Dear John,
I can't believe Easter is upon us and it's early April - where did the year go?! It's been such a busy few weeks and I'm certainly looking forward to a couple of days off with Jenna and Jeremy to recharge the batteries. It's only going to be busier in the run-up to October.
I did enjoy a bit of an April Fools' joke on April 1 - did you see it? I've had a few people texting me wishing me all the best for my next career - don't worry, I'm not going anywhere! I can't wait to fight hard for the Hutt South seat and also for a new National government.
While Labour has been beset by Ministerial stuff-ups (Kiri Allan) and cover-ups (Stuart Nash), and the Greens have been attacking straight white men (Marama Davidson), we've been announcing some great new policy. In the last Bishop Bulletin I profiled our "Teaching the Basics Brilliantly" plan for education and on Friday last week Christopher Luxon and I announced our "Electrify New Zealand" policy in Auckland. Our plan is to cut red tape to drive a surge of investment in renewable electricity generation so New Zealand can double its supply of affordable, clean energy and become a lower emissions economy.
We want a future where buses and trains are powered by clean electricity, where we go on holiday in cars powered by clean electricity, and where industrial processing plants are powered by clean electricity, not coal. But to do that, we need to double the amount of renewable electricity we produce from New Zealand’s abundant natural resources – particularly solar, wind and geothermal. That's just way too hard at the moment - the current planning system puts barrier after barrier in the way. A new wind farm can take ten years to complete – eight years to obtain resource consent, and two years to build. Labour’s proposed RMA 2.0 laws will only make this worse. We'll fix those problems - check out the solutions here. I talked about all of this and more with Jack Tame on Q and A on Sunday - did you see it?
Two other big pieces of news yesterday - Jacinda Ardern gave her valedictory statement to Parliament (sadly I was in Auckland speaking at a conference) and the Reserve Bank raised the OCR by 50 basis points, which came as a surprise. The OCR is now at its highest level since 2008 and we've had 11 consecutive rises as the RBNZ tries to get inflation under control. Sadly we are now paying the price for loose monetary policy during COVID and Grant Robertson's big spendathon ($50 billion more per year compared to 2017). Inflation is now in the arteries of the economy and the OCR rise will mean even higher interest rates. It's going to be very painful for many people, as people refix their mortgage to a rate with a 6 in front of it rather than a 2 or 3 in front of it.
Interest Deductibility: Another group of people affected by steep interest rates are residential landlords, who from 1 April are now only able to deduct 50% of interest costs as an expense on their rentals. I call this a "tenant tax" as they're the collateral damage in Labour's War on Landlords. Rents are up $175 per week ($225 in the Hutt) and they're set to go even higher with interest deductibility really biting hard. National will reverse Labour's interest deductibility changes. For a good read of how these changes hurt the very people they're trying to help, read this open letter to the Prime Minister written by a Hutt local.
Around the Hutt: Parliament's been sitting for the last couple of weeks (check out my speech about Stuart Nash here) but I've managed to get to a few Hutt events. I particularly enjoyed hosting our local JPs for a thank you morning tea last week - and I was able to present Bob and Elaine Moffat with special certificates marking their retirement from JP duties. Thank you Bob and Elaine for all of your work.
Please have a restful and enjoyable Easter and if you're driving, please stay safe.
Chris
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Went out to Makara wind farm with the boss and Simon Watts & Stuart Smith last week - man it was cold! But this is an example of the projects we're going to need a lot more of to hit our carbon goals. Read more here.
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Thank you to Bob and Elaine Moffat for all of their amazing work as Hutt JPs. Both have recently retired. Elaine worked as a JP for 27 years and Bob for 38. Thank you for your service!
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Visit to Hutt Concrete Products
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Really enjoyed my visit to Hutt Concrete Products a couple of weeks ago with Emma Chatterton, our Remutaka candidtae. A great Hutt business!
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I first met Kejora when she was two. Five years later, she loves politics and came to watch Question Time yesterday. Lovely to see you again!
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Visit to ANZIL Restaurant
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On Monday night I dropped into ANZIL restaurant with our Otaki candidate Tim Costley and caught up with Ivett & Andras. You might remember them from their big battle to get NZ residency last year. Proud to advocate for them alongside Tim and in the end the Minister did the right thing. The salami is truly amazing! Make sure you check them out.
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Thank you to our hard working JPs!
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National's Teaching the Basics Brilliantly policy is all about making sure schools are teaching the basics brilliantly, so every child has the opportunity to succeed. Our plan will ensure all kids have the knowledge and skills they need in reading, writing, maths and science. Check it out here.
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Speaking at the Building Together infrastructure conference hosted by Minter Ellison a couple of weeks ago. Julie Anne doesn't look impressed!
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Surprise visitor after Parkrun!
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