NCN April 30 2026
For me, Anzac Day is a time to recognise and thank the families, friends and loved ones of the men and women who so selflessly put their lives on the line to uphold our freedoms. It was important for me to attend, lay a wreath and speak at several services across the electorate over the weekend, and it was particularly special to see the students of Ohoka School attending their local service last Friday morning.
It is also important to acknowledge both the physical and mental impacts from service which are a constant reminder and often a life-changing challenge for our veterans, so it was good to see so many of you showing your respects at the many other services around the Waimakariri this year.
When I was approached by Waikuku resident Joe Kennedy to support his petition, challenging NZ Post’s proposal to close the mailboxes at Waikuku Beach General Store, it was a no-brainer.
Many of Waikuku’s residents don’t have the option of having mail delivered to their residential letterboxes, so I agreed with Joe that it was unfair to be told by NZ Post that residents would need to travel 6km up the road to Ravenswood to collect their mail.
I took Joe’s petition to Parliament last week and handed it over to NZ Post Government Relations Advisor Matthew Kenning, and as a result the proposal has been delayed so the community’s voice can be heard and carefully considered.
The New Zealand–India Free Trade Agreement is legally complete and signed, marking a once‑in‑a‑generation step forward for New Zealand exporters. This will deliver significant gains for exporters, cutting or eliminating tariffs on 95 per cent of our exports.
From day one, more than half of New Zealand exports to India will be duty‑free, rising to 82 per cent when fully implemented – creating growth and jobs at home. This once-in-a-generation agreement gives our exporters unprecedented access to 1.4 billion people and an economy set to become the third largest in the world.
The FTA will make a huge positive impact for local businesses, like Sutton Tools, who will be able to significantly increase capacity, leading to more local people being employed, which is obviously fantastic news for Waimakariri.
Finally, I spent time in and around Kaiapoi recently visiting a number of businesses and spending time with NZTA Director of Regional Relationships James Caygill and Regional Manager Richard Osborne at the Pineacres site of early implementation works for the Woodend Bypass. It’s great to see physical works starting to ramp up for this vital piece of roading infrastructure, and I look forward to seeing more progress over the coming months.