A sad week for Waimakariri with the passing of community stalwart Neill Price, a loyal advocate for his hometown Kaiapoi and the RSA. Neill worked tirelessly for the good of others, and was a true gentleman and a fun guy to chat with. My thoughts are with his family, the community of Kaiapoi and members of the RSA.
It was good to join Minister Mark Patterson and Kaikoura MP Stuart Smith in Cust recently for the Government announcement of a $56.4 million investment in water storage and irrigation across Canterbury, which includes $15.6m for Waimakariri Irrigation Limited. This funding will help improve water reliability through the existing Waimakariri Irrigation Scheme.
While we may feel as though we have more than enough rain during these winter months, as we all know the long dry summers in North Canterbury can be pretty tough, especially for our farming communities.
The additional storage will mean certainty for our local farmers that when the drought hits, they will still have access to water to irrigate their land. This funding will go a long way to supporting Waimakariri’s rural sector and giving them confidence that they will be able to work through dry spells without that extra stress of waiting for the next rainfall.
As Minster for Mental Health, it has been promising to see the latest reports showing New Zealand’s mental health and addiction workforce is growing. This will help us ensure that people are getting the support they need, when they need it and no one’s call is going unanswered. We have more mental health nurses, psychologists, support workers and addiction counsellors working on the ground, and overall vacancy rates are starting to ease.
We know we still need more psychiatrists in New Zealand which is why I have written to both Health New Zealand and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry to encourage them to do everything they can to remove any additional barriers to grow the psychiatry workforce. We have also lifted the number of funded registrar positions from 33 in 2024 to 54 a year after Budget 2025.
Lastly I would like to thank the North Canterbury Elder Care Forum for hosting me last week. I always enjoy visiting groups and organisations around the Waimakariri for a catch up and discussion around local issues as it is important for me to know what residents are keen for me to advocate for.