Hello from self-isolation :)

I've got COVID, unfortunately.

Dear John,

A big hello from self-isolation... yep, after two years of successfully avoiding it, I've got COVID-19, or as the Aussies call it, the "spicy cough." I felt symptoms on Sunday and tested (strongly) positive on a RAT on Tuesday. Luckily for me the symptoms so far are mild - a sore throat, a cough and a bit of a headache - but nothing some Lemsip won't sort out. Unfortunately Jenna has also now tested positive, which is less than ideal with our first child due next week! Hopefully we are both feeling better and out of self-isolation for when the little one arrives. I'll keep you posted.

Parliament is in recess this week (good timing for self-isolation) but it's been a busy week politically. On Saturday, Christopher Luxon announced new National Party policy around tackling gangs. It's been really scary for many New Zealanders to see gang warfare on our streets. The Herald described the 23 drive-by shootings in two weeks as a "fortnight of fear". In the last five years, gangs have added more than 2,000 new members to their ranks, while Police have added only 1,300 new officers over the same period. There's been a 89% increase in gang membership in Wellington.

As gang membership has exploded, it’s unsurprising that we’ve also seen an escalation in crime, including public intimidation and shootings. Since 2017 we’ve seen an 11% increase in homicides, a 21% increase in violent crime and a 31% increase in assaults

We have announced that the next National government will back the Police and crack down on gangs. There are four components to the plan:

1. Gang patches will be banned in public.
2. Police will have the power to stop gang members gathering in public.
3. Police will have the power to stop gang offenders associating with each other.
4. Police will have the power to stop gang members accessing guns

You can read more in Christopher's speech here. The Mongrel Mob doesn't like it, which is all good with us!

Cabinet Reshuffle: On Monday the Prime Minister did a "minor" (not really) reshuffle of the Cabinet. My old Breakfast TV mate Kris Faafoi has retired from Parliament (funniest moment on Breakfast TV here) and Police Minister Poto Williams predictably got moved on from that portfolio. Christopher Luxon had called for her to be replaced the week before. Sadly it does very much look like reshuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic: the government is just incapable of delivering and so I don't think we will see much change in actual results. The new Minister I am marking in COVID-19 is Ayesha Verrall, who has taken over from Chris Hipkins who has been sent in to sort out Poto's mistakes in Police.

The big news of the reshuffle is the retirement from Parliament of Trevor Mallard, who will be sent on a diplomatic posting in August. That has predictably not gone down well with some people. National welcomes the retirement of Trevor from Parliament. We lost confidence in him some time ago and it looks like the public has too. He did some good things as Speaker but also made many mistakes and has besmirched the integrity of the Parliament.

COVID-19: A couple of pieces of COVID-19 news this week. Yesterday the government announced that pre-departure tests for travellers to New Zealand will finally be abolished. We've been calling for this for months so this is good news. Chris Hipkins admits the value of the tests is low and they should have been scrapped weeks ago. The new rules take effect from 11.59pm on Monday 20 June.

On Wednesday the High Court issued declarations in the Grounded Kiwis court case. You may remember the government lost this case in April, with the High Court finding that MIQ breached the Bill of Rights in between September and December last year. The Court has now declared that the combination of the virtual lobby and the emergency allocation system meant that the MIQ system, because and to the extent that it did not allow New Zealand citizens facing unreasonable delays to be considered and prioritised where necessary, operated as an unjustified limit on the right of New Zealand citizens to enter their country.

National welcomes these declarations. MIQ made sense at the start of the pandemic, but by September 2021 it was operating as a lottery of human misery, unreasonably stopping New Zealanders returning to their own country. People missed the deaths of loved ones, the births of new Kiwis, and were stuck overseas when their visas expired. There are tens of thousands of New Zealanders around the world who feel like their country abandoned them. Today’s judgment confirms that is true, for which the Government will be held accountable in 2023.

Check out the rest of the newsletter for what I've been up to around the Hutt and at Parliament, including helping a 93 year old woman trapped in her car (the things that make the news...!)

I'll be on paternity leave from mid-next week (all going to plan!) so the next Bulletin will be towards the end of July. If you need assistance, both my offices are open and my team are ready and able to assist.

Have a great weekend.

Chris

P.S Don't forget about my petition to get the DHB to use the Te Awakairangi Birthing Centre. Sign here.

P.P.S Congrats to Bellbird Eatery, winner of Best Breakfast Restaurant in the Quality Business Awards 2022. Well deserved!

Backing Police and Tackling Gangs

Our policy:

1. Gang patches will be banned in public.
2. Police will have the power to stop gang members gathering in public.
3. Police will have the power to stop gang offenders associating with each other.
4. Police will have the power to stop gang members accessing guns

Visit to Little Footprints with Erica Stanford

Was lovely to visit Little Footprints with Erica Stanford a couple of weeks ago.

Youth Inspire Graduation

A huge pleasure to join the young people who graduated from Youth Inspire's Youth Employability Programme last week at the Walter Nash in Taita. Some incredible stories - hugely inspiring. Youth Inspire do a fantastic job in the Hutt Valley.

Farewell OnTrays

End of an era. On Trays Sheckter's Deli has finally closed. Valda and Steven have been such good friends to Jenna and me and we will miss our regular sojourns to On Trays greatly. Valda prepared our wedding (cheese) cake which was a great success and I loved calling in for a coffee and to get some cheese and invariably a sauce or rub you couldn’t find elsewhere. A huge loss to Petone and the Hutt. Thank you Steven and Valda and the On Trays team for all your fantastic service.

Congrats to the Pulse!

Farewell Farfs

Kris Faafoi has announced his retirement from Parliament. Kris and I did a weekly segment on TVNZ’s Breakfast show which was a huge amount of fun. We had some absolutely classic moments, my favourite being I ran so late the show started without me and I ran into the studio unshaven, without make up, a microphone, and my pants falling down around me (no belt). You can watch it here. It was a fun few years and I was sorry when it ended. The fact we were friends helped I think, and we always tried to discuss things in a pretty friendly way without too much rancour.

Kris and I also captained the Parliamentary Cricket Team for a number of years, when we beat the Diplomats and lost badly to the Media team. He was a hard-hitting batsman and a surprisingly quick bowler off a short run-up. I reckon we will see him turn out for the team a bit more now he won’t have the busy Ministerial schedule…

Family is super important to Kris and so I wasn’t totally surprised by today’s announcement. Nearly five years as a Minister is a long time and 11 years as a MP is a good innings.

Philippine Festival

I really enjoyed the Bulwagan Foundation Philippines Festival at Petone Central School on the weekend. Wonderful to catch up with so many friends. Played my first game of table tennis for a years against the Mayor! We called it a draw.

Visit to La Bella

Catching up with my friend Antonio Cacace with Erica Stanford at La Bella Italia last week. A great discussion about immigration challenges facing New Zealand, particularly in hospitality. Can’t beat the pizza and pasta either!

Waiwhetu Stream clean-up