Dear John,
2021 is winding to a close, Christmas is around the corner and I suspect like me you're looking forward to a break. 2021 has been a tough year for many people. We started the year COVID-free, and we end it with delta spreading throughout the country and omicron on the horizon. My work in the COVID role for National has been exhausting and I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks off over summer. Having said that, I said that last summer too and ended up on the phone to media or doing interviews almost every day - let's hope that doesn't happen this summer!
I'll need to catch up on some sleep because I don't think I'll be getting much from around June next year - Jenna and I are expecting our first child! Thank you to everyone who has left such happy messages for us - we are very excited.
Parliament is now done for the year and National is ending the year in much better shape than we started it, with a new Leader in Christopher Luxon, a refreshed front-bench team and huge enthusiasm to take the fight to the government in 2022. If you want to join the National team and help me in the Hutt; then please let me know.
In the final couple of weeks of Parliament for the year I put pressure on the government over MIQ, why James Shaw was allowed to self-isolate when others aren't, and the government "care in the community" model for COVID that has seen two people pass away in preventable ways. The Minister says he wants everyone who tests positive for COVID to receive a medical assessment within 24 hours but my figures show that more than 700 people have waited for longer than 24 hours, including many who have waited for more than 4 days. Just not good enough.
In my adjournment debate speech I said a big thank you to our vaccinators, COVID-19 testers, nurses, doctors and everyone involved in the COVID-19 response. I also threw forward to a big question of 2022, which is how long the mandates and vaccine passes will exist for. Increasingly I am hearing from people worried about the divisions they are creating, and some places are looking at winding them back once a very high vaccination rate is reached. New Zealand is now 90% double vaccinated and rising every day, so we will need to confront that question next year. Obviously omicron complicates the picture and the early evidence there is that the government should look to accelerate the booster programme ASAP.. I'm expecting a Cabinet announcement this afternoon. This morning I got my booster, six months to the day after my second jab, and I encourage you to do the same the moment you can.
If you live in the Hutt please look out for my annual Christmas newsletter in your mailbox! Thank you to many people who have helped me deliver these throughout the Hutt in the last couple of weeks. There is a survey attached to the newsletter which you can fill out online and don't forget about my specific "Three Waters" survey too.
This will be the final Bishop Bulletin for 2021. I hope you've enjoyed it this year and you can expect to see it in your mailbox every couple of weeks next year too, starting from around mid-January.
Please have a great Christmas and enjoyable new year. If you're driving/travelling over summer, please travel safe.
Chris
P.S Did you see this legend who saved 11 cars from the Riverbank carpark?
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Our family will grow a bit next year!
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Last week I accepted a petition from Alexandra Birt and nearly 23,000 other "Grounded Kiwis", people shut out from their own country because of the MIQ system. The system is legally dubious and morally troubling. We need to end it ASAP and National's own petition has nearly 100,000 signatures of its own.
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Spent the weekend delivering my Christmas newsletter around the Hutt - look out for it in your mailbox! Thanks to the many volunteers who have helped distribute these to everyone.
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Please go and get your booster when you're eligible! Head to BookMyVaccine to book.
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Gurudwara Vaccination Drive
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Was good to call in at the Gurudwara Sahib (Sikh temple) in Naenae a couple of Sundays ago for their vaccination drive. Good to see people getting their jabs!
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Back on the Jackson St Project the other night, trying every restaurant from west to east One of my faves, K Sing! Delicious curries, noodles and other delicacies from Thailand, Viet Nam and Laos (three amazing must visit countries, by the way!). Excellent service as always.
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Did enjoy this from the NZ Herald Letters section
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You may remember the brouhaha earlier this year over a silly speech new Labour MP Anna Lorck gave in the House about berocca (and collagen and magnesium). We made a funny spoof video about it which Trevor Mallard in his inimitable way tried to ban (I won in the end). Anna's a good sport and delivered me some berocca in Parliament on Wednesday!
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Don't think this ever happened under National...
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