Independent Mana by-election candidate Matt McCarten says the money the Government is giving Warner Bros to make The Hobbit would be better spent creating jobs for the 3000 unemployed in the electorate.
National candidate Hekia Parata says there is no money for job creation.
But the former Alliance president says creating jobs is easy: "Putting two teacher aides in every classroom would create 1200 jobs just like that," he says.
Providing home help to pensioners and invalids would also provide jobs, he says.
Polling day is 20 November. The seat is a Labour stronghold.
