Hi John,

Maiden Speech

On Tuesday, at around 5.20pm, I'll be giving my maiden speech in Parliament. This is a long-standing tradition, and a chance to introduce myself to Parliament and talk about the things that matter to me.

If you'd like to watch it, you can watch on Parliament TV (Freeview Ch 31 and Sky Ch 86) or watch online here.  

State Opening of Parliament

On Tuesday I was officially sworn in as your local MP (see photo above).

Wednesday morning was the State Opening of Parliament where the Governor General attends and 'directs' Parliament to go and enact the policies of the Government. From Wednesday afternoon onwards it was into Parliament proper, and we'll be working til midnight all week (and the week after) to prioritise work like restoring the Reserve Bank to a single mandate so we can start getting inflation under control and tackle the cost of living crisis. There is no overnight fix, but we cannot afford to wait until after Christmas.

With Katie and James at Government House

You may also have seen my good friends and colleagues James Meager and Katie Nimon give their maiden speeches. If you missed it, check out James' speech here. It was world class! 

Local offices

Parliamentary Services advise me that they will at last be able to open offices for me in our area early next year. There will be one in Levin and one in Paraparaumu. I'll share details soon.

In our area...

Over the last month I've spent every spare moment I have out and about in our area. I've attended school prize-givings, citizenship ceremonies, visited some schools and hosted others at Parliament, the Kāpiti Food Fair, Strawberry Festival (see the photo below), Kapa Haka Festival, I've helped collect for food banks, local Christmas festivals, the Avenue of Trees in Levin, the opening of the Foxton Health Shuttle Garages, Age on the Go expo, business visits and much more.

Being active in our community and available to people is really important to me, and so next year, even when I have an office, you can expect to see me out and about in each part of our region.

My first event next year will be the Royal Show and Levin AP&I Show, Saturday January 20th, at the Levin Showgrounds. I hope you can join a large National team there.

In the dunk tank raising money for Mary Potter Hospice.

Please join us

We're looking for some new local people to join our team. It only costs $10 to be a member, and you'll get to come and meet visiting MPs, and be part of our team at events like those above. Or you can join up to support us and do nothing else!

I'd really love some help now I'm your local MP. Can you please join us? It's quick and easy to do online.

Merry Christmas!

Thank you for all the support this year. I want to wish you and all those you care about a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'm going to take some time off in early January to spend with my family and catch up from a busy year, but I'm looking forward to a huge 2024.

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