JONATHAN COLEMAN, NATIONAL PARTY

TRICIA CHEEL, DEMOCRATS FOR SOCIAL CREDIT PARTY

Cheel said the matters of SkyPath, cycle lanes and Northcote’s reserves are more issues to be addressed by Auckland Council and community boards.

It is these bodies, she said, who would also be concerned about ensuring they listen to all the voices in a community as diverse as Northcote is. On the topic of mental health, Cheel said , with 606 suicides in the past year, it is clear that the mental health situation is in crisis and will not be alleviated simply by throwing more money into services without tickling some of the main drivers of mental health, such as poverty and inequality. Coleman said he did support the principle of SkyPath but only if it linked up with SeaPath, so that Northcote Point wouldn’t be the sole exit point for cyclists.

In terms of the environment, Coleman said Northcote needs to continue to preserve its reserves, particularly as Auckland becomes more developed.

On the topic of mental health, Coleman said there is an extra $224 million, on top of healthcare’s already existing $1.4 billion, in the budget.

‘‘Of which, $100 million is for new ways of approaching mental health,’’ he said.

‘‘But, there is no question that we have to do things differently.’’

SHANAN HALBERT, LABOUR PARTY

Getting behind SkyPath has taken far too long for our current government, Halbert said. ‘‘Labour has promised $30 million to get SkyPath of the ground.’’

The job of preserving Northcote’s green spaces, Halbert said, requires increasing the amount of education on the environment, and encouraging local participation, this includes supporting the Local Board. On the topic of mental health, Halbert said that putting mental health workers in secondary schools is important, to have that person to person interface. This is important because the 606 suicides last year, were people ‘‘from our community’’.

REBEKAH JAUNG, GREEN PARTY

SkyPath as a facilitator of active and public forms of transport, is something the Green Party is hugely supportive of, Jaung said. Similarly, environmental protection is a key part of the Green Party’s policy.

‘‘We want to double the operating fund for DOC, as a separate part to supporting existing organisations,’’ she said.

As a medical professional, Jaung said the healthcare system is ‘‘chronically underfunded’’. New Zealand needs a Government to take healthcare, and especially mental healthcare, seriously in order to make a positive difference.

KYM KOLONI, NEW ZEALAND FIRST

Koloni said she definitely supports Skypath, as long as it is delivered as part of a publicly funded, integrated transport solution for Auckland. ‘‘The potential effect of 14,000 visitors to Northcote daily need to be mitigated as part of this development,’’ she added.

The sale of green areas is opposed by NZ First, Koloni said, as they are essential open spaces for our urban communities.

Koloni describes mental healthcare as broken.

‘‘As a society, we need to remove the obstacles and remove the politics - we all need to be on the same page to help,’’ she said.

TIM KRONFELD, THE ACT PARTY

On SkyPath, Kronfeld said he had his doubts about the cost and the reality of the project, specifically the geotechnical problems of clipping the path. As far as environmental protection, Kronfeld said everyone needs to take a good dose of personal responsibility when it comes to the biggest thing with pollution and climate change. Mental health is not a political thing, it’s a community thing, Kronfeld said.

‘‘I endorse what Prime Minister Bill English has done, challenging the ‘‘same old, same old’’, he said.

‘‘It’s about talking about it and trying to get people to input into it,’’ he said.