recognising customary fishing rights, recreational fishers and the commercial fishing industry.
Her approach would be to make greater use of research into alternative fishing methods and get that technology into the fishing industry.
“How do we marry up the investment that government and ultimately taxpayers have made into new research around alternative fishing methods and get that into the different fishing companies?” she said.
Asked whether she would advocate for expanded marine protection around Great Barrier, Kinser said she would.
“My responsibility again as the local MP would be to take the concerns of people,” she said.
That includes proposals developed by the local community and mana whenua around protection of the island’s marine environment.
Kinser was also vocal in her support for conservation efforts on Great Barrier, including pest control and wider environmental programmes.
“I think that pest control and pest eradication is a great initiative,” she said.
“But I also think that the decisions have to be based on evidence of, you know, is this being measured, are things becoming better or worse?”
Infrastructure was another area where Kinser said Great Barrier needed more than individual fixes.
New Zealand had historically been poor at infrastructure planning and delivery, she said, and changes to the Resource Management Act could help accelerate projects.
On Great Barrier, she said the priority should be developing a clear plan for what the island actually needs.
“How are we actually providing a solid plan rather than an ad hoc, you know, fix it as it comes?” she said.
She did not commit to extending the Claris runway, instead arguing that major infrastructure decisions needed to be based on need and the best use of limited funding.
“Do we need to have jets landing on Great Barrier? I don’t know,” she said.
“But I think if there is an abject need for it, is that the solution or is the solution to, for example, improvements around the ports?”
Kinser was also asked what she would say to islanders who had supported National at the last election but felt things had not improved.
She pointed to falling inflation, lower rental increases and the Government’s management of public finances.
She said National had also provided a buffer against international price shocks by deciding not to reintroduce a fuel tax increase in 2027.
National’s economic policies, she said, were ultimately aimed at creating more employment and opportunity.
For beneficiaries on Great Barrier, Kinser rejected the suggestion that National wanted to simply take support away.
“I don’t think that’s National’s position at all,” she said.
“I don’t think taking the benefit away is something that we’re campaigning on, nor would it be something we campaign on.”
She said the answer was to create more employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.
Kinser’s own path into business began after she moved to New Zealand 28 years ago and worked three part-time jobs before starting her first company.
She has also spoken about surviving cancer in her 20s, adding another personal connection to her interest in healthcare and medical innovation.
Her background in technology and innovation has included leadership in the New Zealand technology sector and involvement with biotechnology.
Kinser said she had visited before, loved her time on Great Barrier and guaranteed she would visit well beyond the campaign.
She said her campaign manager and his partner were already looking at property on the island.
Asked why Great Barrier residents should believe she would continue to care about them after election day, Kinser said the island’s small population should not determine the attention it receives.
“It doesn’t matter what the number is, in my mind,” she said.
“I think it really matters what is the right thing to do for different parts of the electorate and Great Barrier is a significant part of this electorate.”
She said she wanted to be “the best MP for Great Barrier that I can be”.
Kinser also paid tribute to former Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye, saying she had brought a level of national attention to Great Barrier’s unique issues and lifestyle that she wanted to continue.
“I greatly admire the work that she did and would like to continue that,” she said.
Kinser said Great Barrier deserved greater prominence within Auckland Central.
“It is a showpiece, you know, for Auckland Central.”
For now, the island has a candidate promising to put its issues higher on the Auckland Central agenda — and one who was willing to put down the political questions and pick up the tea towel.
