It was great to have the Prime Minister in the electorate at the beginning of the month joining me and a number of my parliamentary colleagues at the Wanaka A&P show.
We had many excellent conversations with a large amount of people from all over the Waitaki and the positive feedback about the Government’s direction certainly puts a spring in the step.
The Prime Minister and Miles checking out one of the great displays at the Wanaka A&P Show
I’m not sure I’ve seen a bigger Wanaka show than this year’s event and extending into the neighboring sports fields was a great move by organisers. I’m told there were over forty thousand tickets sold for the Saturday and by the end of it all I felt like I’d spoken to nearly everyone there!
What the Prime Minister and I heard loud and clear was the satisfaction that people were feeling with a Government that has got back to what matters to make life easier for New Zealanders. Whether that’s farmers, retailers, teachers or tradies, the work we’re doing to cut red tape and allow our country to thrive is being welcomed.
A major plank in streamlining the country for success is our work to replace the Resource Management Act. The RMA is broken and everyone knows it. That’s why the National-led Government has recently announced we are replacing it with new laws premised on private property rights and less red tape.
It is simply too hard to get things built in this country, and the RMA is a big reason why. It slows down critical infrastructure projects, stops people building houses and shops in our towns, and even stops renewable energy projects like wind farms and hydro dams. That is bad news for everyone. Not only does it mean that we can’t enjoy the benefit of new roads, more energy generation, and more affordable housing, it also takes away good, well-paying jobs from our communities.
That’s why we are getting rid of it. Before the end of this year, the Government will introduce two new laws to deliver major reforms to our planning system to unlock the economic growth we need to improve the lives of all New Zealanders.
Cabinet has agreed to the key architecture of the new system, committing to a far more liberal planning system to allow us to get on and build things that make our lives easier. We are doing all of this while protecting the environment, including strengthening environmental enforcement, monitoring, and compliance.
This is just another piece of our plan to stop the culture of “no” so we can grow the economy, because more growth means more money in your back pocket.
The Government is also taking strong action to drive grocery prices down for Kiwi families and help ease the cost of living. New Zealand still has some of the highest grocery prices globally, and Kiwi shoppers are being poorly served with two major supermarket chains – Foodstuffs and Woolworths – dominating the market.
Cabinet has agreed to begin formal engagement with experts and businesses, ensuring our efforts to promote more supermarket competition are as effective as possible. The Government will engage with potential entrants such as Costco, The Warehouse, international retailers like Coles and Aldi, investment groups, iwi organizations, and current supermarket operators.
We’re committed to making real changes that drive genuine competition in the grocery sector and have also commissioned specialist external advice on ways in which the existing supermarket duopoly could be restructured to improve competition.
The RFI process will be completed within six weeks, gathering insights on how to increase competition. Further recommendations will be presented to Cabinet in mid-2025. If legislative changes are needed, reforms will be introduced and passed within this parliamentary term.
It has also been pleasing to see that more than 900 thousand superannuitants and almost five thousand veterans are among the New Zealanders set to receive a significant financial boost that will help support them through cost-of-living challenges.
From 1 April, most MSD payment rates will increase through the Annual General Adjustment (AGA). Overall, this year’s AGA means around 1.5 million New Zealanders will get an increase to reflect the cost-of-living, ranging from just over 2 per cent to around 3 per cent. This means pensioners, parents, students, and people on main benefits will all get a little extra, helping hundreds of thousands of Kiwis.
Horticulture plays a significant role in the Waitaki, with around 190 growers in the Waitaki District growing fantastic produce which feeds New Zealand and makes a huge contribution to our local economy.
I am therefore very pleased to see the success of our Government’s recent trip to India where we made sufficient progress in trade talks, and I’m happy to report that negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) with India have begun.
This is great news for the Waitaki region and will further strengthen our valuable horticultural industry. Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay also signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) during Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the horticulture sector.
The importance of our focus on engaging in trade missions has been highlighted by the announcement from the U.S they’re placing 10 per cent tariff on all goods imports. While this is a significant development, New Zealand remains competitive against other exporters in the U.S. market.
New Zealand’s interests are best served in a world where trade flows freely. Tariffs have consequences for the global economy – impacting inflation, demand, currency stability, and economic growth.
While these tariffs create additional costs that will largely be passed on to consumers, New Zealand is in a stronger position than many other countries, some who are facing higher tariff barriers. This reinforces the importance of our work to create new trade opportunities and reduce barriers for our exporters in the EU, UK, UAE, GCC and most recently India.
New Zealand’s bilateral relationship with the U.S. remains strong. We will be talking with the Administration to get more information, and our exporters to better understand the impact this announcement will have.
A final note on good news for the hunting community, with a new and improved hunting permit system set to be introduced to make it easier for New Zealanders to go hunting on public conservation land.
Longer permits, automatic reminders and better navigation are part of a significant upgrade that will make life easier for the 34,000 hunters that hunt on open conservation land.
The underlying technology of the current hunting permit system is outdated and in need of an update, and is being improved based on the direct feedback of hunters. This upgrade will support more hunters, both domestic and international, getting out and doing what they love. These may be simple changes, but they reflect a government which is committed to making it easier for New Zealanders to go hunting and fishing on conservation land, and are willing to listen to the feedback of the hunting community to do so. This new system will be launched by the Department of Conservation in May.
All the best if you’re going for a hunt over the roar, and take care for each other when out in the hills.