I have been working hard for Hawke's Bay in Parliament and meeting our constituents while out and about in the Tukituki electorate.
It's been a busy few weeks and we have had some amazing announcements impacting the electorate.
Our government is growing our economy with Budget 2025 and backing our region's businesses to invest, to grow and to employ!
Our Tax Initiative “Investment Boost” supports productivity and economic growth by providing a benefit to businesses making new investments.
More investment means greater productivity and higher wages for working New Zealanders.
Businesses can now deduct 20% of the cost of new assets in the year that they purchase the asset. This could be machinery, vehicles, new automation - so many asset options to be driving business forward!
Let’s get investing Hawke’s Bay and driving more productivity!
OUT AND ABOUT
Young students smashing it at YES
It was such a pleasure to judge incredible young entrepreneurs at Havelock North High School for the Young Enterprise Scheme.
From sustainable pet products, chilled cookie dough, to mini gardens and sports nutrition drinks, we judged 20 incredible businesses, and I loved every minute of it.
It was great to see young students putting themselves out there and smashing it! Well done everyone - super impressive.
Out and about with my Youth MP
It was wonderful to be out with my Youth MP Chris Proctor, hearing from some of the residents at Gracelands Retirement Village.
There were many who were concerned for their grandchildren and their future, and asked questions around the harms of vaping, social media and the government’s focus on education. These are all significant issues we are tackling as a government to ensure a brighter future for the next generation.
Kudos to Hastings Karamu Rotary Club
It is a privilege to be the guest speaker at the Hastings Karamu Rotary Club.
Rotary has a strong commitment to service in the community and supports a wide range of medical, charitable, youth, sport and educational programmes within our region, donating over $100,000 each year to our Hawke’s Bay community.
Well done Hastings Karamu Rotary Club for all your amazing support in our community.
Connecting across the generations
The crowds turned out at the Mary Doyle Retirement Village when I visited, and I loved meeting one of my grandfather's old friends from Whanganui and having a laugh over some great stories.
Always makes you appreciate what a small world we live in.
Thanks to Mary Doyle for hosting such a fabulous event where we traversed many important issues with my friend and colleague Cameron Brewer MP.
Cutting edge innovation right here in Hawke's Bay
Tatsumi NZ recently dropped in export-ready strawberries to my office, and they were delicious!
They are revolutionising strawberry farming, with a cutting-edge facility, enabling year-round production and export to Japan.
They told me all about their progress in developing a new variety of strawberry for export to Japan.
It is so good to see global innovation right here in Hawke's Bay.
Our government aims to double the value of exports in the next 10 years and Tatsumi NZ is an example of how we can add value to the produce we grow and export it to the world.
Celebrating young talent in fruit industry
Congratulations to the eight finalists in the Hawke’s Bay Young Fruit Grower Competition, and to Sam Carter the winner.
A special mention to our Hawke’s Bay legend of the apple industry John Paynter who won the Joe Bell trophy for his service and contribution to the industry.
We have so much young talent in the apple industry which was very exciting to see.
Standing up for Rural New Zealand
It was wonderful to be the guest speaker at Grasshoppers with the new Chair Matt Holden. So good to hear from our Hawke’s Bay Rural leaders and discuss the work our government is doing to support our Primary Industries.
Thanks for having me and to all the work the Grasshoppers do to stand up for Rural New Zealand!
Delivering better outcomes
As Chair of the Environment Select Committee it was a pleasure to speak on the political panel at the WasteMINZ Conference in Christchurch.
I spoke about our government’s actions to reform outdated waste legislation so we can minimise waste in a practical way that supports local decision making, encourages innovation, and delivers better environmental outcomes, without adding, unnecessary costs to households and businesses.
I also highlighted the huge clean-up we had after Cyclone Gabrielle and the action our government has taken to create emergency waste management funding for when disaster strikes, so we can respond quickly to manage the waste in an emergency.
It was great to catch up with many of my constituents and the team from 3R who run the amazing Tyrewise product stewardship scheme - repurposing over 6.5 million tyres which reach end of life in NZ.
Touring the new nursing block at EIT
I recently visited EIT Hawke's Bay and had the opportunity to tour the nursing block and gain a deeper understanding of how changes such as the disestablishment of Te Pūkenga are likely to impact them.
We also discussed the Voluntary Bonding Scheme run by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, which is designed to encourage newly qualified health professionals to work in communities and specialties where they’re needed most.
Backing rural New Zealand at Fieldays
It is always incredible to be at Fieldays backing Rural NZ and it was great to be at Mystery Creek, Hamilton.
There was overwhelming support for our farmers and growers.
Our primary industries are the backbone of our economy, and we appreciate all the hardworking families who work in our rural sector every day!
Future sports stars starting young!
I loved watching hundreds of young competitors from Havelock North taking part in the Cameron Graham Cup.
And I caught up with Rex Graham himself who began the sports tournament over a decade ago.
The tournament started as a rugby competition between Havelock North Primary and Te Mata School and now includes all primary schools across Havelock North and multiple sports, football, netball, hockey and rugby.
Thank you to Rex Graham for starting this incredible tournament.
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Social media age-restricted user's bill update
Since launching my members bill to ban social media for U16s I have received overwhelming support from across the country.
So many parents and educators are struggling and support my bill. I am now working with Minister Stanford and have been meeting with advocates from across New Zealand as we work hard to protect our kids from online harm.
Wool carpets for state houses a win-win
From 1 July all public entities must use woollen fibres, where practical and appropriate, in government buildings. The new policy, announced in April, directs agencies to identify opportunities to use woollen products, and to properly consider a range of factors in procurement including whole-of-life cost, sustainability and health benefits.
