Connecting with Carl - September 2024

19 Sep 2024

Carl Bates

Connecting With Carl

Issue 10 - September 2024

In the House with Carl

When a former MP passes away, they are remembered by the current Parliament. On Wednesday 11th September, the House stood for a moment’s silence in memory of Hon Peter Gresham. Peter was the MP for Waitotara from 1990 to 1996, a List MP from 1996 to 1999 and the Minister of Social Welfare and Minister for Senior Citizens between 1993 and 1996. He will be known to many readers and we extend our sincere condolences to the Gresham family. In the photo below, I am presenting Peter a certificate from Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand for his many years of service to the profession.

The House also paid tribute to Kiingi Tuheitia on Tuesday 10th September with a special debate. There were eloquent tributes from across the House as Members came together in unity to mourn his passing and celebrate his life. Earlier, Christopher Luxon visited Turangawaewae to pay his respects to the late Kiingi Tuheitia.

Around and about the electorate

We have had two ministerial visits since the last newsletter. Hon Mark Mitchell had a busy day, including the opening of the new Whanganui Police Dog Base, a tour of Te Puna Hapori (Whanganui’s new Justice Precinct, which will include a new Police Station) and a visit to an alarm monitoring company based in Whanganui. Alarm Watch monitors security alarms throughout New Zealand.

Then the Hon Simeon Brown hosted a forum for Mayors and Councillors from the Whanganui, South Taranaki and Stratford districts and Horizons and Taranaki Regional Councils. He also held a forum with local heavy vehicle transport operators and contractors. Both groups found it useful to be able to speak directly to their Minister.

During August we also had a stall at the Whanganui Home and Lifestyle Show where many people engaged with us over the issues of interest to them. Lots of positive feedback on the work the Government has been doing to get New Zealand Back on Track was received! Thanks to Suze Redmayne, who joined us on Sunday. Speaking of Sundays, it was a privilege to send down the opening bowl of the season at Durie Hill Bowling Club where Shirley, my grandmother, is the Patron and our family have a long association - see the Rivercity Press news article at the end of the newsletter.

Fonterra’s site at Whareroa, just south of Hāwera is one of the biggest employers in the Whanganui Electorate employing 1500 people and receiving product from more than 700 farms A recent tour of the site gave me an insight into the scope of this critical business. Building Wellness Taranaki promotes mental health awareness and I was delighted to speak at their Tools to Talk event in Hāwera, encouraging tradies to open up about mental health issues.

School visits are a core function for an MP, getting to know principals and teachers, talking to students about my role, and watching our education policies being implemented. With 72 schools in the electorate, each month I get to a few more. Over the last month I was excited to see schools where structured literacy and structured mathematics, key education policies for 2025, have already been rolled out.

Governing for you

The implementation of National’s ‘Local Water Done Well’ policy from the campaign progressed with the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act having its third reading, and receiving the Royal Assent. This Act ensures that local decision-making and ownership of water assets is preserved and that local councils have access to finance to fund upgrades. And for those who travel to Wellington regularly, we have announced that the speed limit on the Kapiti Expressway will increase to 110km/h.

Health continues to be a significant area of focus for the coalition Government. Last week Health Minister Dr Shane Reti revealed details of how the ambitious health targets the Government has set will be achieved. Dr Reti says “Targets save lives”, a complete contrast to the previous government which abandoned targets in the health sector. And Dr Reti was delighted to announce that Pharmac had made a decision to fund Keytruda, an effective drug for a number of cancers, effective 1 October.

Coming Events

Whanganui River Market, Whanganui - Saturday 21st September
Visit to the 800 Trust conservation project at Tututawa, eastern Taranaki with Barbara Kuriger MP - Monday 23rd September
Prospero Market, Stratford - Saturday 28th September
Hamish Campbell, MP for Ilam visits Whanganui - Thursday 3rd October
NZ International Commercial Pilots Academy Awards and Graduation - Saturday 12th October

Links to recent news items