Candidate with violent past quits bid for Parliament

A Hawke’s Bay election candidate with a chequered past has pulled out of the running hours before the nomination deadline.

Tukituki candidate Kaleb Hawkins had planned to run as an independent in the November 7 election.

But hours before the noon nomination deadline on Thursday, Hawkins said he would be “withdrawing” from the ballot.

In a statement, Hawkins said he entered the race to give Tukituki a voice that answered to “the people of the electorate and nobody else”.

But after asking himself what was best for the area, he decided to step back.

“I would rather be honest with the people who supported me than continue a campaign simply because I want to see my own name on the ballot.”

Hawkins served sentences of imprisonment and home detention for serious violence offences committed in 2020 and 2022, but said in announcing his candidacy that he had turned his life around after his last conviction.

At the time of his candidacy announcement, the Electoral Commission confirmed prior convictions did not prevent a person from running as a candidate.

Hawkins thanked supporters for their encouragement, time and donations, saying they gave him the “opportunity to stand up and fight for Tukituki”.

“I’ll never take that for granted.”

Hawkins said he would back Labour’s first-time Tukituki candidate Dan Scott to win the seat from incumbent National MP Catherine Wedd.

An Electoral Commission spokeswoman said full candidate lists for each electorate across NZ would be released on Friday.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany and New Zealand.