How they would ensure a better New Zealand for future generations was the question put to Napier candidates at a Forest and Bird Napier branch meeting.
A crowd gathered at the Tamatea community church last night to hear four of the candidates vying to be Napier's next MP discuss the issues facing Hawke's Bay, and New Zealand's environment.
They fielded questions on cleaning up waterways, sea level rise, and climate change, and spoke of what they hoped to achieve for the environment if elected.
Joining Labour MP Stuart Nash in the hot seat was Green Party candidate Damon Rusden, Maori Party candidate Maryanne Marsters, and Democrats for Social Credit candidate Karl Matthys. National candidate David Elliott was unable to attend.
To clean up waterways, Mr Nash said the "softly, softly" approach of the National Government needed to change - advocating for a tougher stance to return formerly clean sources of water - from the Tukituki River, to Lake Tutira - to this state.
Ensuring protection of water was shown in Labour's proposed commercial water tax, saying that if irrigators, or water bottlers were "taking our water and making a profit, they should pay for it".
For Mr Matthys, the answer was a major reform of the monitoring system, with increased funding for regional development, and conservation programmes.
On climate change, the candidates were asked how they would tell their grandchildren "why you failed to act now to protect their heritage".
Mr Rusden's answer was the fact that he was standing for the Green Party - which had always maintained the environment needed to come first.
"I'm standing for the Greens and I'm doing my best to make sure we don't inherit an Earth that is beyond the precipice of recovery. Because that is what our current economic model and other parties are continuing to allow to happen.
"So I'm standing here today so I can tell my grandchildren that I did my best to make sure that we have a better Aotearoa".
On addressing climate change, Ms Marsters spoke of her party's commitment to ensuring New Zealand's natural resources and environment was healthy for everyone.
These including prioritising solutions for climate change, and working across the political spectrum to do so, advocating for a government subsidy for electric vehicles and increased tree planting.
Other topics discussed included more funding for the Department of Conservation, pest control, fisheries, and land swaps - an idea that none of the candidates fully supported.