Dear John,
There are quiet weeks and busy weeks in politics. This week has definitely been the latter! On Monday the government belatedly admitted we have a cost of living crisis and dropped fuel tax, on Tuesday Simon Bridges announced his resignation as a MP, on Wednesday the government announced plans to allow tourists back to New Zealand, on Thursday it was announced Transmission Gully will open by the end of the month....and we shouldn't forget that on the other side of the world, the outrageous invasion of Ukraine continues.
It's amazing what a bad poll and a bit of pressure will do - after doing anything other than admitting we have a cost of living crisis, the government moved on Monday to lower fuel tax by 25 cents per litre for three months. Of course petrol prices is just one of the many issues households are facing - inflation was 5.9% last year, well ahead of wage growth, and it's set to go higher still this year. One of the underlying causes is the staggering growth in government spending under this government, up 68% in just four years. I covered this in a fiery speech in the House on Wednesday. The government is addicted to spending, much of it poor quality, and that's one of the reasons why we have record inflation.
If you haven't read Christopher Luxon's State of the Nation speech it is definitely worth checking out. The headline announcement was that the next National government will repeal a bunch of taxes Labour has lumped on Kiwis, and we proposed adjusting existing tax thresholds to account for inflation. This would see each of the first three tax thresholds immediately increase by around eleven and a half percent. It is nuts that someone on the average wage now has a marginal tax rate of 33 percent, and someone on the minimum wage only has to work a 44 hour week to face a tax rate of 30 cents on the dollar. Under our plan someone on $55,000 a year would get $800 in tax relief a year You can see for yourself using our tax calculator.
The resignation of Simon Bridges came as a surprise to all of us this week. Simon has served in Parliament for 14 years and been a great MP for Tauranga. He served as a senior Minister in the last National government and of course was National's Leader from 2018 to 2020. We will miss him, as will the Parliament.
Simon's resignation caused a small reshuffle and I was delighted to be promoted to number 3 in National and pick up the portfolios of Housing and Infrastructure. Nicola Willis has become our Finance spokesperson. As you probably know from reading the Bishop Bulletin over time, housing is one of the great challenges facing New Zealand and I am looking forward to getting stuck in. I asked Marama Davidson, the Minister for Homelessness how many kids are growing up in emergency housing yesterday and she said as Minister for Homelessness she isn't responsible for that!
My COVID-19 work continues, and New Zealand is now changing very quickly. Experts say we are through the peak of Omicron in Auckland and about at the peak everywhere else. Our view is that the government should now start getting New Zealand back to normal. We should immediately drop all scanning requirements for businesses, get rid of all vaccine mandates for young people aged under 18, move to a five-day isolation period, and scrap vaccine passes for all but large high-risk events. Then once the border reopens to Australians on April 13, the Government should scrap the Traffic Light Framework altogether, abolish pre-departure testing, and phase out all vaccine mandates. Vaccine passes and mandates made sense under Delta. They don’t under Omicron. The public health rationale for vaccine passes just isn’t there anymore, and they are now putting unjustified limits on people’s rights. I asked about them in the House last week and yesterday I revealed that the Human Rights Commission has been trying to talk to the PM about them since December, but she hasn't met them.
On transport news, it's good to see that Transmission Gully will be open by the end of the month. I think this is the fourth or fifth time they've announced that, so we will wait and see I guess, but this does feel more definite! On the downside, it was depressing to learn that "Let's Get Wellington Moving" (very inappropriately named) has spent $35 million so far on consultants but just $250,000 on construction. Sums up the whole project really.
Finally, if you're at a loose end on Sunday, come down to Kelburn Park from 12pm - the Parliamentary Cricket XI is playing our annual match against the Diplomatic XI. Team features me, Kris Faafoi, Kieran McAnulty, Paul Goldsmith, and David Bennett. Should be fun.
Chris
P.S I'm holding a fundraising dinner with National Leader Christopher Luxon in mid-April - tickets here or drop me an email if you're interested.
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On Wednesday Christopher Luxon appointed me as National’s spokesperson for Housing and for Infrastructure. I will also be continuing as Covid-19 Spokesperson and as Shadow Leader of the House.
Both housing and infrastructure are critical for New Zealand’s future and they are two big areas where Labour has failed miserably after promising big. Rents are up 150 bucks a week in the last four years, 4000 kids are growing up in motels, the social housing waitlist is at record levels and KiwiBuild was a sham. I am passionate about restoring the Kiwi dream of home ownership.
We have big infrastructure challenges and I am looking forward to delivering a visionary set of policies to drive investment in infrastructure in the next National government. It’s a role I have held (briefly) before and I can’t wait to get stuck in again.
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How about those petrol prices?
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Andriy and Lydia are originally from Ukraine and now live in Lower Hutt. They visited me at Parliament on Thursday.
The world condemns the illegal and appalling invasion of Ukraine by Russia. New Zealand can now sanction Russia and but we urge the government to go further by expelling the Russian Ambassador, and establishing special humanitarian visas for family members of Ukrainians in New Zealand.
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Brunch in Eastbourne on Saturday
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Croque Madame Saturday - at Tartines in Eastbourne. Yum!
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Parliamentary Cricket XI v Media XI
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Parliament v Media annual cricket match at Kelburn Park on Sunday. What do you reckon about my bowling action?
Media 175 all out in the 25th over (Stuff journalist Ben Strang scored a rapid fire 19 ball 50). Sadly we could only muster 125 in reply.
My contribution 3-43 from 5 overs and a tinny 20 with the bat before being caught at gully.
Picture credit: Stuff
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Good to talk to Wainuiomata Grey Power about what I’ve been up to recently. Talked about my proposal to open up Wainuiomata North for 1800-2000 new homes, plus a second access road into Naenae or Whites Line.
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New jobs, new office, same cute dog.
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Incredibly sad news. My memories of cricket span the entirety of Warne’s career and to quote Bill Lawry, a fellow Victorian, he was a ‘joy to watch’. So many memories which I ran through here.
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