Dear John,

I hope you are well as we come to the end of the wettest Canterbury July on record.

Parliament is back in action after a three-week break and the National Party team is energised and ready to hold the Government to account. This week, I spoke in the house about the UK-NZ Free Trade Agreement, the Education and Training Amendment Bill, and the ACC Maternal Birth Injury Amendment Bill.

Two months ago the Government passed a law that will effectively end high country farming as we know it and Land Information New Zealand are now asking for feedback on what the new regulations and standards will look like. If you have a connection with - or an interest in - the South Island high country, I highly encourage you to submit here.

July also brought more bad news that the cost of living crisis is worsening under the Government. Data released by Statistics NZ showed that inflation has reached 7.3% - heights not seen since the 1990s. Food, rent, mortgage payments, and petrol are all going through the roof. Under Labour Kiwis are going backwards faster than ever, but National has a plan to fix the cost of living crisis which you can read about here.

Connectivity

Since I became the MP for Selwyn in 2020, the region’s population has continued to surge. Unfortunately, as a result of the growth, internet and phone connectivity around here has got worse and worse, because the infrastructure investment has simply not kept up. No matter how many times I have written to the Minister responsible – or the CEOs of the various Tel-cos - nothing seems to get done.

I’m sure that you will all agree with me that enough is enough – we pay our bills to be provided with a service – and getting palmed off every single time simply isn’t good enough. While I understand the Tel-cos are commercial entities, I would argue they also have a role to play as good corporate citizens and have an obligation to service the fee-paying public.

Below is the latest letter that I have sent the Minister, David Clark, which I have also sent to the CEOs of Chorus, Enable, Vodafone New Zealand, Spark New Zealand and 2degrees. If you are experiencing issues with your connectivity, I can encourage that you to write him directly at [email protected] to convey your concerns.

Click here to read my letter to David Clark

Youth Parliament

Last week saw youth from around New Zealand fly to Wellington to attend Youth Parliament 2022. Hosted every three years, it allows those selected from around the country to gain first-hand experience of how our democracy works and how Parliament operates as they debated a mock bill that discussed abolishing the starting-out wage.

Selwyn was well represented by Lincoln High School head student Bobbie Hira, who had been working hard over the past few months by connecting with youth from around the region in preparation of the event.

Bobbie gave a great speech at the General Debate, where she spoke with passion about her views on the inconsistencies, discrimination, and lack of accountability in schools towards Māori students. Bobbie even got a motion unanimously passed through the House!

You can watch her speech here or by clicking below.

Mark Mitchell's visit

With gangs currently recruiting quicker than the Police, resulting in gang membership in Canterbury increasing 51 percent since this Labour Government came to power in 2017, I invited National’s Police spokesperson, Mark Mitchell MP to Selwyn to share National’s plans to crack down on these criminals by giving the New Zealand Police the tools they need to stop the harm they are causing to our communities.

To date, Labour has voted down 10 Bills that National has put forward to keep our communities safe, and it’s clear that this government will continue their soft on crime approach. We believe that everyday Kiwis deserve to feel safe, and a National Government will be backing Police, tackling gangs, and protecting New Zealanders.

You can read National’s plans to tackle gangs here

Upcoming Events

Next month, I am hosting two public meetings and would love to see you there. More information will be sent closer to the time, but please mark the following dates in your calendars.

Wednesday 17 August

Public Meeting on Fair Pay Agreements with Paul Goldsmith MP

Rolleston College Library, 631 Springston Rolleston Road

5:15pm – 6:15pm

Monday 22 August

Public Meeting on Housing and Covid-19 response with Chris Bishop MP

Te Ara Ātea – Rolleston Library, 56 Tennyson Street

5:30pm – 6:30pm

Kind regards,

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