Our electorate rundown: Hutt South

Hutt South will have a newMP in just over a week after Trevor Mallard decided to step down from the seat and on to the Labour list.

The electorate, based in the southern part of Lower Hutt, has been held by the LabourMP since 1996 and covers Eastbourne, Petone and Wainuiomata.

At the 2014 general election, Mallard won over National’s Chris Bishop, a former tobacco lobbyist, by 709 votes.

Since Mallard announced he would not seek re-election to pursue becoming Speaker of the House, Bishop and Labour’s Ginny Andersen, a former policy manager for New Zealand Police, have gone toe-to-toe trying to win votes.

Talking with people on the streets of Lower Hutt, it is clear housing and homelessness are the biggest issues facing the electorate.

Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace has made no secret that housing is his biggest concern, giving the government a C-rating on the issue earlier this year.

To address the problem, National announced in July that, if re-elected, it would build and refurbish 700 homes across the Hutt Valley over the next five years. Its announcement was met with criticism from opponents, who said it was a knee-jerk response to public pressure two months out from the election.

Labour announced in April that it would build 400 homes in Lower Hutt on land where state houses had been demolished.

While people were mostly concerned about housing and homelessness, they also said poverty, education and local retailing were important issues for the area.

In 2013, the Hutt South suburb of Moera was given a 10 on the Index of Deprivation, indicating the highest level of socio-economic poverty.

A range of minor parties are also standing candidates in the electorate. However, the battle is down to Bishop and Andersen.

❚ Article written by students from Massey University School of Journalism