Battling Hypocrisy: Round Two

This week, Rt Hon Winston Peters had Labour on the back foot - challenging the senseless rhetoric of the Health Spokesperson and shining a light on the Labour leader’s shoddy recollection of vital information.

New Zealand First continues to defend the principles of a sound and stable democratic system. Take a listen to the clip below to hear Winston drop the bombshell revelation in the house.

Winston Peters: There is something rotten in this borough.

And here is a sneak peek to an exciting interview COMING SOON... one year on.

Follow Winston on X and Facebook for more.

The Party for First Responders

On behalf of the Government this week, Hon Casey Costello announced a $21 million funding boost, and pay negotiations with Hato Hone St John’s unions have been settled.

As part of our coalition agreement, New Zealand First committed to renegotiate the Crown funding agreement with St John with a view to meeting a greater portion of their annualised budget. This latest funding announcement is a step in the right direction and we remain committed to championing our ambulance service and all first responders. Hear more from Casey in the following clips:

• Casey Costello: We've funded St John Ambulance with an additional $21m
• Newstalk ZB: Hato Hone St John to receive $21 million funding boost

Friday brought another exciting announcement, that the Government is investing in eight new emergency helicopters to replace some of New Zealand’s ageing air ambulance fleet. The replacement helicopters will be deployed nationwide to areas most in need, particularly vital for those living in remote, rural or regional areas.

“This long weekend is also the time to remind people to be careful on the roads and to thank everyone working to keep New Zealanders safe including our air and road ambulance crews and emergency responders.” – Casey Costello

Singapore Visit

Hon Shane Jones has spent the week in Singapore canvassing opportunities and feedback for New Zealand’s mineral sector. With a jam-packed schedule of meetings, Shane also had a tour of the Keppel Seghers Waste to Energy Plant, and donned a hard hat for his Petrobras Vessel on site visit.

As you know, Shane is leading the charge on revitalising New Zealand’s economy with the help of the oil and gas industry. Pragmatic economic planning and investment is the only way forward.

Shane Jones: You can expect big ideas, you can expect ambition and boldness from New Zealand First - YouTube

“Jones is unfazed in his determination to tell is like it is when he describes the pathway to a more prosperous country… [he] has built a reputation for honouring his commitment to make things happen and will not be deterred by the ideologues who think they have a mortgage on public policy” – Clive Bibby in a letter to the editor in the NZ Herald this week. Couldn’t have put it better ourselves!

Make sure you follow Shane’s Facebook, Instagram, and X for up-to-date coverage.

Select Committee and MP Updates

The much-anticipated Banking Inquiry started this week with the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee, of which New Zealand First MP Jamie Arbuckle is a member. As part of this process, the Primary Industry Select Committee will also be present for these sessions to advocate directly for the rural sector.

140 submissions were received on the inquiry, and the committee is set to hear from over 60 submitters including all the major banks. We welcome further updates on this inquiry, in particular, to update our farmers and rural businesses on progress as soon as possible.

The Aged Care Select Committee Inquiry continued during the week, hearing from a range of submitters, with New Zealand First MP Jenny Marcroft a committee member. With approximately 70,000 people in New Zealand with dementia, and this number projected to reach an additional 100,000 over the next decade, this is an incredibly important piece of work. New Zealand First welcomes this progress as part of our coalition agreement.

Following the Dunedin flooding, Hon Mark Patterson has praised the local emergency response teams. Read more from him HERE in his recent monthly column.

Andy Foster had a fantastic trip up North last week visiting a range of projects in housing, educational programmes and health service access.

We have also been receiving great feedback for Tanya Unkovich's palliative care bill that she introduced to the member's ballot - make sure you have a read if you missed the announcement.