Andrew Little fires up Labour supporters in Tauranga pub

Labour Leader Andrew Little at the Cornerstone Pub with Jan Tinetti (left), Angela Warren-Clark and Tamati Coffey. Photo/George Novak

To a standing-room only crowd at a local pub Labour leader Andrew Little fired off the party's vision for Tauranga and the country: education, housing and healthcare.

Like many regions, these issues were close to home for Tauranga, with the growing housing supply and affordability problem one of the more salient issues faced by locals.

"The homelessness problem in Tauranga took me by surprise because in a city like Tauranga you'd think we would do better, but we're not," Mr Little said to the crowd at Cornerstone Pub, consisting of a mainly older demographic.

Labour Leader Andrew Little speaks at the Cornerstone Pub. Photo/George Novak

Mr Little outlined Labour's solution to the crisis - 100,000 affordable homes built over 10 years, half for Auckland and half spread out across the regions.

He also said a clampdown on overseas speculators was needed. "If overseas people want a house in New Zealand they have to built it and add to our housing stock."

Healthcare reforms got rousing cheers from the crowd at the pub.

Mr Little mentioned people struggling to get procedures like hip replacements at under-funded health boards and the inconceivably high suicide rate.

He promised to boost funding for healthcare, restore cuts to the budget National had made and launch an inquiry into mental health services.

Labour was committed to refunding schools properly, providing three years of post-school education and training and career counsellors in schools.

Mr Little said every commitment made could be paid for from tax revenue.

"I'm not going to promise tax cuts. We have to invest in the future and that costs money," he said.

In the Q&A part of the night an audience member said he couldn't see how either National or Labour could win the election without the support of Winston Peters.

Mr Little answered saying Labour worked well with NZ First and had a level of common ground to forge further relations with Mr Peters and his party.

Another audience member asked what Labour would do about equating the minimum wage and the living wage.

Mr Little said he would not support legalising the living wage but was determined to put pressure to lift wages and protect people's right to be in a union.

Mr Little was joined at the pub meeting by newly selected candidates Jan Tinetti and Angela Warren-Clark, Rotorua candidate Ben Sandford, Waiariki candidate Tamati Coffey and East Coast electorate candidate Kiri Allan.