Labour's Rangitata candidate Jo Luxton says the party is open to discussions when it comes to how revenue generated from the water levy would be spent.

Revenue generated from Labour's controversial water levy, touted as a way to clean up polluted waterways, could be used to fund local projects such as roading.

The revelation came during a fiery meet the candidates meeting at Temuka's RSA, where members of the audience grilled Rangitata's five electorate hopefuls on water quality and climate change.

Labour candidate Jo Luxton told the crowd that during a recent meeting with Ashburton councillors, the possibility of using the revenue generated for projects such as roading, rather than solely for environmental purposes, was raised.

Marion van Dijk Labour water spokesman David Parker.

Labour's water spokesman, David Parker, was at that meeting, and said he would be open to discussing that possibility, Luxton said.

READ MORE:

* Ask NZ's politicians your questions in our election debates

* Canterbury would bear brunt of Labour's water tax - industry

* Farmer hits out at both National and Labour water policies as bad for farming

* Farmers would pay to irrigate under Labour's freshwater policy

Any revenue generated from a region would be put back into that region, she said.

JOHN BISSET National candidate Andrew Falloon at a recent meet the candidates meeting in Timaru.

"It's going to be what's applicable to your electorate, and it's certainly not going to be sent to Christchurch to clean up the Heathcote and Avon rivers, that's their responsbility."

When contacted on Friday, Parker said revenue would primarily need to be distributed to regional councils to clean up waterways.

However, money left over could be given to local councils, which would "decide what to do with it", he said.

Daisy Hudson TOP Rangitata candidate Olly Wilson.

He was happy to discuss possibilities for leftover revenue after the election, he said.

Following the revelation at the meeting, visibly surprised National candidate Andrew Falloon said it was the first time he'd heard a Labour politician say "the money might not be spent on cleaning up waterways".

"Because it's sort of the entire point of it, I thought."

JOHN BISSET Green Party candidate Mojo Mathers addresses the crowd at a recent meet the candidates meeting in Timaru, while Jo Luxton and ACT's Tom Corbett look on.

He said he was concerned about "the lack of detail" in the policy.

"We're three weeks out from an election, and the Labour Party still can't tell us what the rate of the tax will be."

The meeting, attended by about 25 people, descended into heated arguments at some points, with The Opportunities Party candidate Olly Wilson launching a stinging rebuttal against members of the audience who questioned the need for action on water quality.

"We need to keep things in perspective here about water. We either deal with this now, or we put it off and lay it on our children, which to me personally, I find is gutless. There's so much self-interest going on around here that we're actually not looking at the long-term view. You screw our environment, you screw our brand internationally.

"I've heard some garbage here tonight, and not a lot of facts. I'd prefer to listen to the prime minister's chief scientific advisor around what he says about water, I'd prefer to listen to Niwa, what they say about water, I'd prefer to listen to Jan Wright, the former Parliamentary Commissioner, what she says about water.

"Not some of the stuff that's coming from here. And the other thing that really concerns me is that there is still a group of people out there who have got their bloody head in the sand. Telling me there's no problems with our rivers. I mean, give me a break.

"It's such a joke. This is a serious issue for our children. So we need to sort this s*** out, literally."

Green list MP and candidate Mojo Mathers faced some robust questioning over both the party's water policies and the controversy over then co-leader Metiria Turei's benefit fraud admission.

"Given that your party's leadership supports corrupt behaviour, how can we accept that any decision you make will be honest?," one person asked, to a chorus of boos from the crowd.

"First of all, Metiria was brave and honest about what she did 20 years ago. Secondly, she never asked anyone to condone what she did. The reality is that when you're on a very low income, not enough to live on, you can make some very difficult choices," Mathers replied.

ACT's Tom Corbett was also questioned on his views on water quality.

As a farmer, he said he believed Environment Canterbury had enough controls in place already to monitor water quality and use.