Dear John
It’s been a busy few weeks
with lots of new policy announcements and opportunities to show voters
National’s positive plans for the country. Three weeks of recess has
also allowed me to get around the electorate - from the opening of the
202 (NZ) Lions Clubs Convention in Invercargill, to attending SIT’s
Certified Builders Apprentice Challenge - it’s reaffirmed for me, what
a great place Southland really is.
National is getting back to
farming
National’s Getting back to
Farming package will cut the red tape and allow Southland farmers
to get on with what they do best. Last year agriculture exports
totalled $41 billion or 63 percent of our goods exports. When farmers
succeed, New Zealand succeeds – that is something that
the Labour Government fails to understand at its peril. Check out our
policy here: Getting
Back to Farming
National backs nurses
and midwives
To address Southland and New
Zealand’s chronic nursing shortage, a National government
would pay nurses’ and midwives’ student
loan repayments, up to $4,500 a year, for the first five years of
their careers - in return for them committing to work in New Zealand
for at least five years after they
graduate. We’ll also
make New Zealand more attractive by offering a relocation grant of up
to $10,000 for 1000 qualified overseas nurses or midwives who move
here for work.
I enjoyed an excellent visit
to the Fonterra Edendale site recently, with Plant Manager Julie
Walkinshaw (right) and GM NZ Government Affairs Fiona Hutchinson. 441
dairy farms in the Invercargill electorate supply Fonterra, while the
Edendale site employs 630 people. The site is also industry leader in
water reduction and reuse practices.
It was a privilege to have National’s
Health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti in Invercargill recently. To address
the current health crisis, he said National would focus on expanding
the health workforce, cutting bureaucracy, and focussing support on
aged residential care, emergency departments, women’s health and
cancer rates.
National to deliver on Mental
Health
There’s growing concern about the lack of
support for people struggling with mental health issues. National
wants to deliver faster access to mental health services by boosting
resources for community providers and non-Government agencies.
National will do this through the Mental Health Innovation Fund, which
will initially see up to $20 million in matching funds
distributed. Check out our policy here: National
to Fund Community Health NGOs
I was honoured to be
involved in Invercargill’s Dawn Service on Anzac Day, and to speak at
the Invercargill Workingmen’s Club later. I also marched in Bluff’s
annual parade and laid a wreath. What a wonderful way to join with the
people of the South and acknowledge the great sacrifice that our
troops made at Gallipoli.
Interest rate pressure mounts in
Southland
I’m very concerned about how some Southland families will pay
their mortgages in the wake of a 50-point lift in the Official Cash
Rate in April. I already know of at least one young family, who’ve had
to sell their first home because they couldn’t afford their mortgage
repayments. Southlanders are now having to pay, on average, an extra
$267 each week in interest costs.
I saw such huge progress on my recent
visit to the Ocean Beach Aquaculture Hub, near Bluff. It was so
exciting to see the paua, whitebait and seaweed developments –
demonstrating great work by the dedicated team down
there.
The problems with Te Pukenga
– the Government’s polytechnic mega-merger – continue to
mount.
Staff suffer with
failing polytechnic mega-merger
Hard-working staff are now
becoming casualties of the Government’s disastrous polytechnic
mega-merger. We need these staff to remain in education - not be
driven out by stress and a lack of support. Three years on, $200m in
costs, no direction and no operating model, has failed staff and
taxpayers. The Government’s polytechnic mega-merger is a mess that
continues to deteriorate.
In the
news:
Mega-merger failure impacting polytech
staff
Te Pukenga failure hits Whananui
My
Diary
5 May - Hamilton East MP Tama
Potaka in Invercargill
6 May – Special Olympics
Southland Powerlifting Competition
6 May – Queens Park tree planting for King’s
Coronation
9 May – Parliament sitting
As always, I’m here to help. Please contact me at my
Invercargill office on Ph- 03 218 5060, or email me at: [email protected]
Thank you for your support
Penny Simmonds http://pennysimmonds.national.org.nz/
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