Election 2023: National candidate for Tauranga, Sam Uffindell, on Local Focus Candidate Camera

Watch the Local Focus video to see all of Sam Uffindell’s answers on a range of important questions.

After just a year as Tauranga MP, Sam Uffindell is back on the campaign trail.

The National Party candidate spoke to Local Focus on a range of important issues including crime, cost of living, and a new highway, as part of State Highway 29 work, to help solve congestion.

“To help get people from A to B faster, help alleviate some of the terrible congestion that we have here, and also free up about 20,000 houses for development.”

But in response to questions about the effect another highway might have on climate change, Uffindell pinned his hopes on electric vehicles and hydrogen trucks.

“We are getting rid of the ute tax because that’s been penalising farmers,” he said. “And also people in big families who need a big vehicle to move a lot of people around.”

Uffindell was not considering trains but he said they were “fantastic” to use when he lived in Sydney and Singapore.

“If that option is there, I would definitely use it and I’m pretty sure everyone else would as well.”

But he noted the population of Tauranga is much smaller and said that made it impossible.

“But we do support multi-modal transport.”

Watch interviews with other candidates for Tauranga electorate:

Local Focus: National Party candidate, Sam Uffindell on Candidate Camera

Local Focus: Labour candidate Jan Tinetti on Candidate Camera

Local Focus: New Zealand First candidate, Erika Harvey on Candidate Camera

Local Focus: Act Party candidate, Christine Young on Candidate Camera

Local Focus: Vision New Zealand candidate, Leon Samuels on Candidate Camera

Local Focus: New Conservative candidate, Jono Langridge on Candidate Camera

Local Focus: Independent candidate, Larry Baldock on Candidate Camera

Public Interest Journalism Fund