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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
http://judithcollins.national.org.nz/
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