Hi John, 

In this update:

• Public Meeting with Nicola Willis: Cost of living crisis.
• April Recap
• Recent policy announcements on health and transport.

Quick Request

I'll get to Nicola's visit really soon, but first, I'm particularly on the look-out for people who are willing to phone a few people on my behalf, at various times between now and the election. As little or as much as you like. If you're interested, would you mind emailing me back? 

Meet Nicola Willis

We're really pleased to announce two public meetings with Deputy Leader Nicola Willis. The Cost of Living Crisis is a huge issue everywhere I go this year, and with the budget due out in May, this is really timely. Please join us, not just to discuss the cost of living, but also for a chance to meet New Zealand's next Deputy PM!

• Wednesday June 14th,
• 12pm, Levin Senior Citizen's Hall, 1 Montgomery St,
• 3pm, Waikanae Baptist Church, Te Moana Rd.

There is no charge, but we will take any donations at the door to help cover costs, and maybe a raffle ticket or two!

In the evening we are running a fundraising event in Waikanae with Nicola. Canapés and drinks, $100 per person. 

All proceeds from the day are a donation to the National Party and used to fund the local campaign in our electorate. You need to RSVP for this event - numbers are limited.

• Wednesday June 14th,
• 6.30pm, Waikanae (location to be confirmed closer to the time)
• Please pay to:
  • 01 0731 0085327 02
  • Reference: DONATION 
  • Please include your name and RSVP via return email

Trains and Ō2NL

You might have seen Labour have announced some new trains for the Capital Connection. This sounds good on the surface; new trains would be good: we announced them in 2020 - so did Labour! They just never delivered them. Typical. So is this just another re-announcement like light rail in Auckland and Ō2NL?

KiwiRail's February 2021 briefing to the Minister covered this entire announcement, there is nothing new here; this is just another repeated announcement to try and trick us in election year. 

Labour refused to commit funding in the 2022 Budget, and it’s too little, too late to try and convince our locals in election year. People here have grown tired of Labour announcements that lead to nothing. Ō2NL has been announced three times now, and still there is no road and there are far too many road deaths along this deadly stretch of SH1. Investment in rail is great, but this can’t be an excuse to not invest in roading as well.

The last National Government started Transmission Gully, the Kāpiti Expressway, and the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway. We also electrified rail from Paraparaumu to Waikanae, bringing rail services further north. National has a track record of delivery and you can rely on us to deliver for the Ōtaki Electorate once again in 2023.

April Recap

It has been another busy month.

We started the month with a very well-attended public meeting with Mark Mitchell on Law and Order in Levin. Mark and I also met with local business owners and Police in the afternoon before this, but across all three events the message was clear: this Government has gone soft on crime, and it won't change without a change to a National Government. You can read our policies on youth offending, Police, and gangs here.

I spent Easter around the various markets from Foxton to Paraparaumu, I attended the Electra Business Breakfast (as I do almost every month), the Business After Five events (and Top Shop launch), I hosted a dinner with Chris Bishop, I visited local businesses, I collected for the RSA's Poppy Appeal, I've knocked on many doors, I hosted our Palmerston North Candidate, Ankit Bansal, and I've been speaking at lots of events including Age Concern Horowhenua, Levin Over 60s, and Speldhurst.

Finally, I want to acknowledge those affected by the tornado which hit Kāpiti on April 11th. I was immediately out visiting residents, checking in, helping clean up, carrying trampolines back over the street. I really feel for all those impacted, particularly those families left without a home. 

Anzac Day is always a special day for me. It's a day to acknowledge all who serve New Zealand, and in particular to remember those who paid the ultimate price in wars long ago, and some more recently. If you weren't at one of the parades I spoke at, here's a wee snippet:

"We do not celebrate war, rather, we honour the service and sacrifice of those who went to war, those who went in the hope of saving our country, and the world, for future generations. To quote my late-Father, we must “remember the mateship, agony, courage and compassion of war service, but save us from ever glorifying the horror and tragedy of war.” To me, Dad has captured the very essence of Anzac Day. It’s a day to celebrate service and sacrifice, not the wars and conflicts in which those sacrifices were made.

"I will forever be proud to have served, and immensely proud of those who served with me, but I will always be in awe of the service and sacrifice of those who went before me, and in particular, those who never returned home." 

Levin Dawn Service 2023.

Our Latest Policy Releases

I won't quote them word-for-word here, but you might like to read about some of our latest policies:

Delivering more nurses and midwives: 

In the last five years under Labour, almost 19,000 nurses have left the public health system. Instead of urgently addressing the workforce crisis, Labour has focussed on restructuring the bureaucracy, while hard-working and dedicated health professionals have struggled with the weight of a faltering system. A National Government won’t stand-by and allow the health sector to remain in crisis.

Our plan is here, and is a three-pronged approach:

• Incentives to encourage more Kiwis to study nursing or midwifery,
• Bonding to keep nurses and midwives in New Zealand after graduation,
• Competitive immigration settings to attract more overseas nurses and midwives.

Getting Back to Farming:

National understands how important farming is to rural communities and to lifting New Zealand’s earnings. Last year, 63 per cent of goods exported from New Zealand came from agriculture. Agriculture employs 1 in 9 workers. It’s the backbone of the New Zealand economy. Since being elected in 2017, Labour has tied farmers up in red tape, introducing more than 20 new or updated rules that have added compliance costs, without any meaningful environmental change. 

National will end Labour’s red tape. Our “Getting Back to Farming” package of 19 changes backs farmers while protecting the environment. National will:

1. Deliver smarter rules for the future,
2. Super-charge the rural economy,
3. Get Wellington out of farming.

We need some help

If you can lend some help another way, for just one or two hours this year, please sign up here.

Thanks for all your support, and please keep spreading the good word about me, and what National are doing locally.

Kind regards,