Dear John,

I’m often asked why I went into politics. Why put up with the media scrutiny, long hours away from my family and the politics of it all?

The answer can be revealed in my first speech in Parliament in 2018.

In that I talked about the struggles I had growing up in a working class family and the opportunities I had to succeed. From dropping out of high school to graduating from Harvard University, from working for incredible places like Deloitte, the OECD in Paris, and economic think tanks in New Zealand and Malaysia, I’m very grateful to have seen and experienced a lot.

My late father said to me “to whom much is given, much is expected”. Reflecting on that statement while living overseas, it was clear that one day I was to return home and contribute to the community and country that gave me a shot at the good life. That’s why I’m in politics - to improve this place and make sure future Kiwis have amazing opportunities to get ahead and make a better life for themselves and their families.

I was disappointed to see events over the past month involving several now-disgraced former MPs. While I do think Parliament’s culture needs to improve, I know most MPs work very hard to serve their communities. We will continue to work hard as we help navigate our country through the difficult times ahead, and to restore New Zealanders’ confidence in our profession.

Transport Announcements

Congestion is the biggest issue for our community and because of this I’m particularly pleased about a few recent announcements National’s Leader Judith Collins has made.

Growth in our communities is stunted by congestion, and this hasn’t been helped by the current government’s bumbling approach (take light rail as an example). Congestion wastes time and money, not to mention the mental health issues that are associated with being stuck in traffic.

Since my last bulletin, National made the following announcements that will benefit our community:

• Getting started on a second harbour crossing by 2028. This will be the biggest infrastructure project ever in New Zealand, and I’m really excited about what it will mean for Northcote. This will be a tunnel that will be road and rail enabled.
• Investing $300 million in upgrading our ferry infrastructure. This includes more terminals, EV ferry upgrades, more regular services and cheaper fares for commuters.
• Delivering walking and cycling across the harbour bridge, without the $360 million price tag. The Northern Pathway project (formerly Skypath and Seapath) is due to start construction late 2021 and will be completed by 2024. National will deliver this project in a simpler, more cost-effective way to the taxpayer.

In the "Eye of the Storm" 

New Zealand’s economy is currently in the eye of the storm. The first storm was during lockdown and in the weeks following, when businesses shed tens of thousands of staff and many businesses closed shop for good. 

But now many businesses are booming. Real estate is moving, restaurants and cafes are packed, DIY stores are humming, and manufacturing is ticking over nicely. This is the “eye” of the storm and sadly masks the challenges we will be facing over the next 2-3 years.

The first milestone to watch for is the end of the wage subsidy, which will start from the first week of September. With over 450,000 workers on the wage subsidy extension, once these payments end many businesses will be forced to lay off staff. 

The exact number of staff layoffs is unknown, but the potential flow-on consequences on our economy cannot be understated. Treasury forecasts indicate a possible 9% drop in GDP this year, with the unemployment rate expected to peak at 10% later in the year.

The most important thing our government can be focused on right now is jobs. National has started talking about our plan to get people back into work, and the first aspect of this is about fast-tracking infrastructure. The second aspect is about enabling entrepreneurs – the true engine drivers of our economy – to create jobs and open new businesses.

As part of this, Judith Collins recently announced BusinessStart, which will help Kiwis who have lost their jobs since 1 March 2020 to set up businesses with access to:

• Up $20,000 of their own money from their KiwiSaver accounts
• At least $10,000 in tax credits to pay GST or provisional tax when the business starts making profit
• Free mentoring from advisers who can access a $10 million contestable fund.

This policy, along with previously announced policies like JobStart (which incentivises business with cash payments for new jobs created) and our $150,000 new asset write off policy will increase jobs and help rebuild our economy for a post COVID-19 world.

Watch out for more economic policies in the coming weeks from National!

I Need Your Help

We are coming up to the core part of our campaign in Northcote and I need your help to secure a strong re-election win for us and deliver a solid party vote increase.

If you want to help – whether it’s delivering leaflets, door knocking, human hoarding down Onewa Road, or by donating, please do. I really value any contributions to my campaign to be re-elected to represent our community.

See you in our community soon!


Dan Bidois
MP for Northcote