Kia ora John, 

Today we officially launched Labour’s 2023 Campaign in Auckland, and I’m really excited about what we can achieve together over the next six weeks.

We've got a big job ahead, but with the energy that I saw today from Labour supporters, I know that we can do it.

John, if you’re with me, please chip in a few dollars today to help power our campaign. Together we can win this.

My message is simple: Labour will keep driving New Zealand forward. In fact, when I think about the progress that we’ve made in this country, it’s almost always Labour that has helped to shift the dial for New Zealanders.

Accessible, well-funded healthcare is core to the Labour mission. It was the first Labour government that introduced universal access to healthcare, and we’ve continued to build on this record over the years, most recently with the extension of free doctors’ visits to under 14s and scrapping $5 prescription fees.

Now, we’re taking the next step. A re-elected Labour Government will begin New Zealand’s journey to universal dental care by expanding free basic dental care to nearly 800,000 under 30-year-olds.

Everyone should be able to access dental care when they need it, without worrying about the bill, but at the moment they can’t. In 2022 alone, 1.5 million Kiwis didn’t visit a dentist because it was just too expensive. Extending free basic dental care is a huge move and one which will ultimately benefit all New Zealanders.

Progress like this, whether in health, workers’ rights or climate change, doesn’t just happen. It’s hard-won, by people like you – fighting for a better, fairer New Zealand.

It’s a future that I will fight for too, and it’s going to take all of us. Elections are usually about moving forward and building on the progress that’s been made, but it’s been a difficult few years with extreme weather events and a rough economic cycle. And even though we’re starting to turn the corner, it’s natural to look for change when times are tough. 

But at this election, my question to New Zealanders is: change at what cost?

Christopher Luxon and National are out of touch and the only trick they’ve got is a misleading, poorly calculated, tax ploy. Just today, the country’s three largest property data firms have cast doubt on National’s figures saying they’ve probably “substantially overstated” revenue estimates.

Because National’s ploy doesn’t add up, they will need to make extreme cuts. They will cut entitlements to superannuation, and they will have to cut funding for schools, hospitals, teachers and nurses.

There is so much at stake this election. This is our moment to decide if New Zealand moves forward or backwards.

So today, I’m asking you to make a choice. But I’m also asking you to act on that choice.

Let’s work every day to keep telling our story, to remind everyone what’s at stake, to turn out every single vote, and to take nothing for granted.

Together, let’s keep moving forward.

Thanks,
Chris