I was thrilled this week to be able to send our RMA Reform Bills back to the house as we work very hard to pass this important reform into law, before the election. Our RMA reform enables faster consenting so we can build houses faster and speed up the building of renewable energy projects. Our reform also removes the red tape holding our farmers and growers back, while ensuring we protect our environment for future generations.
It takes far too long to get anything built in New Zealand, which is why the RMA reform is so important for the future of our country.
I’ve been chairing the Environment Select Committee and, on Monday, we reported the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill back to the House where they will go through the final stages of being passed into law.
We received the bills in December, and this has been a huge process as we heard from industry, councils, environmental groups, iwi and many submitters who gave us valuable feedback.
We have made many changes to the bills to ensure they provide a sustainable resource management system into the future, which is simpler and easier to navigate.
The new RMA system will mean 45% less consents, less bureaucracy, and less cost.
It will enable faster building of renewable energy projects, housing developments and many more infrastructure projects and it will create a culture of yes.
This is all part of our government’s plan to fix the basics and build the future.
Hōhepa Hawkes Bay is a special part of our community and I always love visiting and hanging out with David, Santiago and the team.
They do incredible work across the village on the dairy farm bottling organic milk, growing produce, making candles and toys and who can go past their award winning cheese.
Hōhepa is making a real difference for both people and our environment.
Thank you David for my lessons in the dairy shed at Hōhepa and for hosting our Associate Minister for Agriculture Mike Butterick, Katie Nimon and Organic NZ.
Minister for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston was also in Hawke's Bay last week and spoke about 'ChamberWorks' at the Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce. It is a partnership between MSD and New Zealand Chambers of Commerce.
It's an exciting new development for our region and will support business owners with their hiring decisions, getting more Kiwis into work. It aligns workforce needs with job seekers, meeting a gap in the market. It makes sense these two groups work together because MSD has the largest talent pipeline of workers in the country.
We are committed to fixing the basics and building the future.
It was great to visit Patu Heretaunga which is a community-based health and fitness organization right here in Hastings, and it has been operating for more than a decade. Patu delivers group exercise classes to whānau. They also deliver an 8-week work readiness programme to rangatahi and young adults to improve fitness, build life skills, and connect with the outdoors and meaningful employment.
What a fantastic way to encourage wellbeing and learn valuable life skills! Well done Patu Heretaunga and thanks for having me.
It was a privilege to be invited to speak at Hawke's Bay Property Investors Association meeting.
Property investment is about confidence. It is about backing a place, putting capital to work, and helping build the homes, business premises, visitor accommodation and services a growing region needs.
And I believe Hawke’s Bay is a place worth backing.
It was great to have the Young Nats here in Tukituki. We knocked on more than 3000 doors and received positive feedback. I love connecting with our community and finding out more about the issues which are important to our constituents.
Looking forward to getting out and door knocking again!
It was incredible to have the Roller Skating National Championships in Hawke’s Bay.
It took me back to roller skating in the 1980s! Every child love's roller skating!
Seeing the speed and talent of these athletes was absolutely brilliant and it was awesome to catch up with some of our local skaters past and present and loved talking to some of our NZ representative skaters too.
Thanks to all those who participated and the organisers who made this event a huge success.
My Youth MP Chris Proctor had a flying visit to my office before heading overseas to study at UNC and Duke University. He has a very bright future ahead of him and I wish him every success.
It was a pleasure to have him as my Youth MP and I have no doubt he will make the region proud wherever he goes.
RMA replacement
• National has a long-term plan to fix the basics and build the future. Replacing the RMA with a new planning system that will make it easier to build is part of this plan, removing barriers to growth and building a stronger economy.
• The new planning system is projected to boost GDP by $3.1 billion annually, while delivering $13.3 billion in savings over 30 years through reduced administrative and compliance costs.
• Over the past six months, the Environment Committee has considered submissions and has recommended a range of improvements the Government supports.
• The core architecture remains unchanged. The new two-Bill system will be retained, which features goals and national instruments setting direction from the top, a narrowing of matters that can be revisited at each successive level of decision-making, more consistent planning rules, fewer consenting requirements, higher thresholds for public participation in consents, and a clearer focus on managing the effects that matter.
• These reforms will replace one of New Zealand's most complicated and pieces of legislation with a planning system that is more predictable, more consistent and far better at enabling New Zealand to grow.
National will modernise consent laws
A re-elected National Government will modernise sexual consent laws to specify there must always be a "yes," rather than an absence of a "no".
National is focused on fixing the basics in law and order, and modernising our consent laws is an important part of that.
Unlike other jurisdictions we normally compare ourselves with, New Zealand law does not define what consent is. Rather, the Crimes Act provides a non-exhaustive list of what consent is not.
If re-elected, National will change the law to specify that consent must be actively given, meaning there must be a 'yes' rather than the absence of a 'no.' That 'yes' can be communicated by words or actions.
The change would align the law with what we've been telling our kids for a long time: that you need positive consent before sex, each and every time, rather than presuming it.
That means silence is not consent. A person who doesn't say no has not said yes. And consent given once is not consent forever. A previous relationship, or a previous encounter, does not change that.
Telehealth investment to deliver faster access to support
The Government is backing Lifeline, alongside Youthline and Whakarongorau, through a more than $10 million package to strengthen mental health and addiction telehealth services and help more New Zealanders get the faster access to support they need.
The breakdown of the funding includes:
$3.9 million over four years to expand mental health and addiction telehealth services.
$2 million over four years for Youthline to expand its existing Government funded capacity by 44 per cent, enabling it to respond to around 4,400 additional calls.
$1.2 million to support the continued operation of Lifeline for 2026/2027.
$3.35 million over four years to develop and implement an AI-enabled triage and referral tool across publicly funded mental health and addiction helplines.
Latest figures continue year-on-year increase in jobseekers finding work
In the year ending June 2026, there were 86,544 exits from a main benefit into work – an increase of 5772 from the year ending June 2025.
The figures reflect the typical seasonal patterns for this time of year, with a small (1 per cent) increase in the number of people receiving a working age main benefit and fewer exits compared to the last quarter.
Our Traffic Light System continues to help jobseekers stay on track with their job search responsibilities and seize every opportunity available.
MSD’s Kōrero Mahi seminars are helping thousands of jobseekers take practical steps toward sustainable employment through targeted employment support – including advice about finding the right job, CV support, or being referred to job vacancies, training, or case management.
Throughout the quarter ending June 2026 more than 16,000 people attended MSD’s Kōrero Mahi – Let’s Talk Work seminars, which are targeted towards people who are new to benefit and have full-time work obligations.
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I look forward to seeing you out in our Tukituki community soon.
Catherine
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