Dear John,

It’s 136 days until Election Day, and things are certainly ramping up. Fliers are going out, doors are being knocked on, and Labour is continuing to break promises and send New Zealand backwards.

The flagship announcement from Labour’s Budget has been absolutely slammed by the early childhood sector. The policy announcement to extend 20 hours free to two-year-olds has been overwhelmingly rejected by three-quarters of the sector – calling it “completely unworkable.” In an open letter to the Minister, the sector has said that the Government’s policy will force centres to hike fees, reduce child-to-teacher ratios, opt out of fees-free altogether, or close their doors for good.

The early childhood education sector welcomed National’s FamilyBoost childcare rebate, which will help 130,000 low-and middle-income families keep more of what they earn, with up to $75 more in their after-tax pay each week. Meanwhile, Labour’s policy is now in tatters.

National will continue to roll out policies over the coming weeks and months – including our new housing policy below. To see everything we have announced to date, you can check our policies out here.

Policy announcement - Going for Housing Growth

National will fix New Zealand’s housing crisis by unlocking land for housing inside and around our cities, building infrastructure, and making sure communities share in the benefits of growth.

Labour has failed on housing. Rents are up $160 per week since 2017, the social housing waitlist has increased by over 20,000 applicants, 3,500 families live in motels, and over 400 families live in cars.

Our Going for Housing Growth plan will focus on:

1. Unlocking land for housing – Councils in major towns and cities will be required to zone land for 30 years’ worth of housing demand immediately. Councils will have more flexibility about where houses are built by being able to opt-out of the Medium Density Residential Zone law (that allowed three, three story houses) - however central government will reserve powers to ensure councils set aside enough land to meet demand targets.
2. Infrastructure financing tools – The Infrastructure Funding and Financing (IFF) Act will be reformed to reduce red tape for developers to fund infrastructure. Combined with targeted rates to fund greenfield developments, this will remove the need for councils to fund greenfield infrastructure from their balance sheets. Housing growth will also become a priority for transport funding through NZTA.
3. Housing performance incentives for councils – A $1 billion fund for Build-for-Growth incentive payments for councils that deliver more new housing – funded by stopping existing programmes like KiwiBuild.

Read our full housing policy here

Pink Ribbon Morning Tea

Last week I hosted my first Pink Ribbon Morning Tea to raise much-needed funds for the Breast Cancer Foundation. It was a great event, and I am very pleased to say that we raised over $1,300 – with 100% of all money going directly to the Foundation to allow them to continue their great work in education, support, and research.

A huge thank you to Debbie and James Casson from Lady Ink Cosmetic Tattooing for sharing with everyone your brave story and the fantastic work you both do.

If you didn’t get the chance to come along to the morning tea, you can still donate online! Simply follow the link below 👇

https://pinkribbonbreakfast.co.nz/page/nicolagriggmp

Out & About

It’s been another busy month getting out and meeting people. The team and I have delivered thousands of fliers, kept busy with doorknocking in towns around the district, as well as hosting my monthly pub politics session – this time at the Silver Dollar in Rolleston.

We have a new flier going out in June, highlighting a range of key policies that we’ve announced over the last few months. If you can spare an hour to help us deliver these, please flick [email protected] an email with what town you can help us deliver them in and we’ll be in touch!

In the news

I talked to RNZ’s Rural News about how the Government’s Budget offered nothing for farmers, and our plan to cut red tape for the primary industries.	I spoke to the Malvern News about Labour’s Blowout Budget, with the deficit increasing by a whopping $7.1 billion.
Click here to listen	Click here to read (page 6)

Kind regards,

Nicola Grigg
http://nicolagrigg.national.org.nz/