Hi John,

It’s been a big week in Parliament, with MPs from all political parties taking part in the traditions and procedures that mark the start of a new term.

One of these traditions is the Speech from the Throne, which is written by the Government and read by the Governor-General, and sets out the new Government’s plans for the term ahead. Today, the Speech from the Throne for the 53rd Parliament was given, and in case you missed it, I wanted to send a quick update, covering off some of what the speech said about our top three priorities, and our plan going forward.

With COVID continuing to rage around the world, it will be no surprise that our first priority is keeping New Zealanders safe. As a Bloomberg report revealed this week, thanks to the hard work of the team of five million, New Zealand is currently rated as the most COVID-19 resilient country in the world. We plan to keep it this way by continuing to carefully manage our borders and our quarantine facilities. We’ll also keep up our work to secure effective and free vaccines for New Zealanders, plan for quarantine-free travel zones when it’s safe, and further enhance our contact tracing and testing processes.

Alongside this, we want to take advantage of the headstart our strong health response has given us to accelerate our economic recovery. Our recovery plan is already underway, with free apprenticeships and a record investment in infrastructure supporting jobs around the country. We’re backing our small businesses and exporters so they not only survive the pandemic, but can grow. The next phase of our plan is about leveraging our successful COVID response to position New Zealand as a safe and secure place to trade with and invest in, opening up even more opportunities to grow our economy.

But we need to do more than just respond to the pandemic, and so the third priority for our Government is laying the foundations for a better future. This means tackling some of the hardest issues facing our country: the long-term challenges like housing, child poverty and climate change that are not quickly or easily solved, but that have a real impact on New Zealanders’ lives. 

We made good progress on these issues over the past three years, but we know there’s still more to do. We will build on what we’ve already achieved, such as expanding the lunches in schools programme, continuing the overhaul of the welfare system, building even more state houses, and taking the next steps towards a zero-carbon future.

There’s a lot to do, but I’m excited to be getting on with the job. If you’re interested in reading about our plan in more detail, you can find the full speech here or watch it here.

Do let me know what you think - as ever, I’ll make time to ensure I read as many of your replies as possible.

Thanks,

Jacinda