A candidate standing for election to the Teviot Valley Community Board was named by news service Stuff.co.nz as a “prominent Voices For Freedom guest speaker” yesterday (Monday August 15).

Gill Booth of Roxburgh is listed as one of five candidates vying for the four available Teviot Valley seats in the upcoming local government elections.

Stuff.co.nz reported that Gill told supporters of the controversial group in June to “absolutely disrupt and rip to pieces our local council”.

Voices For Freedom is an anti-vaccination and anti-mandate group associated with the organisation of the Wellington occupation at the grounds of Parliament in February this year. 

The group has encouraged supporters to stand for local government seats in order to hamper governance.  

Candidate numbers have been low in many regions across the country making the pathway to election easier this election.

In November last year Gill and fellow Teviot Valley resident Janet McDonald presented a petition opposing the government’s Three Waters reforms to the council.  

The pair said that it had taken almost no prompting of people to gather 731 signatures on their petition, which Gill later said council had “completely dismissed”.  

The petition decried the mandating of centralisation of drinking, waste and storm water management into four large entities. The way the government had handled the process was “an affront to democracy”, the pair told councillors during a public forum.

Central Otago District mayor Tim Cadogan said yesterday he did not wish to comment on candidates standing for election. 

“In fairness to the crucial principles of democracy I think it would be inappropriate for me to comment.”

Attempts by the Central App to contact Gill Booth yesterday for comment were unsuccessful.