It’s no secret Tauranga has an infrastructure problem – but how is it going to be fixed?

Speaking to SunLive, outgoing Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller says China, who finances infrastructure projects around the world, should remain an option when resolving the transport issue.

“We take assistance from China by the fact they buy what we produce. We take assistance from them when they send their students here to help fill our universities.

“They have significant investment and of capital they want to invest around the world and we should be open to that, but we should be eyes wide open as we are with other countries and other individuals that seek to invest.

“I think our future is to be open to the world as it changes, not trying to be a small little defensive country at the bottom of the world – because we’ve got no hope in that context.”

Muller says New Zealand also seems to have “lost the ability” as a country to build quickly and efficiently, which is going to take “more than a couple of years” of “good governing” to turn around.

That’s the outgoing Bay of Plenty MP’s perspective – but what about the fresh candidates?

Labour Party Bay of Plenty candidate Pare Taikato says Labour has a “long established procurement policy" when it comes to foreign investment.

Labour Party Bay of Plenty candidate Pare Taikato. Photo: Taylor Rice/SunLive.

“That includes a national interest test and as the Prime Minister has said, Labour is committed to ensuring our public assets, like roads, remain publicly owned,” says Taikato.

ACT Bay of Plenty candidate Cameron Luxton says although Kiwis deserve functioning roads and infrastructure to give New Zealand a “world class” standard of living, the country should be careful about who they are dealing with.

“New Zealand has a relatively small population and a limited capital base. Meaning that we need more workers and capital."

Bay of Plenty ACT Party candidate Cameron Luxton. Photo: File/SunLive.

“This does not mean we should be naïve about who we are dealing with. We're happy to trade with China, but when it comes to the possibility of major strategic infrastructure being owned by people who are under the thumb of a regime that we disagree with on many issues, that's probably a little too risky.

“ACT welcomes investment from fellow democratic OECD countries, indeed countries such as Australia and Ireland have thrived by being more open to this type of foreign investment.

“Encouraging this investment means, that rather than the waiting generations for infrastructure, New Zealand can be open for investment from large capital markets overseas to help deliver important projects.

“The fruits of this approach mean that parents can get home to their families without spending their lives in traffic on our highways and in our city, and through well-functioning ports and roads Kiwi businesses can easily supply markets with their goods.”

Leighton Baker Party candidate for Bay of Plenty Wendy Gillespie says New Zealand should not sign any international investment agreements with any country, "especially China".

Bay of Plenty Leigton Baker Party candidate Wendy Gillespie. Photo: Supplied.

"You don't know about the fish hooks that come [with an investment agreement]. In the Pacfic region, there a huge amount of countries in debt to China because of their infrastructure projects.

"We believe we can afford all of our infrastructure projects, whether it’s roading, hospitals or schools, if this Government stops wasting money on its over-bloated bureaucracy.

"The issue with having Chinese partners comes with New Zealand giving away a lot of its assets and self-sustainability. You'll see that around the dairy industry, a lot of Chinese owned companies now own a lot of that sector, as well as a lot of large farms."

Meanwhile, National Bay of Plenty candidate Tom Rutherford, Muller's replacement, says National is proposing several "innovative financing tools" to "get infrastructure built" in the country.

National Party Bay of Plenty candidate Tom Rutherford. Photo: Taylor Rice/SunLive.

This, according to Rutherford, includes "encouraging investment" that will "speed up the delivery" of the infrastructure "we desperately need", like State Highway 29 and Stage Two of the Tākitimu North Link here in the Bay of Plenty.

"For the most part, this will be from investors like international pension funds in Canada and Australia and ACC and the NZ Super Fund here at home. Other international investors might also be interested but they would need to go through the strict Overseas Investment Office process as usual to ensure it's in the national interest.

"Our economy relies on strong infrastructure that gets people and goods where they need to be safely and efficiently. National will build the infrastructure the Bay of Plenty needs for the future."

SunLive has approached both New Zealand First Bay of Plenty candidate Kirsten Murfitt and Green Party Bay of Plenty candidate Matthew Macmillan for comment.