Dear John,
Parliament's been in recess for the past couple of weeks but politics certainly hasn't taken a break - I feel like I'm busier than ever! In this newsletter you can see some of what I've been up to around the Hutt recently and some political news.
New Zealand's vaccine roll-out is slowly starting to increase in speed, although we are still the slowest in the developed world - behind Australia, Colombia and Japan. Judith and I have started calling it the "vaccine stroll-out", which seems more appropriate. I wrote an article for The Spinoff this week with five ideas for improving it - have a read and I'd be interested in your feedback. Some people say it doesn't matter that we are so slow - but I reject that. First, we are sitting ducks for an outbreak of the delta variant while we are so unvaccinated, which would mean more anguish and more lockdowns. Second, we can't start thinking about reconnecting to the world until we have a high level of vaccination coverage. So it is critical we get on with it.
Last week I revealed that New Zealand only ordered Pfizer vaccines on 29 January this year. So we were late to sign contracts, late to approve the vaccine through Medsafe, and then late to order. It's no surprise that we are late in rolling it out too.
MIQ has been in the news again. I revealed this week that over $8 million is owed in overdue MIQ payments (defined as not paid within 90 days or more). Overall $38 million is owed to taxpayers - but the government has only started using debt collectors in the last couple of weeks! To make matters worse, it turns out the government has been systematically underinvoicing people. It's highly likely taxpayers have been missing out on millions - how much, we don't know, and I'll keep asking questions.
The MIQ allocation system is also under fire because of the appalling way it is administered - there are third party websites out there charging up to $3000 per MIQ place, and there are multiple reports of bots using the system meaning ordinary people can't access MIQ. The PM says it isn't happening but that flies in the face of what so many are experiencing. Pretty much everyone agrees the system is suboptimal and National is working on some ideas for improvement - I'd be keen to hear yours.
Not sure if you saw the crazy story a couple of weeks ago about Heritage NZ both blocking the installation of a new wheelchair ramp at Wellington railway station, but also new ticket validating machines so we can (finally!) have integrated ticketing across our bus and train system. Public transport in Wellington is bad enough without other government departments holding things back even further.
Speaking of transport, it was good to see some progress this week on SH2 safety between Belmont and Melling, and in and around Grounsell Crescent in particular. I've been advocating for improvements here for some time alongside local residents. While it's good to see that NZTA will be putting in things like median barriers, intersection speed zones and raised safety platforms, as well as pedestrian crossing improvements to increase safety at Grounsell Cres, there's no certainty of funding or any clarity on timeframes. I'll keep pushing NZTA for that, as well as a proper community meeting to hear from locals themselves (who have plenty of ideas).
Finally this week, National has been very critical of the $2.75 million given to a trust associated with the Mongrel Mob to run an anti-meth programme. Police officers are furious and rightly so. Meanwhile the government can't find any money for Mike King's Gumboot Friday initiative. Go figure.
Have a great weekend.
P.S Did you see the great profiles of Hutt companies Eight 360 and A44 on stuff.co.nz in the last week? Great to see "Technology Valley" in action!
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Have you been paying attention?
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I was one of the guest quizmasters on Have You Been Paying Attention a couple of Fridays ago - did you see it?
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Girls' Brigade at Parliament
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It was a real pleasure to host two young women going for their Girls’ Brigade Queen’s Awards at Parliament on Saturday two weeks ago. I had the duty of marking their written submissions and assessing their oral presentations, which we very appropriately did in the Women’s Suffrage select committee room.
Congratulations Amber Irwin and Charlotte Connolly!
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Have you checked out Swad Kitchen at the Epuni shops? Absolutely delicious Indian vegetarian food for takeaway (they also have a small dine in area). Recently I was treated to lunch there by Jayesh and Kalpu and tried their pani puri, paneer tikka, kachori and pav bhaji. Outstanding! They also do catering for events. Check them out.
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Special visitor with me at Girls' Brigade
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I had the privilege of visiting the Wainuiomata Girls' Brigade on Tuesday to talk about what being an MP involves. I took along a special guest!
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Wainuiomata Retirement Village
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The new Wainuiomata Retirement Village run by the Masonic Villages Trust is such an asset to the Wainuiomata community. This has been one of my top priorities since being elected in 2014. Was great to check it out and see progress a couple of weeks ago. Residents have moved in and there is more to come!
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I was in Auckland on the day of the Groundswell protest recently, and Gerry Brownlee, Melissa Lee, Paul Goldsmith and I went along to show our support for them in Ellerslie. Huge support around the country.
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Tim Costley hosted Nicola Willis and me for a public meeting in Waikanae recently. A massive turn out and great questions from the audience.
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Parliamentary Rugby Team Debut
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Great fun making my debut for the NZ Parliamentary Rugby Team on Friday night against the NZ Police at Petone Rec! Spent a bit of time at number 8 and then in the second half even a couple of minutes at second five outside Piri Weepu! That’s something to tell the grandkids.
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Not sure I'd buy a bean salad even for 15 cents...! Wonder when this was from.
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When auto-captions fail...
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