We asked all the can­di­dates the same ques­tions. See the full list of respons­es so far here and read on for Justin’s answers.

1.     What should be the city council’s role in help­ing home­less peo­ple and beg­gars?

Coun­cil recent­ly devel­oped an excel­lent strat­e­gy to reduce home­less­ness: Te Mahana. It’s a mul­ti-sec­toral approach includ­ing gov­ern­ment, sup­port organ­i­sa­tions and home­less, which I whole­heart­ed­ly sup­port.

2.     What would you do to make Welling­ton more cycle and pedes­tri­an friend­ly?

I’d start by invest­ing $5m per year for the next 5 years, which I’ve advo­cat­ed for the past year. This will speed up planned ini­tia­tives.

3.     How do you think traf­fic flow to the hos­pi­tal and air­port should be improved?

A com­bi­na­tion of bus pri­or­i­ty lanes, ded­i­cat­ed cycling lanes, grade sep­a­ra­tion (prefer­ably a tun­nel) at the Basin and a sec­ond Mt Vic­to­ria tun­nel.

4.     What are your views on the sug­ges­tion Welling­ton needs to be “more than just Weta and Gov­ern­ment” – what do you think are Wellington’s strengths?

Wellington’s strength is its cre­ative peo­ple. By attract­ing and retain­ing the best cre­ative minds we’ll con­tin­ue to grow as a city.

5.     What will YOU do to get more invest­ment, busi­ness­es, and busi­ness con­fi­dence in Welling­ton?

Utilise my own busi­ness expe­ri­ence in estab­lish­ing and grow­ing Kapai to help men­tor young entre­pre­neurs and help them seed the next gen­er­a­tion of busi­ness enter­prise.

What does Welling­ton need more of, and what does Welling­ton need less of?

More cre­atives, more entre­pre­neurs, more art, more sport­ing tro­phies, more dol­phins and more Kaka. Less of the Welling­ton is dying type atti­tude.

6.     What would your city coun­cil pro­vide for chil­dren and young peo­ple?

More water-based activ­i­ties on the water­front, hydroslides at Kil­birnie, an indoors CBD play­ground and a bet­ter con­cert venue to attract acts.

7.     What steps would you take to encour­age civic engage­ment?

I’d like to help imple­ment a civic edu­ca­tion pro­gramme for all young New Zealan­ders to come to Welling­ton and learn about the demo­c­ra­t­ic process.

8.     Tell us about your per­son­al earth­quake plan / What’s unusu­al about your earth­quake kit?

First­ly, keep safe and try to get to my wife and kids. My earth­quake kit includes nap­pies, which might be con­sid­ered slight­ly unusu­al.

9.     Why should we vote for you?

In my first term I’ve shown an abil­i­ty to get things done. I’ve offered unique insights as a busi­ness own­er and a younger person’s per­spec­tive.

10. Where can we find out more about what you stand for?

Call me on 021 247 8312, email me at justin@kapainewzealand.co.nz or read about my pri­or­i­ties at www.justinlesterforwcc.co.nz