The Star: September 14, 2017
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
Thursday <strong>September</strong> <strong>14</strong> <strong>2017</strong> 13<br />
News<br />
Rae’s decades-old fight for National<br />
• By Bridget Rutherford<br />
IF YOU’VE seen a friendly<br />
looking chap parked on<br />
the side of the road with a<br />
National Party sign waving to<br />
motorists – that’s Rae Mills.<br />
<strong>The</strong> 76-yearold<br />
has been sitting<br />
on the side<br />
of busy roads<br />
at peak travel<br />
times promoting<br />
National<br />
every election<br />
for the last decade.<br />
But he’s been volunteering<br />
for the party for much longer.<br />
Mr Mills, who moved<br />
to Christchurch in 1984,<br />
wasn’t always a National supporter.<br />
He switched from Labour<br />
about 40 years ago when he<br />
was chairman of Southland’s<br />
Otatara Kindergarten committee.<br />
National had been in Government<br />
and told Mr Mills it<br />
had pledged money towards a<br />
loan for the kindergarten.<br />
But when Labour won the<br />
1972 general election, Mr<br />
Mills was told the Government<br />
did not have the money<br />
in its budget.<br />
Mr Mills said he then<br />
marched into National’s<br />
Wallace MP Brian Talboys’<br />
office to see if he could help.<br />
“He said I’ll sort that out for<br />
you,” Mr Mills said.<br />
“Eleven days later I got a<br />
reply from Education Minister<br />
Phil Amos saying approval has<br />
been granted for your loan.<br />
“I was quite impressed,<br />
because I was Labour.”<br />
He has been volunteering<br />
for National ever since.<br />
Mr Mills has been parking<br />
on the side of Halswell Rd,<br />
Ferry Rd in Ferrymead, and<br />
State Highway 1 between<br />
Christchurch and Amberley<br />
waving to passers by since<br />
July.<br />
He does it on weekdays for a<br />
couple of hours in the mornings<br />
and evenings.<br />
“About 80 per cent of people<br />
wave,” he said.<br />
“I believe in what I’m doing,<br />
I know it’s working.”<br />
His role was to encourage<br />
people to party vote National,<br />
followed by its candidate for<br />
each electorate, he said.<br />
DEDICATED:<br />
Rae Mills, of<br />
Horotane Valley,<br />
spends a couple<br />
of hours in<br />
the morning<br />
and evening<br />
promoting<br />
National for<br />
the general<br />
election.<br />
PHOTO: MARTIN<br />
HUNTER<br />
“It really is about people<br />
ticking both boxes.”<br />
He said the outcome of the<br />
<strong>September</strong> 23 election would<br />
be tight – but he hoped National<br />
would come out on top.<br />
Mr Mills, who is a former<br />
builder and now works at<br />
Mitre 10 Mega Ferrymead,<br />
said he was happy to continue<br />
volunteering during election<br />
time if his wife Pat says it’s<br />
okay.<br />
“I’m still fit and well and<br />
able to do it.”<br />
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