Hi John, I hope you've had a relaxing and refreshing summer so far. Here’s your January update. This month I want to set-up the year with a distinctly local perspective, but I'm also asking for your help. I can't win this year on my own, so I need your help please to get the result that I think we all want. Please see the bit below with a really simple form you can fill out if you're willing to help out in the smallest way. Election Day: Saturday November 7thThe media are excited, but it's a long way away! I do want to temper this all by saying I'm only two years into a three year term so my focus remains the same as the last two years: How can I make life a bit better for everyone in our region. More about that soon. Let's cover the basics. The PM has announced the election date for November 7th, which is still almost a year away. I'm confident in the work I've done over the last two years and the difference I've made locally, but I'll still be fighting as hard as I can to earn another three years as your local MP. Frankly, we can't afford to take a step backwards. I'm proud that locally I've worked hard and this has led to: A new breast cancer clinic in Waikanae and easier access to radiology, plus new funding for a health shuttle. The new Ō2NL Expressway under construction, and I fought hard to get the design changed to what we all deserve, plus the new trains coming for Kapiti, including Ōtaki, Levin and Palmy. Helping local schools by winning battles for school transport, new safe road crossings, advocating for extra support for students who need it, helping new teachers into NZ, new learning support coordinators, and a big increase in school property funding. Helping local residents one-on-one, like a young man with a disability needing a home, like a young mum needing help with MSD, like a dad needing help to get access to cancer treatment, like a Grandma who had been waiting too long (in 2023) for the surgery she needed, or the family who worked here but had trouble with Immigration to keep the family together.
A good local MP can make a big difference, and I'm standing so I can continue doing that for all of us. But this election is much bigger than me. This election will be both a review of the last three years, and a time to consider our future. National will be campaigning on 'Fixing the Basics and Building the Future.' Fixing the Basics and Building the FutureThere are so many examples of fundamentals that were neglected for six years, and that we've had to fix: Inflation (price increases) were at a peak of 7.3% - now down to 3%, rents have come down, petrol and houses stayed steady, but we still feel the long-term pain of those big increases we saw under Labour. Interest rates raced up in '21-'23 but are now back down, which means mortgages are over $200 per week cheaper on average - almost $11,000 per year cheaper. Ram-raids, gang membership and youth offending had gone crazy. Now there are 38,000 fewer victims of serious violent crime (last year) than when Labour were in charge, ram-raids have dropped and gang patches are banned. Our education stats were slipping against international standards, but we've acted boldly. No phones at school, instead focussing on an hour a day of reading, writing and maths, and already with our structured approach we've seen an increase from 36% to 58% of new entrants reaching the required reading level. Next step is reforming NCEA. Remember just how bad wait-times had got? Health care is getting faster for cancer treatment, for ED visits, and for elective treatment and first specialist assessments. Childhood immunisations are up and we delivered 16,000 extra procedures last year.
Now we want to build the future that everyone in our region (and our country) needs. This isn't just the new expressway to Levin (though we've started that), it's not just the new electric trains (we've funded them and they're under construction too); this means building strong caring communities, a culture where we all take personal responsibility and contribute to our community, it means safe streets, education that gives younger Kiwis the best possible start in life, it means making it easier to build new homes for young and old, easier to build new sustainable power generation, and it means helping every Kiwi to save for their future so they have safety and security in retirement. Join the team for '26I can't win this alone; please help me. I'm looking for people from Whitby out to Judgeford and Moonshine and all the way up the coast to Ōtaki to help out. Secondly, I'm asking people to join the National Party. Local members get invites to extra events, can meet other MPs, and get to be part of the fun and exciting journey this year. You can do it online here or just message me. Finally, some people like to donate just a little towards the cost of a campaign. You're very welcome to. I'll send you the bank details if you're interested, but as a guide you can cover the cost of: There is no pressure but it costs around $50,000 per campaign and we're grateful for all the support. Ok, next month I'll be into my regular updates on what I've been doing locally, but check out a few upcoming events to get in your diary. Upcoming eventsThese are all $10, and if you can RSVP to Lorraine it helps with catering (morning tea provided). February 13th, 10am Carl Bates, MP for Whanganui Waikanae Community Centre March 13th, 10am Hon. Simeon Brown, Minister of Health Whitby Bowling Club May 1st, 10am Katie Nimon, MP for Napier Raumati Bowls Club June 5th, 10am Catherine Wedd, MP for Tukituki Plimmerton hall, 9 Sunset Parade July 3rd, 10am Paulo Garcia, MP for Grey Lynn Coast Community Church, Paraparaumu August 7th, 10am Sam Uffindell, MP for Tauranga Whitby Bowling Club September 4th, 10am Stuart Smith, MP for Kaikōura Venue tbc
That's it for this month.
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