The decision is great news for sheep farmers, and all the New Zealanders whose jobs and incomes are tied to the fortunes of our world-leading wool industry.
We’re leveraging government spending to back the wool industry and the New Zealand economy. I hope private businesses will follow our lead.
Largest boost to learning support in a generation
As a mother of four children, I know how important it is for children to have a good education.
I am proud to be part of a government which has invested so much into ensuring children with additional needs are supported through their schooling years.
Budget 2025 invests the single largest investment in learning support in a generation — a transformational, system-wide reform that delivers a coherent, multi-tiered, evidence-informed approach to meeting the needs of our students.
Read my op-ed here-https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/catherine-wedd-largest-boost-to-learning-support-in-a-generation/SHJHPN2255E53GBFNEX3OK7A54/
New Zealand food and fibre exports on track to break new records
Farmers, growers, foresters, fishers and primary processors are driving New Zealand’s economic recovery with export revenue on track to surpass $60 billion for the first time!
The latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) report forecasts export earnings of $59.9 billion for the year ending 30 June 2025, $3 billion higher than projected in December. This momentum is expected to continue, with exports reaching $65.9 billion by 2029.
These figures reflect the hard work and resilience of the hard-working men and women of provincial New Zealand.
Primary produce is the backbone of our economy, and the numbers speak for themselves, but the government remains laser-focused on doubling the value of exports in 10 years, driving higher farm and forest gate returns, and backing the long-term capability, resilience, and health of rural New Zealand.
Faster access to new agriculture and horticulture products
Farmers and growers will now have faster access to new agriculture and horticulture products
Cabinet has accepted all recommendations in a regulation review.
Agriculture and horticulture products are integral to driving productivity in Hawke’s Bay. The changes will speed up the application process, which has been taking far too long.
I caught up with Mark Apatu at Apatu Farms and Liz Shackleton from Animal and Plant Health NZ, to understand how important it is to lift the red tape, so the industry has access to horticultural products, to drive growth in our economy.
Enhanced mental health crisis support in Hawke's Bay
It was great to have our first Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey in the region to open the new mental health facility Waiorua, opposite Hawke's Bay Hospital. The service is a collaborative approach between Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, Health New Zealand, Police and MSD.
As a result of this new Crisis Respite Service there will be six new unplanned crisis respite beds opened as an alternative to an admission to an ED or a mental health inpatient unit.
More regional events funding
The Government is encouraging more New Zealanders to visit Hawke’s Bay, with $136,000 from the Regional Events Promotion Fund, helping boost regional tourism and promote local events.
These are signature events that bring people to our region, celebrate who we are, and give a real boost to our local economy.
The funding will support a range of events across the region, including the Hawke’s Bay Wine and Food Festival, Art Deco Festival Napier (2025 and 2026), the Horse of the Year (2025 and 2026), and the Outfield Music Food and Arts Festival.
Legislation introduced to restrict farm-to-forest conversions
Introduction of long-awaited legislation that will put a stop to large-scale farm-to-forestry conversions – delivering on a key election promise to protect the future of New Zealand food production.
For too long, productive sheep and beef farms have been replaced by pine trees in the race for carbon credits. That ends under this Government!
The Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Scheme - Forestry Conversions) Amendment Bill will restrict wholesale conversions of farmland to exotic forestry by stopping LUC 1-5 land from entering the ETS and capping new ETS registrations on LUC 6 land.
It will also protect farmers’ ability to diversify – allowing up to 25 per cent of a farm to go into trees, while stopping the kind of blanket ETS planting that’s been gutting rural communities in places like Hawke's Bay.
Targets continue to get health back on track
In the latest quarter, from January to March, key improvements include:
- Shorter emergency department stays: 74.2 per cent of patients were admitted, discharged, or transferred within six hours, up from 70.1 per cent last year.
- Childhood immunisations: 79.3 per cent of 24-month-olds fully immunised, up from 76.9 per cent last year.
- Faster cancer treatment: 84.6 per cent of patients starting treatment within 31 days, up from 83 per cent last year.
- Fewer people waiting for elective procedures: The number of patients waiting has dropped by 1,891, between January and March 2025.
Govt set to surpass both law and order targets
The government is on track to deliver on both law-and-order targets ahead of schedule.
The latest New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey shows that for the year to February; there were 157,000 victims of violent crime. This is 28,000 fewer victims than the baseline set in October 2023.
Specifically, there were 12,000 fewer victims in Auckland and 5,000 fewer in Canterbury.
There is a lot more work to do, but these results are a good early sign we are heading in the right direction.
Vapes stores go dark, disposable vapes banned
Vaping laws which took effect on June 17 ban disposable vapes and will make a noticeable vapes and will make a noticeable difference to shop fronts and the marketing of vaping products.
Disposable vapes, which have been the most popular products among young people, are now off the market.
Penalties for breaching the ban are up to $400,000 for a manufacturer, importer or large retailer, and $50,000 for any other person.
Saying yes to housing growth
New Zealanders have an opportunity to help shape the new planning system replacing the Resource Management Act (RMA) through public consultation on removing unnecessary barriers to housing growth.
Next year we’ll replace the RMA with a new planning system that makes it easier to plan and deliver the housing and infrastructure New Zealand needs.
Public consultation on the Going for Housing Growth discussion document opened on June 18 at www.hud.govt.nz/haveyoursay and will run until 17 August 2025. This is early non-statutory consultation and public feedback on will be used to shape the development of the new resource management system.