Dear John,

 

Welcome to my final newsletter for 2025 — and Season’s Greetings!

This month I’ve been reflecting on two years since we came in to government. We’ve achieved a great deal in that time, and there is still plenty of work ahead. Our focus remains firmly on delivering for all New Zealanders and my personal focus is on Ilam. I was honoured to be reselected as National’s candidate for Ilam for election 2026.

Here in the electorate, I continue to work closely with our local councillors and Mayor Phil Mauger, and I value the constructive partnership we’ve built. Together, we’ve seen good progress on local issues. A recent example is the Harewood Road Cycleway proposal originally intended to improve safety’ but which grew into an over-engineered, costly project. After strong advocacy alongside councillors to ensure residents’ voices were heard, Council is now delivering practical safety measures without the unnecessary expense. It’s a balanced outcome that reflects community feedback and avoids waste.

Hon Chris Bishop, Minister for RMA Reform, has also approved Council’s request to withdraw the remaining parts of PC14 that would have mandated further housing intensification under the MDRS.

We’re also seeing movement on long-requested upgrades in the Ilam electorate, including new traffic lights at Breens, Gardiners, and Harewood Roads, and positive revitalisation at Bishopdale Village Mall, with the Mitre 10 building.

This week the Government announced a cap on annual rates increases limited to 4% from 1 January 2027 (excluding water charges and non-rates revenue). With rates a major cost pressure for households, this step ensures councils remain focused on essential services while protecting ratepayers from excessive increases.

There is a real sense of momentum in Christchurch from a busy summer ahead at the airport, which is expecting record international arrivals, to new developments and growing business confidence.

Riccarton Bush [link removed] has now reopened following upgrades and is well worth a summer visit. And before 16 December, you can enjoy the Twelve Days of Christmas at the Christ Church Cathedral. Twelve Days of Christmas at the Cathedral : Christchurch City Council [link removed]

Thank you for staying engaged and for continuing to share your views. I always welcome your feedback, whether in person, by email, or at community events.


November’s highlights

November has been a busy month with quite a bit of Urgency in Parliament that required me to stay longer in Wellington.

But when I’m in Christchurch I do everything I can. I was able to visit Bishopdale Men’s Shed, the Methodist Mission in Harewood Road and Kendal Ave business owners. I also enjoyed attending the Court Theatre’s Season Opening and a Citizenship Ceremony.

I continued my visits to Schools in Ilam with Harewood School, Ilam School and Christchurch Boys’ High, and Retirement Homes in Ilam with Avonhead Summerset.

Our community in Ilam is diverse. I spoke at the Canta Lankans Annual Talent Show in the Aurora Centre and at The Taiwan Festival. I was also guest speaker at the Children’s University Graduation.

I held seven Clinics in my office to met Ilam constituents and joined the political panel on @ChrisLynch.

I was also fortunate to attend the Master Builders’ House of the Year Awards and the South Island Property Council People Award.

If you want me to visit your event or group, please email [email protected]

 

More November Highlights



Really enjoyed meeting the team of University of Canterbury Engineering students who designed, built and tested ‘Mako’ (pictured above). Mako recently reached a speed of 82.6 km/hr under pedal power which may be a new NZ human-powered land speed record




Setting up the stand before a very busy day for our wonderful volunteers and myself at the Celebrate Bishopdale festival.




Driving in the Santa Parade




Meeting with Hamish the Ram at the Royal Canterbury Show




Celebrating Movember with some competitive activities at the Movember Games in Wellington

 



Attending the Stage Annual Talent Show @Cantalankans


What’s coming up in December

I’ll be volunteering at the swimming at the 2025 Special Olympics National Summer Games held here in Christchurch from Wednesday, December 10th to Sunday, December 14th. I’m honoured to be asked to present medals to the competitors. Approximately 1350 athletes are expected to compete in 11 different sports across 7 venues. 

I’m looking forward to visiting and giving our donated gifts to the Bishopdale Giving Tree.

Ilam shares a strong connection with Antarctica and I’m attending the Antarctic Conference

I’ll be volunteering at a food distribution centre, visiting another Retirement Village, and holding the final Clinics for the year




My office is a Drop off point for the ‘Bishopdale Giving Tree’


The Bishopdale Giving Tree supports local families who need a hand.

If you’re able, please drop off unwrapped children’s gifts or pantry staples to my Fendalton Village office before December 18.                                                                                                   

The Trust will wrap and distribute gifts to those in need.

 

Recent Key Announcements:

Government’s Q4 plan: The Prime Minister announced our Government’s Q4 plan, focusing on making construction easier and faster and pushing for competition and growth (Beehive PR [link removed]*2Frelease*2Fyes-getting-things-built-q4%2FQoTi%2FoBvEAQ%2FAQ%2F34b61467-ede5-49de-8e7d-d344100eed2a%2F1%2Ftc6WGDYkES__%3BJSU!!Asq5-8xVch3Reg!vMiKiwIYndhLUPwF2zHmki8I6wdcaHmMMKx7uKwUapGWBf0Uo1bKroKUIwz8Ms4eHUxBDV0O8Gguw-y8c22DZsPDcZK_vlj9yvxw1w%24)/QoTi/7NXEAQ/AQ/80c0be00-704d-4cd1-81d1-2857cfc92bc5/11/oq_IJsu7o7

Two years ago, National came into Government to rebuild the economy, restore law and order, and deliver better health and education.

Since then, We promised to fix the basics in the economy, law and order, education, health, and infrastructure, and strengthened the foundations for a strong future with a growing economy, more jobs, and higher wages.

Among other initiatives, we have:

* restored discipline to government spending

* more than halved inflation

* seen interest rates cut nine times

* boosted economic growth – exports increased nearly a billion in the last year

* cut red tape and fast-tracked major projects

* increased Police power

* introduced tougher sentencing

* cracked down on gangs and achieved 38,000 fewer victims of violent crime

* seen a 16 per cent drop in youth offending and an 85 per cent drop in ram raids

* banned phones in classrooms

* mandated an hour each of reading, writing and maths each day

* introduced structured literacy and numeracy

* hired more doctors and nurses

* delivered more surgeries and cancer treatments

* begun building 17 Roads of National Significance and 12 Roads of Regional Significance

* invested in more schools, hospitals, and houses.

Now we're focussing on delivering reforms including:

* implementing Fast Track to ensure housing, infrastructure and energy projects get consented sooner, creating more jobs and lifting incomes

* implementing new earthquake rules to revitalise buildings across the country

* reforming the electricity sector to ensure more abundant and affordable energy

* abolishing the Resource Management Act (in coming weeks).

 

Please Share the News!

Feel free to share this email with friends and family who might like to stay in touch and connected with the community.

The Ilam office is open Mon-Fri from 9am – 3pm and you are welcome to pop in. To make an appointment to meet with me, call Leanne 03 3593665 or email [email protected]

Please note the office will be closed from 12 noon on Friday 19 December until Monday 12 January. During this time, messages will be checked periodically, and urgent enquiries will be responded to.

As we head into the Christmas holiday season, I hope you and your family have a relaxing summer break and a successful year ahead.




Kind regards



Hamish Campbell


 

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