Welcome to my final newsletter for the year.
Reflecting on this year, the Government has delivered on the promise to rebuild the economy, reduce the cost of living, restore law and order, and improve our schools and healthcare. We are on the journey to deliver meaningful outcomes for hardworking Kiwis.
Do you know of any unnecessary compliance processes, have a regulatory issue in your business, or want our government to tackle a general regulatory concern? If you do, check out the Government's Red Tape Tipline online at the Ministry for Regulation. Billions of dollars are stripped from the New Zealand economy every year due to unworkable red tape, and we want to do something about it!
The Government launched an online hub to support farmers and growers with their mental health when they are impacted by adverse weather events. The 'Getting Through' resources are funded by Health NZ and created by Farmstrong. This tool provides access to professional advice and strategies for managing challenging times, all available at Home - Farmstrong.
The latest New Zealand Health Survey highlights the Government's dedication to enhancing health outcomes, with positive trends such as 85.4% of adults and 96.5% of children reporting good health, alongside declining smoking and hazardous drinking rates. However, it also identifies areas needing improvement. To address these challenges, the Government has introduced five key health targets focusing on cancer treatment, childhood immunisation, emergency department wait times, and wait times for specialist assessments and elective treatments, effective from 1 July 2024. These targets aim to drive system-wide progress and enhance accountability through regular, transparent reporting.
As your local MP, I am advocating for high-quality health care services in Mid and South Canterbury and have expressed concerns about Te Whatu Ora's proposal to merge South Canterbury's clinical leadership with Southern District Health Board. This merger risks undermining the excellence in health care delivery that South Canterbury Hospital Services is known for, potentially affecting local decision-making and service quality. We urge Te Whatu Ora to maintain South Canterbury's independent clinical leadership structure and focus on strengthening existing successful systems. Despite the challenges, I remain dedicated to advancing our region's health care interests and working towards a healthier, more equitable future.
Recent Key Announcements:
Supporting rural New Zealand: Farmers and rural communities are the backbone of New Zealand's economy. Over the past year, the Government has delivered practical reforms to reduce costs, cut red tape, provide certainty, and get Wellington out of farming. (Beehive PR)
Levelling the playing field for Community Housing Providers: The Government has agreed to a series of changes to remove barriers faced by Community Housing Providers (CHPs) in delivering social housing. (Beehive PR)
Justice Select Committee: The Committee was recently referred its 26th and 27th bills of this Parliament, making it the busiest committee in Parliament. Recently at scrutiny week, the committee conducted annual reviews of several public service organisations, including the Department of Corrections and Ministry of Justice. The committee is currently considering, among other bills, changes to strengthen our sentencing laws to ensure that punishments are reflective of the crime, clarifying interpretation of foreshore and seabed laws, and strengthening protections against child sex offenders. Many of these bills are currently open for public submissions. (NZ Parliament Website)
Gang crackdown begins: Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. (Beehive PR)
Government moving forward with Regional Deals: Cabinet has agreed to invite all regions to submit proposals for Regional Deals between central and local government that drive economic growth and deliver the infrastructure our country needs. (Beehive PR)
Police stats show promising change: After nearly a year in Government, Kiwis have seen significant change across law and order with promising early results shown across Police measures. (Beehive PR)
Better coordination of anti-scam efforts: The Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams. (Beehive PR)
Better support for victims of sexual violence: The Government is proposing two major changes to name suppression laws that will put the views of victims of sexual violence first. (Beehive PR)
More support in reading and maths for Kiwi kids: Due to high demand, we're boosting the level of targeted interventions in classrooms around the country. (Beehive PR)
Government strengthens protection for people in state care: The Government is introducing several law changes to better protect people in state care, in response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. (Beehive PR)
Government launches refreshed Public Private Partnership framework: The Government has released a refreshed Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework that provides a blueprint to the market outlining how the government will approach future PPP transactions. (Beehive PR)
Safeguarding Kiwis with modern insurance law: Modernised insurance law will provide Kiwis with confidence that they will be treated fairly by insurance providers. (Beehive PR)
Improving the lives of young New Zealanders: Ensuring New Zealand is the best place in the world for children and young people is the vision at the heart of the Government's new Child and Youth Strategy. (Beehive PR)
Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double: Legislation to improve court timeliness and access to justice so that Kiwis can get on with their lives. (Beehive PR)
Upcoming events
14 Dec Christmas on the Bay, Timaru
20 Dec Pleasant Point Christmas Parade, 7pm
25 Dec Timaru Community Christmas Dinner, Caroline Bay Hall
26 Dec – 12 Jan Caroline Bay Carnival, Timaru
21-22 Jan Caucus Retreat, Hamilton
23 Jan Select Committee meetings resume
Highlights
Last month the Prime Minister addressed a packed room at the Ashburton Event Centre as part of Federated Farmers' Restoring Farmer Confidence Tour. The event demonstrated the strong connection between our Government and the agricultural community, with all of the questions asked from the audience being squarely focused on farming and growing the economy.
We are committed to working alongside farmers, the backbone of our economy. I've seen first-hand how the past year's reforms are making a real difference to farming families across the electorate. The primary sector produces 80 percent of New Zealand's exports and employs over 359,000 Kiwis. It deserves practical support rather than bureaucratic hurdles.
Over the last month I had the honour of speaking at a number of special events throughout the electorate including the Temuka Lions Club's 50th anniversary celebrations, the South Canterbury Indian Cultural Society's Diwali celebration, and the White Ribbon Events held in Timaru and Ashburton. The White Ribbon events aimed to raise awareness of violence against women. White Ribbon is a worldwide campaign, and it sets out to rewrite the adage that "boys will be boys" by saying that "boys will be the men we teach them to be". Thank you to the groups who support these events and important work.
I've had the opportunity to visit a number of schools across the electorate. It is great to see first-hand the amazing communities we have supporting our young people.
Education Minister Erica Stanford's "Make It Count" mathematics action plan, launching in Term 1 2025, will support structure in the maths curriculum. We will be providing schools with comprehensive resources including teacher workbooks, student materials, and lesson plans. A structured approach to mathematics teaching aims to lift achievement rates, with the Government targeting 80 percent of Year 8 students reaching the expected curriculum level by 2030.
I was very proud to be in the audience to see the Timaru Boys' High School and Timaru Girls' High School Seadown Road Young Enterprise team achieve second place at the National Finals Awards in Wellington. They worked incredibly hard and it's wonderful to see them rewarded at such a high level. They have done their community and South Canterbury proud, and I'm very grateful to be supporting these brilliant young entrepreneurs.
Finally, thank you for making this a year one I won't forget! At times it's been hectic, but I've enjoyed travelling around our beautiful electorate meeting as many people as possible and supporting numerous local events. My truck and I certainly clocked up some kms.
If I didn't manage to get to your event, business, or organisation and you'd like to arrange a visit, please reach out to my staff in the Mid or South Canterbury offices to make an appointment. There'll be no January newsletter, office hours over the summer break are below. I hope you enjoy a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.
Contact the team:
Our offices will be closed from 20 December 2024 to 20 January 2025. You can contact us by email from Wednesday 8 January.
Office Hours: Monday to Friday 10am - 4pm.
Call: South Canterbury 03 683 2009 or Mid Canterbury 03 307 1729.