Infrastructure, lakefront re-development and rates will become major recurring themes in this year's Rotorua local body elections.

After nominations closed nearly two weeks ago, candidates for council and DHBs were given a chance to clear their throats at a Mamaku meeting on Sunday.

Where eight days earlier the Mamaku War Memorial Hall throbbed with military personnel attending a funeral, the hall resembled an echo chamber yesterday.

For some 26 candidates addressed 15 members of the public. Not all were from Mamaku and not all were of voting age.

But candidates, including two mayoral contenders Dennis Curtis and Reynold Macpherson, with an apology from Steve Chadwick for a long-standing family commitment, showed signs of how their campaigns will unfold in the next few weeks leading to the October 12 elections.

Essentially, the Mamaku hall was a dress rehearsal. But first the candidates were asked questions on what mattered most to Mamaku residents – footpaths, a public toilet and improved roading. If promises are carried out, Mamaku should become a metropolis overnight.

The meeting lasted nearly two hours with early departures and late arrivals, with concessions made to two Lakes DHB candidates.

Among the speakers were lakes and rural board members.

Assembled: Sitting councillor Raj Kumar has his four minutes addressing 15 members of an audience at Mamaku War Memorial Hall on Sunday.

As for crowd size, one speaker noted that it was likely the town's residents were perhaps taking advantage of a cloudless, windless, rare balmy day at Mamaku.

Dave Willis, a member of the Mamaku Village Association, who kept speakers to four minutes time allocation, said had sent all candidates six questions, including:

■ Lakefront development where candidates were for or against the development.

■ Security cameras in rural communities. 'We've got basically recently through the rural board allocated some money for a security camera for the playground and also for the hall, but we need more.”

■ 'We don't have any pedestrian crossings in our community, not even outside the school.”

■ 'The rates are at the moment 5% and that goes in line with the rise in properties; to me it's not affordable for rates to rise and rise. People, especially people who aren't selling their properties and who have been living here for however many years, can't afford the rates.”

■ Another was infrastructure. Dave says they (the council) should visit Mamaku to see what needs to be done, 'It seems they promise things but it doesn't get done”.

Asked if he felt a degree of unanimity from the candidates, he replied, 'No.”

'But every candidate was in line with supporting the rural communities, which is fantastic,” Dave says.