National has selected two new Auckland candidates, with Rosemary Bourke standing in Māngere and Navtej Singh Randhawa in Panmure-Ōtāhuhu.

“Māngere is my home and I’m honoured to have the opportunity to campaign for a National Government as National’s candidate. I’ll be working hard to meet as many people as I can to hear about their issues in the run-up to October 14,” says Ms Bourke.

“The top issue in Māngere is the cost-of-living crisis and fixing it will be a National Government’s key focus. The median rent in Auckland is almost $5,000 higher per year under Labour and people paying mortgages don’t know where they’re going to find hundreds of dollars more every week to cover their repayments as interest rates are hiked to try keep a lid on Labour’s inflation.

“National’s the only party with a plan to strengthen our economy so we can reduce the cost of living for people in Māngere. We’ve also announced our FamilyBoost policy which will provide up to $75 per week in tax rebates to help families with the cost of childcare.”

Navtej Singh Randhawa says alongside the cost-of-living crisis, rising crime is another big issue in the area.

“People don’t feel safe in our community and it’s only getting worse. Labour’s soft-on-crime approach has failed and we owe it to our communities to crack down on crime and making our streets safer,” says Mr Randhawa.

“Local business owners don’t know how many more robberies and ram-raids they have to deal with before the Government starts listening. National has released plans to crack down on retail crime and serious young offending and back our police to tackle gangs.

“Making sure our communities are safe will always be a priority for me and we need a National Government and it’s the only party that has the ability to deliver a strong economy so we can reduce the cost of living, restore law and order, lift incomes, build infrastructure for the future, and deliver better health and education outcomes.”

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