William Wood National’s new candidate in Palmerston North

Local party members have selected William Wood to contest Palmerston North for National in the 2020 General Election.

At 17 years old, William is the National Party’s youngest candidate ever and has just completed his final year of high school at Palmerston North Boys High School. William will turn 18 in January and will re-sign his Candidate Nomination form after that.

“I’m incredibly humbled and excited to be selected to run in my home electorate of Palmerston North, and I’d like to thank the local National members here for their support,” Mr Wood says.

“Palmerston North is my home. It has all the benefits of a large city alongside a great rural community. The people here work hard, and expect the Government to spend their tax dollars wisely.

“Our community has benefited from the previous National Government’s strong economic management, but unfortunately it’s suffering under the Labour administration’s failure to deliver.

“Business confidence is plummeting and it’s having a very real impact on our local small businesses. A National Government has the positive plans and expertise to turn this around.

“National’s primary sector visa is greatly needed in our area where farmers are crying out for workers. It’s this type of pragmatic response to an issue that shows National has the answers Kiwis need.

“Simon Bridges leads a team that has been working hard in Opposition, that knows how to get things done, and is ready to hit the ground running. I’ll be fighting hard to earn Palmerston North’s trust and to ensure we don’t waste another three years with a Labour-led Government.”

Biographical Notes: William Wood

William Wood, 17, has just completed his final year of high school at Palmerston North Boys High School (PNBHS).

William is one of the country’s top young diplomats and the only delegate selected two years in a row to represent New Zealand at the Evatt Diplomacy Competition in Australia.

He has been the head of PNBHS’s debating team for 2019, was selected as the top debater for Super Eight Schools Competition, placed nationally at the United Nations Association of New Zealand speech competition and also coordinated the school’s Poppy Day collection volunteers.

This year William was Ian McKelvie’s Youth MP. In this role he formed the inaugural Rangitikei Youth Advisory Group, debated in Parliament, was selected as one of the country’s top three youth policy developers and sat on the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee.

William has held a variety of leadership positions both in the community and across the country. He has been a member of the Palmerston North Youth Council, a representative on the PNCC’s Creative Communities Committee, been the School’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Secretary General, and has been elected as a member of the Wellington Region United Nations Youth Regional Council for 2020. For his representation of the Rangitikei community he received a Manawatu District Council Recognition of Achievement.

William is also the founder of the Manawatu Schools Debating Competition, an organisation which gives year 11-13 high school students an opportunity to develop their debating skills and network with other debaters throughout the region. Over the past two years William has seen the competition grow to include 16 teams from across seven schools.

Outside of political life William enjoys playing badminton, connecting with friends, researching history and attending UN Youth events.

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