National candidate chosen to contest Christchurch Central seat | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

Christchurch businesswoman and regional councillor Nicky Wagner will pit herself against long-standing Christchurch Central MP Tim Barnett in next year's general election.

Wagner was this week selected as the National Party constituency and list candidate for the electorate. She stood for National in the same electorate in the 2002 election.

Wagner said she very much looking forward to the "enormous" challenge of standing against Barnett again, who she admitted was very much ensconced in his seat.

"But there's more than one way to skin a cat," she said.

"I've done it (stood against Barnett) before and I'm very keen to be out there. I think Christchurch Central needs to be represented more strongly in Wellington and I'm keen to do that."

Wagner, an Internet entrepreneur and founder of the FashioNZ and Garden-NZ websites, said her strengths lay in her being a long-term resident of the Christchurch Central electorate and the networks she had built up in her 30 years as a small business operator.

"This (Christchurch central) is where my networks are and where I belong and I'd like to represent the people that I live with and care about. It just happens to be where Tim Barnett is too."

At the regional council (Environment Canterbury) Wagner chairs the finance and audit committee, the Christchurch area committee and holds the public passenger transport portfolio. She is also on the board of the Canterbury Employer's Chamber of Commerce and director of the ABS Canterbury.

"I'm basically standing for the same reasons as I did last time," she said.

"I'm concerned that in the best economic times this country has had for a long time we are still having problems with accessing quality education, that our health system isn't working and ordinary Kiwis are having trouble making ends meet."

National's Christchurch Central electorate chairwoman Barbara Cosgriff said Wagner was a good choice of candidate to go up against Barnett.

"We are confident that Nicky will prove very popular in the electorate and will be an excellent candidate for National."