Two Labour representatives stopped in Tauranga this week to speak about the party's Best Start package, but instead found conversations turning to the city's housing issues.

Labour Rotorua candidate Tamati Coffey and Social Development spokesperson Sue Moroney visited pre-schools and community organisations including Kidz Need Dadz Charitable Trust and Tauranga Women's Refuge.

Labour Rotorua candidate Tamati Coffey and Social Development spokesperson Sue Moroney. Photo: Zoe Hunter.

The purpose of the visit was to speak about the Best Start package, which proposes to extend paid parental leave to 26 weeks and introduce $60-per-week payments during a baby's first year for families earning less than $150,000 a year and not receiving paid parental leave.

It also intends to pay low and middle-income families up to $60 per week between a child's first and third birthdays, fund 25 hours' free early education per week and ensure all parents have access to free antenatal classes and support before the baby arrives.

However, rather than discuss Best Start, Sue says Tauranga residents were more interested in speaking about the city's housing issues.

'Every conversation turned to housing needs. We heard stories about people turning to camping grounds as a first port of call… and two or more families living under the same roof.

'This shows how critical the housing needs are in this community.”

The pair also heard about a solo father of two who was forced to turn to his children's early childhood education centre to help him find a home.

This concerns Tamati, who says Labour has a few policies in place to help support people in desperate need of housing.

'We are going to be checking that rentals are warm and dry – like a warrant of fitness for houses. But our big key-level policy is that we're going to build 100,000 affordable starter homes in the next 10 years.”

Tamati says it's a huge commitment but Labour is keen to make housing affordable so people like the father of two are eligible contenders.