Election 2020: Home ownership key to beating poverty - Mike Shaw, Independent

Kaikohe pastor Mike Shaw will contest the Northland seat as an independent candidate. Photo / Tania Whyte

Housing ownership through the minimum of hassles is the most effective way of breaking the poverty cycle in Northland, independent candidate Mike Shaw believes.

The Kaikohe resident said rules relating to building compliance and laws around developing houses on Māori land needed to be sorted so people could raise finance and own properties.

"Flexible, easier, cheaper, fewer obstacles. I think we need to look at ways where young people need to raise only 5 per cent deposit instead of 10 per cent and get funding.

"Currently in my town Kaikohe, the level of home ownership each year drops and drops. I think 30 per cent of homes in Kaikohe are actually owned by the occupant so that's paying your rent to somebody who lives out of town."

To listen to the Hits Northland host Charmaine Soljak's interview click here

Shaw reckons unemployment is the single biggest issue facing Northland and encouraging families to be sustainable, resilient and prosperous were ways of dealing with it.

"Top-of approach rather than the trickle-down corporate approach. I've been here for over 30 years and we've seen corporations that come in and when their profit line drops, they shut down.

"So globalisation and the big business has not really worked very well for our province so we're going to get hapū, whānau, grassroots small businesses, that kind of thing, linked to education - getting our workforce educated and skilled."

Moving forward, Shaw said investment in small businesses, a properly-equipped health system and a healthy workforce were the way to go.

He is in favour of shifting the Ports of Auckland to Northland, saying it was going to be easier to export goods, not just to the traditional markets like China - other, bigger destinations should be explored.

Developing the port would open up more opportunities for Northland to grow economically, he said.

Amalgamation of local councils doesn't sit well with him.

"I can see some kind of rationale for the efficiencies but local people making local decisions and getting supported from a central source I think is the way forward."

Amalgamation of Northland's territorial authorities doesn't sit well with independent candidate for Northland, Mike Shaw. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Shaw isn't keen to completely write off the introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) into the environment and thinks crop diversification should be encouraged.

On methamphetamine, he said harsher punishment for the big players would make a difference.

"Hone Harawira suggested a few years ago capital punishment for importing meth into NZ and that may be extreme but I have some sympathy towards that. We need to have a lot more investment in the treatment side of it.

"For users, we need to have a lot more detox programmes and getting people off the meth education around that area. To hit the criminals hard and then invest in the treatment side. Give people hope."

Jesus Christ has transformed his way of thinking, motivated him the most in life, and gave Shaw a sense of justice, righteousness and fairness.