Dear John,

It always amazes me how quickly these monthly email updates roll around and I hope this finds you well. With less than two months to go now until Christmas, we are well and truly in a headlong rush toward the end of the year. With that in mind, your National MPs are doing everything they can to push this Government to pull out all the stops to ensure Kiwis can have their Christmas. We have had a huge couple of weeks in parliament putting pressure on Labour and the cracks are really starting to show in their high-handed approach to governing.

New Zealand is being left behind by the rest of the world as it slowly starts to open up and return to life as normal, thanks to the pitifully lax approach our government took. The multitude of events cancelled around Canterbury in recent weeks are unfortunate victims of a dreadfully slow vaccine roll-out however, thanks to locals getting out and getting jabbed, there should be no need for these punitive lockdowns in future. We will keep their feet to the fire.

Three Waters

This week, Nanaia Mahuta and the Government have finally shown their hand and announced that they are going ahead with the Three Water reforms. This is a blatant asset grab and centralisation that will take power and control away from our community.

Canterbury, alongside most of the South Island, will merge into Entity D. The delivery of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater – that you currently own and have paid for – will be removed from the elected Councils and handed to a Government-controlled entity.

Those services will be controlled by a complex smorgasbord of unelected bureaucrats and appointed governors with no accountability to us - the four entity model is fundamentally broken and unworkable.

National will continue to oppose this with everything we’ve got. We will repeal the entities in Government and return the seized assets back to Councils.

We are calling on all New Zealanders to sign National’s petition calling on Labour to stop the Three Waters asset grab.

Housing announcement

The recently announced Housing Supply Bill is a win-win that will deliver more choices for future homeowners and renters while enhancing the ‘Right to Build’ for current property owners. National has long argued that land use restrictions and arcane planning rules have strangled new housing development. We have pressed for more permissive zoning rules to allow more dwellings to be built, both through intensification and greenfields development.

Here in Selwyn, I hear all the time from locals who are struggling to find or build a home, or battling through unnecessarily complex and costly resource consent issues. I think this historic cross party policy is going to be a game changer for Selwyn and give the right to build back to people, rather than town planners.

You can read the announcement from National’s Housing & Urban Development Spokesperson here: https://www.national.org.nz/housing-bill-a-step-forward-with-more-to-be-done

Economic recovery announcement

Selwyn businesses have valiantly worn the effects of lockdowns and alert level restrictions over the last 18 months. The compliance has come at a real financial cost to our local businesses and National has a plan to start to alleviate this burden, and to provide a runway for the economic recovery from COVID-19.

Our ‘Back in Business’ plan contains a package of urgent measures to ensure businesses survive the next 12 months, and includes a clear, detailed strategy to update our approach and unleash our economy.

The plan includes immediate support to help businesses survive the lockdown, short term tax cuts and incentives for businesses and workers, and targeted support for hospitality, accommodation, tourism, and events industries.

You can read the full policy here: https://www.national.org.nz/back-in-business

Vaccinations

With the emergence of COVID cases in Canterbury, it is more important than ever to keep vaccinating our community.

The Selwyn District is leading the charge and has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country. As of 26 October, 95% of the district has their first dose, with 73% having their second – let’s keep going to make sure we hit the 90% target for full vaccination.

To book your jab, or find your local drop-in vaccination clinic, see here: https://vaccinatecanterburywestcoast.nz/

Toot for Tucker

On the one-year anniversary of becoming the Member of Parliament for Selwyn, I joined the Selwyn Lions Club and Rolleston Rotary Club at their Toot for Tucker event, collecting for local food banks around Lincoln. Community service is at the core of being an MP, and it has been a privilege to be able to serve the Selwyn community this past year.

Another Toot for Tucker collection is currently being planned for the end of November in Rolleston, so keep your eyes peeled for more information about that. 

Darfield Constituent Clinic

Are you in Darfield and have an issue you want to talk about? I’ll be at the Darfield Library and Service Centre next Thursday 4 November between 12:30pm – 2:00pm.

Come and drop in with any concerns or issues you may want to raise – no appointment necessary.

More information can be found here: https://nicolagrigg.national.org.nz/darfield_constituent_clinic

If you have any queries, please email my office on [email protected] or phone 03 344 2800. 

Kind regards,

Nicola Grigg
http://nicolagrigg.national.org.nz/

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