Vale Jim Bolger

Dear John,

Normally I send these every two weeks, but there's been a three week gap between Bishop Bulletins this time - my apologies. There's just been so much on, and I was in the UK last week. Blame the jet lag :)

First off this week, I was very sad to learn of the passing of former Prime Minister Jim Bolger. His time in politics spanned two generations - the post-war Muldoon years, and the post-1984 time of radical change. He became a MP in 1972, a Minister in 1977, and Prime Minister in 1990. He oversaw the transition to MMP and formed New Zealand's first MMP Coalition government in 1996. In my view his greatest legacy is the Treaty Settlement process, which has seen the Crown progressively apologise for past wrongs. The process has been imperfect, often messy, but always done in the right spirit - and that started with him. Parliament met for tributes yesterday and then rose early as a mark of respect, and there were some lovely speeches from all sides of the House.

Last weekend saw the local body election results arrive, and we have two new Mayors in Lower and Upper Hutt. A big congratulations to Ken Laban and Peri Zee who take over from Campbell Barry and Wayne Guppy. I'm looking forward to working with both of them. Ken in particular I know well from his time on the Regional Council and his extensive work around the valley. I know he'll be a strong advocate for the city. The Hutt Mayoralty was hard fought and there were some quality contenders - commiserations to Brady Dyer, Prabha Ravi and Karen Morgan. Brady and Prabha are back on the Council and I know they'll make a strong contribution.

Elections aren't easy and I'd like to pay particular tribute to Wayne Guppy, who was Mayor of Upper Hutt for 24 years - a remarkable innings. Upper Hutt has seen huge change during this time and grown strongly, and Wayne has been a big part of the journey. I'm not sure what his next steps are now but I suspect there'll be a bit more time for his beloved Upper Hutt Rams!

Israel/Palestine: Wonderful news in the last couple of weeks with the peace deal between Israel and Hamas, fragile as it looks inevitably to be. I have been surprised (but perhaps shouldn't have been) at the reaction from some people about what is clearly good news. The Greens in particular, have been extraordinary. They have spent most of their time in Parliament for the last two years not focused on the environment, but instead on the Middle East. They wear keffiyehs and they throw the word genocide around like confetti (while being remarkably quiet on the hundreds of hostages taken by Hamas). Finally we have a peace deal brokered by the US President and what do we hear from them? Crickets. Says it all really.

Parliamentary Shenanigans: Speaking of Parliament, just what is going in the Maori Party?! Your guess is as good as mine. The whole week has been dominated by their internal ructions and whether or not their new MP would get in trouble for speaking for too long in her maiden speech and then leading a waiata and haka, in breach of the agreement that wouldn't happen. Gerry Brownlee, the Speaker, is now planning a crackdown on Parliamentary standards and I agree with him.

Around the traps: A busy few weeks for me. Aside from a week in the UK to talk City and Regional Deals in Manchester and infrastructure in London, it's been a mixture of sod-turnings (like $200m for the new SH1 Rolleston Improvements project), social housing openings (43 new homes in Christchurch on Wednesday), and speeches (too many to name!). The life of a Minister. There's a huge amount happening as we get on with the job of rebuilding the economy. The good news is we're starting to see green shoots emerge but there's clearly a lot more to do.

Have a great weekend.

Chris

Ashley's Law comes into force

"Ashley’s Law" is now in effect - family violence is now a ground to end a marriage without the victim having to wait two years. I was proud to work with Ashley on this law change over many years.

Yet another sod-turning

Construction has started on the State Highway 1 Rolleston Access Improvements project! Joined new Mayor Lydia Gliddon and Vanessa Weenink to do the honours on Wednesday. This is part of the government’s $7 billion of infrastructure projects starting by Christmas. The first stage involves a new roundabout at the Dunns Crossing and Walkers Road intersection with State Highway 1, making it safer and easier to enter and exit Rolleston, and more efficient for freight accessing the industrial area from the south.

Visit to Proquip

Did you know that the Hutt is home to one of the leading providers of cleaning solutions for New Zealand? I really enjoyed my visit to Proquip recently in Wingate where Managing Director Kerry Boon gave me a tour of their warehouse. Large scale cleaning is work that often flies under the radar, but is obviously really important and some of the technology involved is really cool.

Sports Diplomacy

Launching NZ’s first ever Sports Diplomacy Strategy a few weeks ago. This is all about using our proud sporting reputation to grow international connections, support our goal of doubling exports over the next decade, and develop ties with countries across the world.

Heart Kids Collection

Collecting for Heart Kids NZ at Queensgate!

Meeting Viggo

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Viggo, a nine-year-old boy from Korokoro school, and his classmates. He was excited to teach me about Denmark’s ‘Pant’ recycling game which incentivises people to recycle, helping restore local environments. He suggested that something like this could be implemented in his school or community, which I though was a great idea.
It’s wonderful to know that there are so many enthusiastic kids in the Hutt South electorate that are engaged and motivated to make the world a better place.

New social housing for Christchurch

Celebrating the opening of Three Lanes, Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust's latest development in Christchurch. These 43 homes offer a mix of one- to four-bedroom social housing and affordable homes, with over half being one and two bedroom units. A huge thank you to Cate Kearney, Darren Evans, and the wider team for their incredible work. This Government is backing community housing providers with funding for over 2000 new homes through Budgets 2024 and 2025.

Now that's a train

Quick snap on the way to Heathrow on the Elizabeth Line! An incredible service.

Lots of titles, lots to say, lots of speeches

A busy few weeks!

Chris Bishop MP

66 Bloomfield Terrace

Hutt City

Lower Hutt, Wellington 5010

New Zealand

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