October update from Hon Amy Adams

Hi John

The past month has been a busy one here in Selwyn with many events including Frenchfest in Akaroa, Artweek in Darfield, Art Couture in Lincoln and the Ellesmere A & P Show in Leeston. 

Unfortunately we have had to cancel the planned meeting in Darfield on Thursday October 31st with Todd Mueller, MP for Bay of Plenty and Opposition Spokesperson for Agriculture, due to circumstances beyond our control. However there are two other opportunities available for you to hear Todd speak about the Government's new freshwater proposals and other issues affecting the rural sector at meetings in Oxford and Ashburton.

Details of these meetings are as follows:

Tuesday 29th October, 7pm at Oxford Town Hall, hosted by Matt Doocey, MP for Waimakariri

Wednesday 30th October, 7pm at Hotel Ashburton, hosted by Andrew Falloon, MP for Rangitata

Benefit numbers and hardship increasing 

Nobody could argue with the Prime Minister’s apparent good intentions when she took office and stated she would make alleviating child poverty her personal mission. Unfortunately nobody can now argue with the statistics which show that the current Government has failed miserably in this regard.

More than 22,000 extra people have gone on the Jobseeker benefit under this Government, with an explosion of 6,700 more people on the dole in the last quarter alone.

In the two years since this Government has been in office, the number of hardship assistance grants being doled out to Kiwis in dire straits has almost doubled.

Under National, the number of people seeking hardship assistance from the Ministry of Social Development was much lower due to our strong economy, better job creation and the number of Kiwis going off benefits into work. Sadly, this trend has reversed under the current Government's policies.

Debate around legalisation of cannabis

At next year's election we will also be voting in a referendum on the legalisation of cannabis. I am concerned that many voters are not clear about the distinction between legalisation as opposed to the decriminalisation of cannabis, and are also unclear that this is about making cannabis available for sale legally for anyone over 20 not just making cannaboids available for medicinal reasons.

If you would like to know more about this topic, my colleague Hon Nikki Wagner is hosting two meetings with Hon Paula Bennett on this topic on Thursday 31st October. The venues and times for these meetings are as follows:

10.30am  Beckenham Methodist Church Hall, 52 Martin Ave, Beckenham

2.30pm    St Lukes Church, Cnr Daniels and Main North Rds, Redwood

Out and about in Selwyn

Young artists visit my office to see creation on display

During the October school holidays I invited a group of young art students from Creative Sparks in Darfield to my office to see their collaborative artwork "The Dot Tree", displayed on the wall of my office. I enjoyed meeting many of the students who had contributed to this bright and colourful piece of art, along with their parents and art teacher Vicky.

With young artists from Creative Sparks in Darfield and their artwork

Frenchfest 2019

During the weekend of the 12th and 13th of October Akaroa celebrated its unique status as New Zealand's only French settlement with the bi-annual Frenchfest event. It was a privilege to speak at the official opening and welcome on the Saturday morning and the community of Akaroa did a wonderful job of getting into the spirit of the event by showcasing the area's French heritage.

Enjoying the atmosphere in Akaroa during Frenchfest 

Event for over 60s with Hon Gerry Brownlee

Following on from a successful morning tea at the Lincoln Events Centre on 18th October, I will be hosting another similar event for Selwyn residents aged over 60 on Monday 9th December commencing at 11.00am. The venue for the meeting is the Rolleston Community Centre Lounge, 94 Rolleston Drive.

The guest speaker for this event is Hon Gerry Brownlee, MP for Ilam, Shadow leader of the House and National's Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, GCSB and NZSIS.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Sharon O’Callaghan in my office before Wednesday 4th December by emailing [email protected] or by phoning 03 344 0418.

I welcome your thoughts and feedback on all matters so be sure to contact me at a[email protected] or like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/MPAmyAdams and tell me what's on your mind.

Kind regards,

Hon Amy Adams
http://amyadams.national.org.nz/