Welcome back to Wedd’s Weekly and our first edition for 2025!
I hope everyone has enjoyed some time with family and friends.
It’s great to be back in full swing as our Tukituki office has hit the ground running. We opened last week, and we have been busy as we prepare for another massive year both in the electorate and in Parliament.
I loved being at the Colgate Games last week, hosted right here in Hastings. It’s such a fabulous event for our region with thousands of people walking through the gates at the sports park for three days of athletics action!
I was so impressed with some of the athletes and love seeing the up-and-coming talent which is inspiring our young ones. I was privileged to be able to hand out the medals and ribbons alongside international athletes Aimee Fisher and Georgia Hulls.
Well done to Hastings Athletics Club and all the amazing volunteers and the naming sponsor Colgate, who made it all possible for our region.
OUT AND ABOUT
It’s great to be back out and about in our electorate visiting our amazing businesses and seeing so much innovation at our back door.
I enjoyed learning about Nibblish, which produces dried fruit, healthy snacks.
I met with Matthew, founder and CEO of Nibblish and learnt about the products as well as the challenges being faced by the market and category Nibblish operates in.
I was also fortunate to get a sneak peek into a new product.
Watch this space!
Kudos to Chris and Fiona at Off The Track for not only re-opening the restaurant after it was damaged by a fire, but making it a resounding success.
The couple are fast becoming the ‘hospo power team’ of Hawke’s Bay as they have also taken over the Common Room in Hastings and added their touch to the iconic establishment. Chris and Fiona also own OTT in the City, just down from the Common Room.
It’s a busy time of year for hospitality and tourism in Hawke’s Bay, so it’s always good to see passionate people putting our region on the map.
Post natal care bill gets cross party support and progresses to select committee
It was very exciting to get cross party support for my first private members bill which will give Mums more post-natal support.
In the last sitting week of Parliament, my bill had its first reading and is now heading to the health select committee where it will be great to hear submissions on this very important issue.
The Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) (3 Day Postnatal Stay) Amendment Bill entitles women to 72 hours of funded, inpatient post-natal care.
I encourage everyone to share their stories to make their voices heard so we can improve the system. This is our chance to have better post-natal care in our country.
Putting the spotlight on our fruitbowl
In the final week of Parliament, I also loved bringing a taste of Hawke’s Bay to the halls of Parliament with growers across our region providing me some summer fruit for those in Wellington to enjoy!
My fruit trolley was a real hit and I’m always proud to show off the best of Hawke’s Bay!
Me as a Youth MP in the 1997 Youth Parliament
LOOKING FOR A TUKITUKI YOUTH MP FOR 2025
I’m excited to share an incredible opportunity with the young leaders in our community.
In 1997, I had the honour of being a Youth MP. It was an experience that changed my life, inspiring my journey into politics and showing me the power of representing my community.
Now, our Tukituki young leaders have the opportunity.
The 11th Youth Parliament is happening in 2025, and I’m looking for a passionate, driven young person aged 16 to 18 to represent our community in Parliament.
As a Youth MP, they will take part in a four-month program from April to August 2025.
They will have the opportunity to engage with their community, connect with their peers, and prepare to make their voice heard at the two-day Youth Parliament event in Wellington.
They will sit in Parliament, participate in debates, join working groups, and advocate for the issues that matter most to NZ and other young people.
To apply, I’m asking anyone interested to send in a short video up to three minutes where they can tell me why they are passionate about representing our community and the issues that are important to them.
This is an amazing opportunity to develop leadership skills, grow confidence, and help shape the future of New Zealand.
For those wanting to apply, they can email their video, along with their name, age, and contact details, to Catherine.WeddMP@Parliament.govt.nz
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
It’s hard to believe we have been in government for more than a year and achieved so much. We are restoring law and order, lifting our dismal education statistics, cutting down on red tape and regulations throttling our farmers and growers, cracking down on gangs, and addressing our infrastructure deficit.
And we’ve taken decisive action to address the cost of living, rein in wasteful spending, and ease financial pressures on families
Now it’s a new year, and we are working at pace to improve the lives of everyday New Zealanders.
Trade and investment agreements signed with United Arab Emirates
We have just signed a trade deal in Abu Dhabi with the UAE government which that will eliminate tariffs on 98.5% of our exports to the UAE immediately, growing to 99% within three years.
A few months ago I enjoyed meeting the UAE Trade Minister in Parliament alongside our Trade Minister Todd McClay who has worked tirelessly and at pace to get this trade deal achieved.
New Zealand’s top exports to the UAE are dairy ($707 million), industrial products ($242 million), meat ($50 million), horticulture ($47 million), and tourism ($33 million).
This is amazing for our Hawke’s Bay exporters, whose success drives our region’s economy and lifts incomes at home!
Structured literacy and maths to be implemented
With just a few weeks to go before Term 1, 2025 begins, teachers are working at pace to get prepped as all state schools will be teaching reading using the proven structured literacy approach.
As a mother of four school aged children, I am passionate about education and lifting performance because education creates equality.
There are 61 schools in the Tukituki electorate and, last year, I visited many of them to see structured literacy in action. It was great to see schools get on board and see many already using structured literacy as part of the school’s curriculum.
Structured literacy is about getting back to basics and teaching children to read by using sounds and phonics to read out and understand words.
There is evidence that this teaching method is lifting student achievement and reducing the need for further learning interventions.
This is part of our plan to improve educational outcomes so young Kiwis gain the skills they need to succeed.
A new maths curriculum based on the structured maths approach will also be introduced from Term 1 2025, with resources available to support teachers.
Resources, including teacher and student workbooks are currently being sent out to every primary and intermediate school.
Final-year Fees Free kicks off 1 January 2025
First-time tertiary learners now have access to a new Fees Free entitlement of up to $12,000 for their final year of provider-based study or final two years of work-based learning.
The final-year Fees Free entitlement applies to learners studying at Level 3 and above on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework.
Payments will be made after learners complete their first qualification or programme, with the first payments available in 2026 for studies completed in 2025.
This change delivers on the National-New Zealand First Coalition’s commitment to replace the first-year Fees Free scheme with a final-year model, approved by Cabinet in April 2024.
The new approach aims to incentivise success and maximise the value of tertiary education funding for both learners and communities.
New year, new medicines
Pharmac is continuing to increase availability of medicines for Kiwis.
From 1 January, Kiwis can access four new medicines which Pharmac negotiated with AstraZenec.
Osimertinib (branded as Tagrisso) will be funded for a type of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer as a first treatment option after diagnosis and for people who have received other treatments previously.
Patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer will also be able to receive funded trastuzumab deruxtecan (branded as Enhertu).
Palivizumab (branded as Synagis) will also be funded from today giving relief for families for preventing RSV in high-risk babies and young children.
People who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will be able to access budesonide, glycopyrronium, and formoterol ‘triple inhaler’ (branded as Breztri Aerosphere) from today as well.
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I look forward to seeing you out in our Tukituki community soon.
Regards, Catherine
Catherine Wedd | MP for Tukituki
• catherine.weddmp@parliament.govt.nz
• 06 873 3819
• 129 Queen Street, Hastings 4122