Ribbon cuttings have been the theme of the last week as we see progress and development in Hawke’s Bay from quarries to hospitals.
It was exciting to officially open Kaweka Hospital and the Roys Hill Quarry. There is plenty happening in Hawke’s Bay, and it's great to be part of it.
I also got the chance to meet up with constituents and it is good to see people take an interest in how government policies and legislation impact them.
The youth I met at NGHS stood out as bright beacons for our future.
Spotlighting our youth- I also celebrated my birthday and was given the most wonderful, thoughtful gift by my niece!
OUT AND ABOUT
Championing public-private partnership
It was a special moment to open the second and final stage of Kaweka Hospital- the first new hospital to open in Hawke’s Bay in 20 years.
It is a world class, private hospital which has been the brainchild of local families and clinicians in our community. These families had a vision for better healthcare in Hawke’s Bay and are delivering.
Our National Government is proudly working with private healthcare providers to get the best outcomes for patients and reduce the ballooning elective surgery waitlists.
About 6000 surgeries and 10,000 patients will come through Kaweka each year.
With about 40 per cent of procedures at Kaweka hospital coming from the public system, our public hospital can focus on acute care and providing better outcomes for our patients in Hawke's Bay.
Our government is working hard to get the elective wait lists down again – and this will be achieved by working with the private sector.
Supporting our quarries
It was a privilege to open the newly branded Roys Hill Quarry.
We desperately need aggregate from well-located quarries, to build roads and infrastructure across our region.
Our government has announced $6 Billion of public infrastructure projects to kick off before Christmas.
This means jobs and a stronger economy!
Builders best in class
We have the best builders in Hawke’s Bay, and we celebrated our incredible builders at the Central North Island Master Builders Awards.
Congratulations to Davcon for Supreme Winner of the over $1 Million House category and to Inspired Projects for the best renovation.
It was great to catch up with some apprentices who have now become qualified builders through some of these jobs.
Also, congratulations to Landmark Hawke’s Bay who also took out top awards!
It was definitely Hawke’s Bay’s night to shine and celebrate our amazing builders - well done!
Flaxmere supermarket progressing
It was very exciting to see the new Flaxmere Supermarket plans, at my meeting with the Woolworths Team.
The supermarket is expected to be similar to the Hastings Woolworths, but slightly smaller, and all going well, they are aiming to open it in July next year.
It will employ more than 100 staff, which is great for our region and for Flaxmere where we are seeing progressive development.
Woolworths is very supportive of our Resource Management Act Reforms to speed up consenting.
It is currently taking too long and is too expensive to get infrastructure built in NZ.
We are turning this around so we can reduce the cost of living and grow jobs and opportunity.
Championing sustainability
I love visiting Sustainable HB where Sam and his team are working on some amazing projects to protect our environment and build a circular economy.
I learnt about reuseable plastics at Hawke’s Bay events and the biodiversity work with farmers and catchment groups.
It's great to see Hawke’s Bay leading the way on sustainability.
Thumbs up to our future!
I loved spending time at Napier Girls' High School at their career's day, sharing my journey to politics, alongside former diplomat Ian Hill.
These talented students asked some outstanding questions and were very interested in law, media, marketing and politics and of course the diplomatic work of travelling the world.
Two super-engaged, awesome groups. The world is definitely their oyster!
A very special gift from my niece
For my birthday my very talented niece gave me the most special thoughtful gift, which she has been working on for the past year!
When I first became an MP, we had a family photo at the opening of the 54th Parliament.
And unbeknownst to me, Emma replicated this photo as a lino print. Handcrafting every little detail of the beautiful parliament buildings and the Beehive, spending hours chiselling out the Lino and calling this piece of art “The First Step”!
It was super special and emotional when she gave it to me. A birthday moment I will always remember with this very talented young lady.
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
EIT set to become independent!
Our EIT graduations are special moments for our region where we celebrate the success of our amazing graduates who have worked so hard.
I am thrilled that EIT has been announced as one of 10 polytechnics which will become independent institutions from January 2026.
It has been an incredibly difficult few years for EIT going through the Te Pukenga reform and Cyclone Gabrielle, up against bureaucracy and centralisation.
But we are putting localism back into training!
We need accessible and affordable training opportunities which meet the needs of our industries and businesses in Hawke’s Bay which will keep our young talent here.
Well done to the EIT team who have done an amazing job - with our minister showcasing EIT up as the poster child for polytechnics across the country.
I am so proud to see Hawke’s Bay is leading the way for these young graduates who have a bright future ahead.
UAE deal passes, unlocking $500 billion market
The UAE Trade deal has passed into law, and I was excited to stand up for our Hawke’s Bay Exporters and Growers in the house, because it’s huge for our region.
It clears the way for our kiwi exporters to tap into a $500 billion market so we can grow our economy and create more jobs and opportunity.
This is the highest-quality, and fastest, agreement negotiated by New Zealand that will immediately remove tariffs on 98.5 per cent of New Zealand’s exports upon entry to force, rising to 99 per cent in three years.
Healthcare sector boost
A new medical school will be built at Waikato University with a primary care and rural focus.
The school will train more doctors in the communities needing them, like Hawke’s Bay. Rural and provincial NZ need more NZ trained doctors and this new school will give students a clear pathway into general practice and regional care.
The school will train 120 new doctors a year from 2028.
The government is investing $82.85 million to get the school up and running – alongside over $150 million from the University and philanthropists.
This covers curriculum design, new teaching and lab facilities, accommodation, community learning hubs, and off-campus clinical training infrastructure.
Government to stop Council plan changes
The Government will stop councils wasting their officers’ time and their ratepayers’ money on plan changes in advance of the new planning system coming into force.
The existing RMA mandates that councils review their plans and policy statements every ten years leading to a situation where, even though councils know the RMA’s days are numbered, many are required to continue with time consuming, expensive plan-making processes under the RMA.
So rather than let these pricey, pointless planning and policy processes play out, the Government will suspend these mandatory requirements and extend the restriction on notifying freshwater plans.
This will enable Councils to focus on critical work to prepare to transition to the new system.
Government calls time on open-plan classrooms
The Government has put an end to building open-plan classrooms, ensuring all new classrooms are designed in a flexible way to ensure better student outcomes.
This Government is focused on raising achievement and closing the equity gap and an important part of our reform package is ensuring learning spaces are designed to improve student outcomes.
All new classrooms will be built using standard designs that prioritise flexibility over open-plan layouts.
Surge in NCEA numeracy & literacy results
Thousands more high school students are passing the foundational literacy and numeracy assessments required for NCEA, clear evidence the Government’s relentless focus on the basics is delivering results.
The latest NCEA co-requisite assessment results show a marked improvement in student achievement in numeracy and reading, especially in Year 10 for those sitting the assessments for the first time.
The Government’s $2.2 million investment in 2024 to provide targeted support to students in 141 lower decile schools has resulted in more students achieving assessments.
These early improvements are the result of a comprehensive reform package focused on lifting academic achievement. We have introduced a new year-by-year, knowledge-rich and internationally benchmarked English and maths curriculum, restored a focus on structured literacy and structured maths, and provided schools with hundreds of thousands of high-quality resources.