Gerry Brownlee would not be cowed. In an atrium festooned with many more red banners than blue, he talked through the hecklers.

"As far as I'm concerned the Earthquake Commission (EQC) has been a roaring success," he said. The jeers rang out.

The former Earthquake Recovery Minister was at the sharp end of a riff about why there was no need for a royal commission to examine EQC's performance after the Canterbury earthquakes. The crowd at the Ara Institute of Canterbury wasn't having it.

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Gerry Brownlee held his ground against hecklers at an election debate in Christchurch.

"EQC is still there," Brownlee told them, "It's still answering questions, it's still doing work and it's still doing repairs. And that means that people do have some degree of surety about the work they're doing."

READ MORE:

* Ilam MP Gerry Brownlee skips electorate debates then subs in for colleague Nicky Wagner

* Blue jacket vs red swanny: The battle for Christchurch Central

* What drives Nicky Wagner?

* The year of the door-knock: Duncan Webb's tilt at Christchurch Central

More booing. Brownlee, the National candidate and incumbent MP in Ilam, was standing in for his party colleague Nicky Wagner at an election Q&A for candidates in the Christchurch Central seat. Stacked with Labour supporters, it sounded more like an opposition rally.

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Labour, National, the Greens and The Opportunities Party reps fronted at the Ara Institute of Canterbury.

Discussion covered the policy gamut – health, education, housing, transport, environment, the economy – but with Brownlee's presence it frequently digressed into earthquakes and recovery.

Labour candidate Duncan Webb, an insurance lawyer, said the dilatory conduct of EQC and insurers after the earthquakes had been "absolutely woeful".

"The Labour Party is committed to breaking the deadlock and it has said it will set up a tribunal to give damages for undue delays.

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Brownlee stood in for the National Party's Christchurch Central candidate Nicky Wagner at the event.

"If I get into Parliament, I'll be advocating for a two-year limit on settlement of claims and penalties thereafter."

Brownlee shot back. There were "two parties" to every insurance contract, he said.

"I do not support a new arrangement that will break contract law in this country. It would be a disaster, not only for here but through the whole country."



Housing was the other flashpoint. Brownlee repeated his vow that there had been no housing crisis in Christchurch. "Where is the one place in New Zealand where housing prices are static and where rents are falling?" he said, before blaming soaring prices elsewhere on idle local authorities.



His three opponents jumped. Greens candidate Peter Richardson said New Zealand had the worst levels of homelessness and housing unaffordability in the OECD. "If that's not a crisis, I don't know what is."



Doug Hill, of The Opportunities Party, said it was "crazy" that houses that cost eight times the average income were considered affordable.



"What the hell is that about? We need to follow a European model to tax all investment options equally to stop this rampant house price growth."

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Labour candidate Duncan Webb says EQC and insurers' response to the earthquakes has been "absolutely woeful".

Webb cited Labour's plan to build 100,000 new houses and zeroed in on National's state house sales, which his party would cut.

Brownlee said the sales would end decades of tenants paying the state the cost of the properties over and again. Cue more howls from the crowd, including Webb's campaign chair, former Christchurch Mayor Garry Moore.

"Do some work on it Garry," Brownlee replied, "Do some simple math fella, and you'll find that I'm right."

The election is on September 23.