Local Focus: Damon Harvey on Candidate Camera

Watch the full Local Focus interview for Harvey's views on the region's biggest issues, and our less important quickfire questions.

Local surf enthusiast Damon Harvey says it's his strong connections to Hawke's Bay which make him a strong candidate for the Hastings District Council.

"I'm really passionate about Hastings. I always have been. I'm born and bred here, my kids have gone through schools here. I think everything that I do is relevant now to maximise the opportunities that Hastings has."

Harvey has spent more than 20 years as a local business owner. He also works as a journalist and edits his own business magazine.

Harvey is confident Hawke's Bay has enough jobs and opportunities to attract young people to the region, but housing needs to be urgently addressed.

"The biggest issue is probably the tension that we have between our fertile plains, which grow a lot of food for the world and our need to house our people.

"We need to look at apartment-style living rather than encroaching on our fertile plains. There's a whole range of new housing models and solutions that we need to look at and offer to our community."

Away from his council duties, Harvey enjoys indulging in a drop of locally brewed beer. And he would love to travel back in time to surf some of the world's most epic breaks before they became crowded.