There's some great progress happening at the Hawke's Bay Hospital and it was a privilege to be part of the sod turning marking the beginning of construction for the Hawke's Bay Cancer Centre with Minister of Health Simeon Brown, and MP for Napier Katie Nimon.
Cancer impacts each of us in some way, shape or form and having the cancer treatment facility right here in Hawke's Bay means those impacted and their family and friends would no longer have to travel to Palmerston North for treatment.
We also got the chance to see the construction of the new 28-bed ward, which is well underway.
It's great to be part of a government focusing on fixing the basics in healthcare, and ensuring patient wellbeing is at the forefront.
It was good to see the Hawke’s Bay Expressway hitting a major milestone, with construction on track, on budget, and setting a new benchmark for infrastructure delivery.
This is the first State Highway in New Zealand built on a concrete foundation, meaning a stronger, longer-lasting road with fewer potholes and lower maintenance over time — better for drivers and better value for taxpayers.
More than 400 contractors are working on the project, supporting local jobs and the regional economy, with completion expected in March 2027.
Once finished, the expressway will improve safety, travel times, and freight efficiency, while better connecting communities across Hawke’s Bay.
I was thrilled to be part of the 90-year celebration of our National Party.
Our party is founded on strong values - stronger families, stronger communities and limited Government. We believe in rewarding hard work and ambition and enabling people to keep more of what they earn so kiwis can get ahead.
We’ve had so much support from across the country as we continue to work hard to fix the basics and build the future.
Loved going along to the Hurricanes Game, where they delivered a fabulous Grand Final performance in Super Rugby, defeating the Chiefs 60-5 in Wellington!
What an amazing game, amazing atmosphere and performance!
I visited Bonar-Vossen Chong's Havelock North backyard to see, what he says is a world first, fully automated, robotic mobile food trailer.
It was amazing hearing about the system designed to cook fresh food on demand, 24/7 with all design, prototyping and testing being carried out here in Havelock North in Bonar's garage.
Good luck to Bonar with this endeavour. We look forward to seeing how an idea in a garage grows.
Russell showed us the true power of sport, bringing communities together at the Rumble in Russell.
Our parliament netball and rugby teams took to the court to raise money for Rugby for Life over the weekend.
It was great to see the Russell community come out in force to support this great cause.
Russell put on a phenomenal performance to take the first Dame Jenny Shipley Trophy - supporting women in sport. Well done!
NEW KIWISAVER POLICY: A re-elected National government will:
✔️ Make KiwiSaver compulsory for all workers.
✔️ Enrol every baby born in New Zealand into KiwiSaver at birth and contribute a $1500 payment to kick-start their savings.
✔️ Provide a government contribution to a parent’s KiwiSaver while they’re on paid parental leave.
✔️ Require employers to maintain KiwiSaver contributions for employees over 65 from 1 July 2027.
We’ve already committed to gradually lifting KiwiSaver contribution rates to 6 per cent each for employers and employees, totalling 12 per cent to match Australia by 2032.
Now we’re going further. It’s part of our long-term plan to build the future of NZ
Hospices will receive a funding boost to strengthen palliative care services across New Zealand.
Currently, Government funding covers around 64 per cent of total hospice service costs delivered across New Zealand, with the remaining 36 per cent funded by the sector. However, the level of Government support varies significantly between individual hospices, ranging from 22 per cent to 91 per cent.
To help address these disparities, funding will be more closely aligned with need while ensuring every hospice receives a baseline increase.
This targeted approach will ensure funding is better aligned to the needs of services and the communities they support, helping to strengthen access to specialist palliative care across the country.
Hawke's Bay is one of the six locations for new mental health co-response teams, marking another step in the Government's rollout of a better crisis response for New Zealanders experiencing mental distress.
These teams’ pair mental health workers with frontline police to respond together to mental health-related calls. They can offer people experiencing a mental health crisis the support they need on the spot, and more streamlined access to the most appropriate services.
It is utterly unacceptable that for too long, when a concerned mum, dad, friend or colleague calls 111 looking for a mental health response, they have received a criminal justice response. This Government is changing that because New Zealanders deserve better.
National is supporting Kiwis with lower power bills by making it easier for you to install solar power on your home or farm.
The uptake of household solar in New Zealand has been slow, and biggest barrier is the high upfront cost.
National is fixing that, with a new Home Energy Fund that will allow you to pay the cost of solar and batteries over time, rather than a big up-front cost.
The Government's mental health plan is delivering faster access to support, more frontline workers and a better crisis response, with four out of five mental health and addiction targets now being met. Over the last two and a half years we have delivered on a range of commitments that are now clearly making a real difference for New Zealanders.
Progress is being made despite more people reaching out for primary mental health support. For reference, 84,345 people accessed primary mental health support in the most recent quarter, up from 73,239 a year earlier.
Despite this, nearly 84 per cent of people are accessing primary mental health support within one week. The data shows more New Zealanders are accessing mental health services, but at the same time more people are being seen faster.
We promised to fix the basics of our health system. Our plan is working.
Across all five Government health targets – planned care, cancer treatment, emergency departments, immunisation – things are improving. Every single one, year on year.
Over 51,000 people were treated from the elective waitlist this quarter alone. Cancer patients are getting treatment faster. More kids are immunised. And emergency wait times are down.
Every one of those numbers is a real person. A mum who got her diagnosis sooner. A dad who made it to his kid's birthday.
That's what fixing the basics looks like. And we're not done yet.
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I look forward to seeing you out in our Tukituki community soon.
Regards, Catherine
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