Dear John

I want to wish every single one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2025.

There is no denying this year has been tough, but I am so positive about the direction National is taking New Zealand.

The great privilege of this job is everyday I get to meet Kiwis who share with me their aspirations and challenges which is what makes me more determined to get New Zealand back on track.

It's been a big year for the Government as we've worked at pace to rebuild the economy to reduce the cost of living, restore law and order and deliver better public services.

This year, when it comes to the economy, Kiwis have seen:

Inflation down to 2.2% from a peak of 7.3%
3 interest rate cuts, after 12 rises
Wages rising faster than inflation for 4 quarters in a row, after 13 quarters of declining real wages
Tax relief for 3.5 million New Zealanders – the first time in 14 years
Business, consumer and farmer confidence at their highest levels in recent times.

On the law and order front, we’ve had:

Total victimisations down
Gang patches banned
Ram raids down 60%
Police foot patrols is up by 30%.

In our schools, we’ve had:

An hour a day each of reading, writing and maths
Phones banned from the classroom
Structured Literacy and Maths developed to teach our kids the basics brilliantly
And school attendance up 6 points.

In health, we’ve:

Invested a record $16.7bn more
Invested in up to 26 new cancer treatments as part of 54 new medicines helping 175,000 Kiwis
Hired 2,900 more nurses.

If you are working through the break in our hospitals, Police, surf lifesaving, firefighters, thank you so much for the work you do.

Travel safe this summer.

Bring on 2025!

Thank you,
Christopher