Local Focus: Business or the environment – what's more important for Tauranga candidates?

Local Focus asked four Tauranga election candidates for their views on what's more important - business or the environment?

National's Simon Bridges said it's about having the right policies in place.

"If you get the policy settings right you can get it all right," he said. "This Government hasn't, by banning oil and gas. Actually what you've seen is more coal because we haven't been using the cleaner gas that we have from the likes of Taranaki, we've imported more coal from the likes of Indonesia."

Labour candidate Jan Tinetti believes New Zealand should concentrate on alternatives and get past the fossil fuel era.

"If we don't do that we're not going to have an environment or a world to actually have business succeed in."

ACT's Cameron Luxton made a call for "regulations that protect the environment but don't curtail business", while NZ First candidate Erika Harvey said we need a balanced approach.

Also standing in the Tauranga electorate:
• Paul Hignett for New Conservatives
• Tracy Livingstone for the Outdoors Party
• Daniel Crosa for Advance NZ
• James Capamagian – Independent
• Yvette Lamare - Independent
• Josh Cole for the Greens
• Andrew Caie for the Opportunities Party

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