Tauranga's candidates were grilled by their voters at the first Meet the Candidates evening at Wesley Church. Photo/George Novak
Boos and cheers interrupted Tauranga candidates as they answered their voters' questions at the first local Meet the Candidates event for this year's election.
A vocal crowd of about 200 was asked to "please let the candidates talk" during the question and answer session at Wesley Methodist Church on Tuesday.
Questions were fired at Top's Buddy Mikaere and Vanessa Lee, the Greens' Emma-Leigh Hodge, Labour's Jan Tinetti, Act's Stuart Pedersen, New Zealand First's Clayton Mitchell and National's Todd Muller standing in for Simon Bridges.
Independent candidate Rusty Kane and the Maori party's Raewyn Bennett and Verna Ohia-Gate also attended.
The question which received the most audience reaction related to affordable of housing.
National Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller said New Zealand was in the middle of the largest building boom.
Mr Muller said National's policy was to lift the 67,000 income-related social housing subsidies to 70,000.
"We have invested $330 million in emergency housing which clearly was something that needs to be addressed," he said.
"That is 220 homes that are going to be placed here in Tauranga, potentially with the first announcement in a day or two out in Papamoa."
He said the Government's Housing Infrastructure Fund gave a $230m interest-free loan to Tauranga that will enable the city to build infrastructure for the future.
"Waste water plants in Papamoa and Papamoa East is going to get a big shot in the arm, 35,000 homes over the 15-20 year period, but particularly 4700 in the short term in Papamoa."
Mr Muller said housing was a complex issue but the Government had worked hard to get the pipeline of houses to be able to meet expectation.
Labour's Jan Tinetti said the party had made housing its number one priority going into the September 23 election.
"We have the KiwiBuild programme which will build 100,000 affordable houses over the next 10 years.
"Ninety per cent of those are for home ownership, 50 per cent of them will be in Auckland and the rest will be throughout the rest of the regions."
Ms Tinetti said Labour would also be cutting down on overseas speculators who would not be able to buy existing houses but would be able to build new houses.
Her statement to stop the sell-off of state housing received loud applause from the audience.
She said the party's Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill would make certain every home was "fit for purpose".
"Every house will be insulated, every house will be warm and dry, and every person will have the ability to be in one of those houses."
The audience clapped and cheered at New Zealand First's Clayton Mitchell's statement that stamped NZ First firmly against the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"The housing crisis we have got is largely due to multi-national foreign speculators buying up vast amounts of our housing stock and letting the market rise up and we have got nothing we can do about it," Mr Mitchell said.
"It has got to stop."
Mr Mitchell said party leader Winston Peters would announce a "game changer" housing policy next week.
"This is an industry that the Government should be involved with when we are putting people first, not profits."
The Opportunities Party candidate Vanessa Lee said the answer was simple.
"Our tax policy which focuses on plugging the asset tax loophole will make houses more affordable and more available."
Representing the Maori party, Verna Ohia-Gate said housing stock in Tauranga was on whanau (family) land.
"We have Tamapahore on the motorway where there is a huge complex, 36 homes are out there and we have seven homes here in Tauranga for emergency housing," she said.
"I am also part of Nga Potiki, we have a 240 housing complex going on there at the moment and 30 per cent will belong to the beneficiaries.
"The other stock we have to sell in order to create the rest of the homes for our whanau."
Green Party's Emma-Leigh Hodge said the Greens' policy allowed citizens and permanent residents to own property "but that is where it stops".
She said the party was cracking down on foreign ownership and property speculators.
"We would also build 10,000 homes to be put out so people can find a home, be contributing to the ownership of that home over time and can feel secure in that home."
Ms Hodge said the party would also introduce a warrant of fitness for rental properties.
"We have put money into a home insulation scheme which over three years would see over 200,00 more rental homes insulated."
Act's Stuart Pedersen did not believe it was a tough or uncomplicated issue.
"The blame for the housing crisis lies squarely with central and local government.
"All of the major parties seem to believe that massive state housing building programmes is the answer, it is not.
"Act will replace the Resource Management Act with an urban development act which supports rather than hinders development ... and we will share GST on new construction with local councils."
Independent candidate Rusty Kane was booed and the audience yelled "not true" when he suggested votes for Ms Tinetti and Mr Mitchell would be wasted.
"The constituency vote is absolutely wasted."
He waited to hear the policies of other parties before speaking again and suggested National and Labour come together and "work for all of us" which received applause from the audience.