Hi John, I hope you're well and have been loving the Olympics and some great success, especially on the water. I'm really looking forward to seeing our own local Louise Duncan in the Paralympics.

In this month's update: 

• Join us for lunch
• Ō2NL Expressway update
• Education
• Cost of living
• What am I doing locally?
• Can you help me?
• Coming events

But first: Watch this!

You can watch this on Facebook or Instagram or TikTok.

This is an amazing new series all about the great people in our region. There are now three episodes out, and you can watch them all through my social media. Please check out the trailer above, and please share these to all your friends, and on your social media accounts. Thank you.

Join us for lunch

Join us at our annual 'soup and buns' lunch:

• Friday August 23rd,
• Waikanae Community Hall, Utauta St,
• 11.30am
• Special guest Dana Kirkpatrick, MP for East Coast.

Dana will give a firsthand account of what's happening on the East Coast after recent cyclones, as well as a view on life in the Whip's chair in Parliament.

Please RSVP to Cathy or Lorraine.

Ō2NL Expressway update

I met with NZTA on Wednesday to get an update on the new expressway we're building, and to advocate for keeping the shared pathway. I've got some really positive news.

We're on track to start construction in the second half of next year, and NZTA are now assuring me a shared path will be path of the project. 

There is more work to be done to ensure this stays on track. I won't let off the pressure that so many of us have been applying for the last five years since my first petition.

I've invited the Minister of Transport, Hon. Simeon Brown, to come and visit the region in September and I'll have more to say then.

Education

You might have seen the new data which showed that just 22 per cent (1 in 5) of our students are at the expected standard for maths at year 8 (end of Primary School).

The results are hugely concerning, and they get worse. 3 out of 5 are more than a year behind. For decile 1 schools and for Maori the results are even worse. That means that every single year around 50,000 children getting ready for high school (the equivalent of a full Eden Park) are not at the curriculum benchmark for their age.  

If we are to close the gap and raise achievement, we must have a knowledge rich, year by year curriculum that is explicitly taught and consistently measured against. And that’s exactly what we’re doing. 

You can read more here, but we're focussed on three things.

• accelerating the shift to a new maths curriculum, bringing forward its introduction by a whole year. That means from Term 1 next year your child will be learning maths based on a new world-leading, knowledge rich maths curriculum, with clear
• delivering targeted professional development, focused on structured maths for primary and intermediate teachers. 
• taking assessment and support for kids who need it seriously. That means, alongside our new curriculum, there will be twice-yearly assessments for maths in primary schools starting from 2025. 

Education shapes the future of our children, and that’s why we’re taking it so seriously.

Cost of living

Inflation is down, hope is in sight, but there is still more work to do.

Inflation has dropped from over 7% under Labour to now just 3.3%. We're getting close to the 1-3% target range, and the independent Reserve Bank Governor just this week started to lower interest rates. This is amazing progress all in nine months!

Getting inflation down (so prices stop spiralling up) is hard work but we're making significant progress. I acknowledge that this means making tough calls to get there and to get the best long-term solutions. In the meantime the cost of living remains high, interest rates and unemployment may take time to stabilise at the right level; it's tough for many. But I'm really positive about the strong direction we're tracking in, and confident in the hope around the corner.

What am I doing locally?

Over the last month I've been busy in our region. I've met with two local Iwi, with MSD, with Police, with local support agencies who work on family harm cases, with health, with NZTA, and with Kainga Ora. I've also visited local builders, Kaibosh Food Rescue, local hospitality to help promote the great food and beverage sector in our region, I did the Waikanae mid-winter swim, I spoke at a Waikanae Business Lunch, I attended the Ōtaki Races and the Kāpiti Cultural Diversity Festival, I visited social housing, I spoke at Levin Over 60s, presented a British Nuclear War medal to Roy Williams in Levin (pictured at the top), and I met with local Mayors and councillors. I also met with survivors of Lake Alice, alongside Minister Erica Stanford. That was in response to the Royal Commission Report, and I want to acknowledge their bravery and courage. 

Here are a few more highlights:

• Learning to make a potato-top pie at Ray's Pies and Fries in Paraparaumu who placed 7th in the New Zealand Pie contest, and joining Annies Bakery in Levin for their 10th Birthday celebration
• Hosting Minister Louise Upston at The Shed Project in Kāpiti and visiting Work Ready Kāpiti. Both these organisations do amazing work - check out the links to see more details of who we visited and what we saw.
• Judging the Levin Honda kids colouring competition (I got Gerry Brownlee to help!)

I've continued to help many locals with their individual cases, and I'm proud to see positive results for those who weren't getting a fair shot. 

Can you help me?

There is a lot more work to do locally. I'm looking for some new people to join our local team. There's no obligation to do anything in particular, but I need to keep building our support base. National is entirely shaped by local members. Only our local team can choose who stands at the election (not the PM or anyone in Wellington); our local members suggest and shape future policies from the ground up; electorates with more members get stronger influence. That's why it's so important to grow our team. I'd love to chat to you about joining - just get in touch. Email/phone/text. Anything works.

Coming events

I've got six local free chances to come and say hi for a chat:

• Foxton  Monday Sep 9th, Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom, 10 – 11am
• Waitarere Monday Sep 9th, Beachside Bar and Eatery, 11.30am – 12.30pm
• Levin Friday Sep 20th, Fatboyz Bar, 5 – 6pm
• Ōtaki Thursday Sep 5th, Hi Mate Café, 50 Riverbank Rd, 10.30 – 11.30am
• Waikanae Thursday Sep 5th, Joe & Joy Café, Mahara Place, 9 – 10am
• Paraparaumu Thursday Sep 5th, The Jolly Pub, 5 – 6pm

And remember our lunch on August 23rd.

Please feel free to share this update with others, or they're welcome to subscribe at national.org.nz/timcostleynz.

Finally, if you're not doing much, I'll be on 7 Days tonight on TV3.

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