Dear John --
It was great to welcome Christopher Luxon the leader of the National Opposition to Papakura this week. He attended a breakfast that was put on by the hardworking Papakura Business Association and its Town Centre Manager Tracy Shackleton. A big crowd of business people and local constituents turned out to hear Christopher speak at the Bruce Pulman Park convention centre.
Christopher’s address began with his background. He was born in Christchurch then his family moved north and his primary school education was completed in Cockle Bay, Howick. He returned to Christchurch for high school and a four year business degree at Canterbury University.
Christopher then worked with Unilever, a large and diverse international company and after this excellent experience, he returned to New Zealand to run our national airline with considerable commercial success.
Since entering politics in 2020, Christopher has focussed on learning the political ropes while also coming to realise that New Zealand and its population have lost significant focus and become weak where we used to be strong, in recent times. At the moment he is very concerned that the country is going from disaster to disaster following on from the pandemic.
Christopher is very concerned that the Government is taking New Zealanders backwards and he unpicked the latest budget and its effect on increasing inflation which is causing pain and suffering particularly for squeezed middle income earners. This sector is really experiencing the effects of higher interest rates and the increasing costs of the essentials. Food prices keep going up as do fuel and rental costs. Debt is increasing and the Government books are going backwards as the interest costs have doubled and is now more than twice the budget for running the New Zealand Police!
The current economic environment is stopping people getting ahead and is creating a situation where people will start moving to Australia where the standard of living is better and wages are higher.
“We are getting ‘smacked around globally’,” said Christopher who recognises that there is little delivery or implementation happening here despite the increased spending on administration staff happening here in New Zealand.
Christopher went on to discuss his concerns about education with low attendance at schools particularly those in lower decile areas. The achievement of our students in maths, reading and science is very low compared to the rest of the world.
He pointed out the problems that there are with Immigration and in the Health sector where the billions spent have not resulted in enough doctors or nurses in any area of the country.
Finally he talked about the need for support for small to medium businesses, better use of our ports and transportation and more contact with the international community to ensure our exports are received. New Zealand’s overseas markets must continue to grow for all that is produced from agriculture to technology.
I agree with Christopher that more world class companies, more investment in technologies and more knowledge transfer are needed. Meanwhile we need less legislation meaning dialling back centralisations and RMA reforms especially.
My thanks to the Papakura Business Association and the team at Bruce Pulman Park for their hospitality and for the opportunity for Christopher and myself to speak to people face to face. We care about the business and personal issues that affect all New Zealanders and as part of the National Opposition, we urgently want to address them.
Today we have the first Public holiday for Matariki having just celebrated the Queen’s Birthday weekend and Her Majesty’s incredible 70th Jubilee marking her unsurpassed leadership as Queen, Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith.
The reality is that Public Holidays are expensive for business as people get their normal pay but don’t have to produce anything for it for their employer. For those who do work they get time and a half and a day off in lieu. Unfortunately, the fact is this puts up the cost of employment and reduces productivity at a time when many businesses are struggling with the after- effects of Covid-19 and the lockdowns and the ensuing slowdowns that have affected many businesses.
However that said I do hope that you and your families make the most of it and find this new long weekend an opportunity to spend time together. Remember, you and all New Zealanders deserve the best.
Hon Judith Collins
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National Party Papakura - New Zealand
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