Dear John,
Covid, Covid, Covid. My last Bishop Bulletin a couple of weeks ago went out on a Friday afternoon and later on that night we entered lockdown in Auckland - again - so the last two weeks have been even busier for me than normal. When Judith Collins asked me to take on the COVID role for National, I was excited and a bit daunted - but so far I am really enjoying it. I've tried to be constructive and sensible, and put forward ideas for the government to adopt. When I think the government deserves criticism, I've said so, but tried to not go after every issue possible, and focus on then things that matter. I'd be interested in your feedback as to how I (and we) am/are going (Grant Robertson gave a very witty speech about me, so must be doing something right)
In the last couple of weeks we have put forward a couple of new ideas to improve our response. First, we suggested that when people are asked (or ordered) to self-isolate for 14 days, the government should pick up the tab for their wages, so they're not out of pocket and tempted to go to work. This seems only fair, and the idea received a lot of support. I was on The Project talking about it a couple of weeks back. The government has ruled it out for now but I wouldn't be surprised if it comes back in some form.
Last week we said the time had come for a trans-tasman travel bubble with Australia. There's been 9 months of talks, over 12 rounds - and we still seem no closer than before. Now the government is saying Australia has acted "unilaterally" by opening the border to New Zealanders travelling there; which begs the question as to why we don't do the same in return? Around 40% of places in MIQ are taken up by people from Australia, so allowing quarantine-free travel has major benefits in terms of freeing up space, plus of course it allows people to be reunited with family members, and it will help rebuild our tourism industry. As ScoMo has said - he's happy for Australians to go to New Zealand, now it's over to us! Watch my questions to Chris Hipkins here. We will continue to push this issue - the time has come to make the bubble happen.
I've also been getting stuck in on MIQ fee payments (government needs to go harder), Malaysian MPs who have managed to come to New Zealand in odd circumstances, and of course the vaccine. 3 of the 4 IT systems needed for the vaccine aren't ready yet, which is very worrying. Expect to hear more from us on this.
In non-COVID news, there's been more media about the dodgy Labour funding arrangement.that sees the local Labour Party profit from the taxpayer. Labour have concocted an arrangement whereby the party is the intermediary in an electorate office rental arrangement, leasing it for a cheap rate from the Firefighters Union and then renting it to Parliamentary Services for a higher amount, skimming the profit off the top. Just wrong in my view. It was also covered on One News on Friday night. This little scam reportedly helped Trevor Mallard for a couple of decades as well, so I don't think we've heard the last of this. Watch this space.
Despite all the Parliamentary activity I still managed to slip a few local events and activities in recently. It was great to be able to help out at the Boulcott School twilight gala a couple of Friidays ago, and visit the site of a proposed new ecosanctuary in Wainuiomata with other local reps. I was also really pleased to see the Eastern Bays Shared Path granted resource consent. This will be a 4.4 km shared path along Marine Drive in Eastbourne in two sections: between Point Howard and the northern end of Days Bay, and the southern end of Days Bay (Windy Point) to Eastbourne. I have pushed hard for this project since becoming an MP and it is great to see progress.
Finally, on Sunday I enjoyed playing in the annual Parliament v Diplomats cricket match, this time in Wainuiomata. The body was a bit sore on Monday morning, that's for sure!
Have a great rest of the week.
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Time for the bubble to get up and running! Was meant to be in place by the end of this month, but government has no timeline on when it will be operational. Australia has opened to us but we won't return the favour - time for change.
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Good fun at Bryan Heath Park in Wainuiomata on Sunday for the Parliamentary Cricket Team’s annual match against the Diplomats. Sent in to bat we put on an impressive 184 in 25 overs, with Kieran McAnulty scoring 51 retiring. I chipped in with 32 towards the end. We thought that would be enough runs but the Diplomats chased it down in the 24th over. Close game. Happy with my 1-25 from 4 overs. Thanks to Craig Foster and the Wainuiomata Cricket Club for hosting us for the day. Sadly we lose the Shield, first time since 2017! You can watch me despatch a full toss in this quick video here.
Next up, the Media!
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The Airport Flyer is coming back - run by the Regional Council - but only from Wellington railway station to the airport, leaving the Hutt out entirely. Mayor Barry, Ginny Andersen, and Cr Deborah Hislop and I have launched a joint campaign to get the Regional Council to make sure the Hutt is included in the new Flyer service.
Please head to: hutt.city/airportflyer to add your name and submit to the Regional Council as part of their consultation on the new Regional Public Transport Plan.
You can also fill out a submission form at any library or community hub in Lower Hutt, or my or Ginny's offices.
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Isabelle from Boulcott School brought me a special ‘brownie in a jar’ on Friday at Boulcott School. Thanks so much Isabelle, so lovely of you!
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Wainuiomata Eco-Sanctuary
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I joined local MPs including Deputy PM Grant Robertson plus Regional Councillors to visit the proposed site of a massive, fenced eco-sanctuary in the Wainuiomata Water Catchment Area. A stunning afternoon exploring the forest and learning about the idea. The proposal is to fence-off 3350 hectares of native bush to create a “threatened species sanctuary”, including kākāpo. We learned that the land being talked is one of few places that can support breeding kākāpō (the mature Rimu trees are the key, apparently). A very exciting idea! What do you think? Bit more in this story.
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Called into see David at D-Fluff Insulation (and Healthy Rentals NZ) in The Strand in Wainuiomata and say hello. They're opening a coffee cart outside the office, right where we're standing in the photo! There'll be tables and chairs and it'll be a great addition to the Wainuiomata town centre.
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Have you checked out the new Dirty Burger in Upper Hutt yet? Great addition to the CBD. Going very well I hear.
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Had the honour of drawing the winners of the Kitten Inn annual fundraising raffle recently. A great local charity and thousands raised to help keep Susan and the team doing their amazing work.
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I spent an hour helping run the "dunk the teacher" stand at the Boulcott School twilight gala a couple of weeks ago. Couldn't resist having a go myself...
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Aussie cricketers in town
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Not your typical Friday night a couple of weeks ago. I was privileged to be at the Aussie High Commission to help welcome the Australian men’s cricket team to Wellington. I really enjoyed chatting to two of my favourite players, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa. Both lovely guys who are looking forward to seeing some of Wellington in the next couple of days. Nice to see Mayor Campbell Barry there too, like me a big cricket fan.
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New vehicle for Petone Community Patrol
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Privilege to be at the official ceremony marking the new car for the Petone Community Patrol on Friday. Thank you to the patrollers for all the work you do helping keep us safe. And thank you to all the sponsors who helped made it possible, including the Petone Rotary Club.
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How good does that look? Delicious kimchi reuben sandwich (large version) at Ontrays Scheckter's Deli in Petone. Superb!
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Ladyhawke got super excited when she saw The Flying Bean Coffee Cart on the Esplanade and climbed up for her little treat... but they were closed 
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The C doesn't stand for chickpea!
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