Dear John,
On Sunday there's just 100 days to go until voting opens in the election on October 2. The year is certainly flying by and I'm busier than ever, both in the Hutt, in Parliament, and around the country.
The election is an important one for New Zealand's future. The New Zealand economy is now in recession, inflation is at a 30 year high, law and order is out of control, the health system is falling apart, and Kiwis are really struggling. Sadly, at a time when the government should be focused on the big issues facing New Zealand, much of their attention is on personnel issues inside the Cabinet - this week Michael Wood was sacked (sorry, "resigned"), which follows on from Stuart Nash a couple of months ago.
The Michael Wood shares shemozzle is a serious issue, and nobody around Parliament can quite believe it. The final straw this week was the revelation that he not only owned shares in Auckland Airport and Contact Energy, but a whole bunch of other companies too, in a trust which he was a trustee of! It is a case of truly extraordinary incompetence and frankly arrogance - he clearly thought the rules did not apply to him.
The other big news of this week was the revelation that the government has introduced a new policy which ranks people by ethnicity to determine who should get an operation first. This has quite rightly provoked massive outrage. National's Health Spokesperson Dr Shane Reti said it is "offensive" and "wrong" and that as a doctor, he would refuse to rank patients on ethnicity. As he says, “the way to improve Māori and Pasifika health is through better housing, education and addressing the cost of living, not by disadvantaging others.” The government is now doing a "review" of the policy.... and we will be watching closely. I talked about this issue and also Michael Wood in this week's General Debate in Parliament - click here to take a look.
New policy: While Labour is imploding, National has kept unveiling policies. On Sunday we announced that we will make membership of a gang an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing, so gang members convicted of an offence face tougher consequences for their crimes. This follows on from the appalling events in Ōpōtiki where schools were forced to close and bus services to be cancelled. Since Labour took office in 2017, New Zealand has witnessed a staggering 66 per cent increase in gang membership, amounting to more than 3,500 new members. You can read our full plan to tackle gangs and back the police here.
How you can help in the Hutt: The campaign in the Hutt is ramping up, and I get lots of people asking me how they can help in the campaign. There's heaps of ways to help - everything from letter and leaflet deliveries, door-knocking, hosting a sign, and more. if you're keen to assist, then please fill out this form and indicate how. My next activity is a leaflet drop, which will be available from next weekend. Click here to sign-up. We make it as easy as possible - we can either drop them to you, or you can come and pick them up - then you deliver in your own time over the next couple of weeks.
Around the Hutt: It's been a busy couple of weeks. Yesterday it was a real pleasure to attend the official opening of the new NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport at the old CIT site in Upper Hutt, and I enjoyed celebrating 125 years of Filipino Independence with our local Kiwinoy community last weekend at Sky Stadium. Don't forget about our next public meeting on Tuesday at Silverstream School - Erica Stanford is in town to talk education and immigration alongside National's Remutaka candidate, Emma Chatterton. Be great to see you there.
Have a great weekend and see you soon. We've got our annual National Party conference on in Wellington - and I'm on Newshub Nation tomorrow morning - tune in!
Chris
P.S I've bowed to the inevitable and joined TikTok - you can find me at here.
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You're invited to our next public meeting with Erica Stanford, talking Education and Immigration. Tuesday 27 June at 7pm at Silverstream School Hall. Look forward to seeing you there.
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Some amazing singing by the students at Te Ara Whānau Kaupapa Maori in Alicetown at the opening of the NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport yesterday.
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Opening of NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport
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The new NZCIS (NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport) is an amazing facility. Loved attending the grand opening on Thursday. Well done to Malcolm Gillies, Kevin Melville and the whole team on this incredible development for the Hutt and indeed the whole country.
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Multitasking at the Riverbank Markets
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Emma Chatterton and I are enjoying our regular sessions at the Riverbank Markets on Saturday mornings. It's National's conference this weekend, so our next session will be Saturday July 1. Swing by for a chat!
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Bulwagan Foundation Festival
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Maligayang Araw ng Kasarinlan! 125 years of Philippines Independence was celebrated on Saturday at the Stadium. Nicola Willis, Emma Chatterton and I were there to share in the festivities.
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Wellington Malayalee Premier League
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My huge honour to present the trophies at the Wellington Malayalee Premier League annual prizegiving on Sunday night.
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A great ‘Back on Track’ public meeting on Monday night with our Northcote candidate Dan Bidois!
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Kurinchi Kumaran Temple fundraiser
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A wonderful dinner fundraiser for the Kurinchi Kumaran temple in Newlands held in Petone on Saturday night.
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A couple of weeks ago I took half a day off to be one of the judges in our local Young Enterprise Trust pitch day! Teams from schools in the Hutt had five minutes to pitch their product, business plan, financial plans, marketing, sales… everything! Some wonderful ideas and all the students presented so well. A real privilege to be part of such a special programme in our schools.
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Couldn't resist - expect more #bishrants on Tiktok!
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National will stop this unfair policy.
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Speaking at Building Nations conference a couple of weeks ago where we launched National’s Infrastructure for the Future policy. Julie Anne does not look happy!
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Look who met me for breakfast at the airport after I got off a redeye flight this week!
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