Dear John,
Yesterday marked exactly 100 days to go until the election on October 14. It seems like it was only yesterday we were all slowly getting back into things after the Christmas break (and Jacinda was resigning)... and now it's July!
I've certainly had a busy few months - once you add together being a new Dad, moving house to Days Bay, Hutt community and constituency work, gearing up for the Hutt South campaign, running the overall National Campaign, Parliamentary work, portfolio work in housing, infrastructure and RMA Reform/Urban Development... it's a lot! But I love all the work and I'm hungry for even more after October 14.
Parliament is in recess at the moment for the school holidays and the PM is offshore a bit (last week China, NATO this weekend) although every time he jets off overseas one of his Ministers seems to find themselves in trouble, so I suspect he gets worried every time he leaves the country! National has been continuing to roll out policy. On Wednesday we announced we will build a third medical school at Waikato University which will see an additional 220 extra doctors graduating a year by 2030, compared to just 50 more as currently planned. And there's much more to come in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Labour MPs are going to election meetings with the Mongrel Mob, who are endorsing Labour and the Greens. Very messy.
Public Meeting with Christopher Luxon: Fresh from our excellent meeting a couple of weeks ago with Erica Stanford, I'm proud to announce that Emma Chatterton and I will host National Leader Christopher Luxon for a "Get NZ Back on Track" public meeting at Knox Church on Monday 17 July at 5.30pm. Hopefully you have seen the signs up around the Hutt. Would be great to see you there!
Education: One of the issues that I'm sure will come up at the meeting is education - and the sad decline of kids' achievement in our schools. Yesterday the news broke about the new draft science curriculum - and it's woeful, with barely any mention of physics and chemistry. National will rewrite Labour’s curriculum to include clear requirements about the specific knowledge that students should be learning, and when. In science, this means a focus on chemistry, physics and biology. And of course we will introduce our "Teaching the Basics Brilliantly" policy - an hour a day of reading, writing and maths for all primary school students.
Around the Hutt: I've enjoyed being out and about this week in the Hutt, including speaking to the Wainuiomata 60s Up group yesterday, hosting a community meeting about housing in Wainuiomata last night, and visiting constituents in person to discuss a range of issues. I'm looking forward to attending the Innovative Young Minds' graduation ceremoy on Saturday morning - I hosted the students at Parliament last night.
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. In particular at the moment if you can put a sign on your fence or on a fence you own/know, then please let us know! The signs will go up from the weekend of August 12. Sorry in advance about the visual pollution!
Have a great weekend!
Chris
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Please come along! Monday 17 July at Knox Church.
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An enjoyable community morning tea in Waiwhetu last Monday. Thanks to those who came along. Flick me a message if you’d like to be on the list for these.
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Enjoyable session at the Riverbank Markets on Saturday. Thanks to everyone who came by to say hello to Emma and me.
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Cleaning up the Waiwhetu Stream on Sunday morning
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Introducing... The Neighbourhood Cafe
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The Neighbourhood is a great new cafe in the old Hoyts cinema building on High St - with a difference! It’s owned by a charitable trust with all profits going back to the community, starting with the Lower Hutt Foodbank. The big launch is on July 15 - stop by for a half price coffee with every non-perishable food item donated, face painting, balloon art and music.
At a time where many are doing it tough The Neighbourhood is a great initiative. Please check them out! Great coffee and food and excellent service. See you there!
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Hutt Citizenship Ceremony
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Another wonderful Hutt citizenship ceremony on Thursday. Always such a pleasure seeing our new Kiwis become citizens.
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If you want one of these on your fence or on your property, then let me know!
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National Party Conference
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A few jokes about the ‘Infra Boys’, me and Simeon Brown alongside Simon Watts (not pictured). But we absolutely love the portfolios and we are so focused on getting on with the job of actually getting things built in New Zealand. Photo is from the National Party conference last weekend.
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Eid Mubarak! Enjoyed spending some time at the Stadium last week with our local Muslim community to celebrate Eid al-Adha.
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Enjoyed speaking to the Future of Passenger Rail conference last week. I started my remarks by saying that I love trains. I bought my first car when I was 28 and I took the train almost every day growing up to and from school. Trains and the rail network are critical to the Hutt and wider Wellington region, as they are in Auckland.
I’m proud of National’s track record. We completed the electrification of the Auckland network, we invested heavily in the Wellington metro network, we extended commuter rail to Waikanae, and we started the City Rail Link. At the last election we campaigned on new trains for Wellington and the lower North Island. The government funded these in Budget 2023.
If we win the election, our focus will be on improving the rail network in Auckland and Wellington, and sensible investments to help get freight onto trains and off the roads. Much of this investment will be in the Golden Triangle.
We need to be realistic about the economics of inter-regional rail. Would it be nice to get the train from Napier to Wellington, or overnight from Auckland to Wellington? Yes it would be. But these projects would cost billions of dollars. You can get a bus from Wellington to Napier for $45 and that is commercially run, ie there is no subsidy from the taxpayer. There isn’t a magic money tree and we are in recession. So we need to be careful about where and what we spend.
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Bad news just keeps on coming
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The boss and I in Parliament last week... entries via email please!
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The wee boy came to see me at the markets!
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