Dear John,

This year is absolutely flying by – tomorrow it’ll be the first day of winter and, from then, we’ll be rapidly heading towards the Solstice. There’s certainly a chill in the air and the majestic Southern Alps are sparkling with their first dusting of snow.

The month of May has brought troubling news for homeowners with the latest analysis from the Reserve Bank predicting the interest rate on one and two-year mortgages will hit 6 per cent next year.

This will mean a major hit for Kiwi budgets. A household that has borrowed $700,000 would face annual interest costs of $42,000, meaning they would have to pay more than $800 a week before they even begin to reduce the actual loan.

There are also worrying developments on the geo-political front with news that China is seeking a sweeping agreement with ten Pacific Island countries, covering everything from national security to climate change and education. Three countries have already signed up or indicated their support; the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Samoa.

Since this news, the US’ top official for the Indo-Pacific has been on the phone to the Fijian Prime Minister, and the Australian Foreign Minister flew to Fiji within days of her appointment to reiterate Australia’s position as a ready and willing partner.

While our traditional partners are out engaging with the region and demonstrating their ability to meet all the needs of the Pacific, Minister Nanaia Mahuta and the Labour Government have gone silent.

It is National’s view that Minister Mahuta must urgently provide a plan as to how this Government will respond and prevent a situation where our neighbours look elsewhere to have their needs met.

Post-Budget Business Briefing

May is also the traditional month for the New Zealand government to deliver its Budget.

Budget 2022 included a record $9.5 billion in new annual spending – the largest increase in New Zealand’s history – with the Reserve Bank Governor confirming that the very high level of Government spending is putting upward pressure on inflation.

National’s Deputy Leader Nicola Willis joined me in Selwyn to explain to locals and business owners the impact of Labour’s Backwards Budget on them, and how the Government should instead adopt National’s five-point plan to fight inflation – return the Reserve Bank to a single focus of price stability, reduce costs on business, remove bottlenecks in the economy, rein in government spending, and prioritise tax relief for workers.

In a cost of living crisis, the Government should be doing everything it can to reduce inflation, not spending up large and making it worse.

Pae Ora

The Government is squandering an opportunity to prioritise rural health and enshrine it in legislation. The Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill sets out the framework for Labour’s ill-timed health restructure and there is still a woeful lack of focus on the health needs of rural New Zealand.

The genesis of this restructure was the Heather Simpson-led review of the health and disability sector. It mentioned rural health at least 30 times and made it very plain that rural services should be specifically planned for, recognising the unique challenges of living rurally.

This idea is further emphasised by submissions made during the select committee process. The Rural Health Alliance was concerned with the lack of focus on rural communities and said ‘it is well documented that rural communities have poorer health outcomes than urban communities and this inequity needs to be addressed in these reforms’.

Click here to read more

Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill

The Labour Government has concluded its campaign to end generations of thoughtful stewardship of the South Island’s high country. The Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill which passed its third reading this month effectively ends a decades-old relationship between the Crown and high country pastoral leaseholders.

The Bill states its purpose as ‘maintaining or enhancing inherent values across the Crown pastoral estate’, but it will, instead, have the opposite effect.

Leaseholders have been effective custodians of this land for generations, but the Government will now impose a punitive regime devoid of any knowledge of practical implementation and will see environmental outcomes worsen rather than improve.

Click here to read more and here to watch my speech.

Dairy NZ Awards

Earlier in the month, I attended the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards with my National Party colleagues, Joseph Mooney and Barbara Kuriger. It was a clean sweep for the Canterbury region, with the Dairy Trainee of the Year, Share Farmer of the Year, Dairy Manager of the Year, and Fonterra Responsible Dairying Award all being claimed by local farmers. Congratulations to all the winners – you’ve done Canterbury proud!

Media Update

I talked to Rural News about why Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor’s Budget 2022 press release announcing a $1 billion spend on primary industries, needs close scrutiny.	I talked to Stuff about the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill, stating that a better alternative would be if the Commissioner for Crown Lands worked with Linz and leaseholders on legally binding farm environmental plans
Click here to read the full article	Click here to read the full article

Went on The Country to reflect on 86 years of National Party, the Government's impending ban of the live cattle exports and why the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill does no favours to high country leaseholders.	I talked to Farmers Weekly promising to repeal the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill stating it introduces a punitive and adversarial system of management, bypassing stewardship by generations of leaseholders.
Click here to listen to the show	Click here to read the full article

Kind regards,

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