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Dear John, I hope you have had a good break and that you feel this is going to be a good year? My National opposition colleagues and I are glad to be back from the holidays attending our caucus conference and we are feeling optimistic. Especially as our National Party Leader Christopher Luxon has started very positively by announcing the team to contest the 2023 election. My current spokesperson role in the Science, Innovation & Technology continues and I have received three new portfolios. I will pick up Foreign Direct Investment, Land Information and Digitising Government. These new portfolios fit well with the work that I carried out last year with creating and renewing overseas contacts especially in foreign banking and investment. I will also bring my skills for improving efficiency and achieving better services for my constituents and the general public, to the Land Information and Digitising Government portfolios. Altogether they are going to give me great scope for new policies to help my constituents in the business sector as well as providing opportunities for business growth and ultimately leading to an increasing GDP and greater overseas earnings. There will be greater opportunities for more work and better employment across New Zealand for everyone. In 2023 the National Opposition aims to address the failings of the
current Government. We want to urgently address the problems relating
to the rising cost of living, rising crime (especially that committed
against small businesses), the failures in educational achievement and
the overburdened, underfunded and understaffed health
system. I am in total agreement with Mr Luxon who confirmed that the aim of National is to continue to work hard to show New Zealanders that it has the skills, policy, team, and commitment to form a Government that delivers for all Kiwis. Labour Shortages Have you noticed that there is a new normal pervading where we have to put up with things not being quite right? I am very concerned that there continue to be staff shortages in essential services like the health system, aged care and other essential services that require staff/people to get them done. And yet we know from the quarterly data released by the Ministry of Social Development this week that there are now 50,000 more people are on the Jobseeker benefit compared with when Labour came to office in 2017. The total number of people on the Jobseeker benefit now is still 170,000 which is similar to the number recorded six months ago. The figures show that there has been a 50 per cent increase of people stuck on the Jobseeker benefit for longer than a year. These people need more help to get back into work so that they can enjoy the sense of achievement, independence and opportunities that regular employment provides. Allowing people to remain on a benefit without any direction or support to find work, causes social and health issues particularly in regard to mental health. Our National Opposition spokesperson Louise Upston is concerned that support, and obligations to find work are being enforced less often. By not helping young adults into work or education for work we are wasting their energy and creativity and hurting their prospects for a successful fulfilled future. Putting the blame on the cost of living does not help these out of work people in any way. They need support from MSD and community organisations (that the government will support) to deliver tailored coaching for young Jobseekers, set clear obligations about their need to prepare themselves for work, reward those who break their dependence on benefits, and apply sanctions to those who, without good reason, refuse to engage. Let us be clear that the current situation is an opportunity to reduce benefit dependency because cost of living crisis or not, we are in a time of severe worker shortages and it’s clear the Government’s welfare approach has failed to address this. This is where a National Government will be different and will get things done – I want to be part of a government that aims to strengthen the economy to lift incomes, build the infrastructure that has been promised and that is intent on delivering better frontline public services. Resignation and General Election Announcements Yesterday 19 January, the Prime Minister Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern announced that she will be resigning from the position of Prime Minister and also the leadership of the Labour Party. She also announced that the General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023. Best wishes to you all, Hon Judith Collins |
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