Term 3 has started back, and we are back in Wellington passing legislation, with just 6 more sitting weeks before the house rises for the election. Today marks 100 days until November 7th, so it's a busy time as we gear up for the campaign.
National has made some great policy announcements including our Parental leave policy to extend parental leave to 30 weeks. This supports stronger families, which are core to our National Party values.
It was also great this week to attend the RSE conference and catch up with many of our Hawke’s Bay growers. The RSE scheme is critical to Hawke’s Bay to enable us to grow our exports and provide more permanent jobs for Kiwis, so I'm thrilled that we are making practical changes to ensure the scheme is sustainable into the future. I have advocated strongly for improvements to the RSE scheme and worked closely with our Minister to ensure the RSE scheme continues to deliver for both Hawke’s Bay and the Pacific.
It's always wonderful to showcase the fruit bowl of New Zealand to fellow MPs and it was great to visit Mr Apple, with Ryan Hamilton, MP for Hamilton East. Our apple growers have had a record season and are experiencing high demand and prices for New Zealand apples. It was positive to see the automation and innovation in new apple varieties. We even got to tast Lumi, the next big apple about to hit the markets from Hawke's Bay, developed with the assistance of Plant and Food Research.
Thank you to the team at the Packhouse for having us and showing us around.
Hunting and fishing is part of the Kiwi way of life. It puts food on the table, brings families and communities together, supports regional jobs and tourism, and connects New Zealanders with the outdoors.
Our family loves hunting and fishing like thousands of other families across NZ and it brings us to some of the most beautiful parts of our country.
National has delivered on its commitments to hunters and anglers and we announced our Hunting and Fishing Policy for the election as we will continue to deliver on a strong track record so far:
• We established New Zealand’s first Minister for Hunting and Fishing.
• We delivered New Zealand’s first two Herds of Special Interest for wapiti and sika.
• We launched the Access Charter for Recreational Hunting and Fishing.
• We invested $4.2 million in 30 community hut projects.
• We protected New Zealanders from new recreational hunting and sea-fishing licence requirements.
• We began the work needed to modernise and strengthen Fish & Game.
These are practical changes that give hunters and anglers a stronger voice and recognise the contribution they make to conservation and regional communities.
A re-elected National Government will build on that progress by:
• Formally recognising valued introduced species in law.
• Establishing a clearer and more coordinated framework for wild animal management.
• Strengthening the Game Animal Council as the statutory manager of valued game animals.
• Modernising Fish & Game so it is more accountable to licence holders and directs resources where they are most needed.
• Seeking proposals for additional Herds of Special Interest.
• Replacing the outdated 1993 Tahr Control Plan.
• Opening suitable Crown land to responsible recreational hunting and fishing.
• Protecting recreational access when sensitive land is purchased by overseas investors.
• Expanding hunter-led conservation and supporting the next generation of hunters.
• Growing hunting-related tourism, regional jobs and exports.
It was wonderful to host more than 30 women MPs from the Pacific in Parliament this week and share our experiences in New Zealand. Well done to our Commonwealth Women's Group for facilitating this. Our relationship with the Pacific is extremely important and it's good to get together and share ideas and strengthen our relationships.
At the RSE conference it was great to celebrate with Hortus Ltd who won the best RSE employer this year. Our RSE employers invest heavily in looking after their RSE teams and invest in strong pastoral care. It was good to see employers recognised for their work. Congratulations again Hortus.
National will extend paid parental leave from 26 to 30 weeks!
This is the first step in our long-term vision to extend paid parental leave to 40 weeks.
This supports more parents to spend more time with their babies and families.
We’ll also give parents the flexibility to take paid parental leave at the same time, so they have the option of spending the time together during those early months.
Supporting families and improving paid parental leave is all part of National’s plan to fix the basics and build the future.
Over 97,500 New Zealand families have now received FamilyBoost payments to help with the cost of early childhood education.
Last year we expanded FamilyBoost because we wanted more families to benefit and to receive larger payments.
We increased the rebate from 25 per cent to 40 per cent of eligible early childhood education costs, increased the maximum payment from $75 to $120 a week, and expanded eligibility to families with an average household income of up to $229,000 a year.
The latest figures show those changes are working. The average payment has increased by 70 per cent, and across the three quarters since the expansion an average of 12,331 families each quarter have received $75 or more each week towards their childcare costs.
Backing working parents and giving children the best possible start in life is part of this Government's plan to fix the basics and build a stronger future. When families have more support to balance work and family life, they're better able to get ahead, and that's good for parents, children, and the wider New Zealand economy.
The Government is modernising the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, making it simpler and clearer to use while maintaining protections for workers and opportunities for New Zealanders.
The RSE scheme has been a standout success for nearly 20 years, helping meet seasonal labour needs in our horticulture and viticulture industries while providing opportunities for work and training for Pacific workers and supporting their communities.
Key changes include a graduated accreditation system that recognises employers with a strong track record and more flexibility for workers to move between RSE employers in appropriate circumstances with additional safeguard for workers.
The changes will also introduce clearer rules on the genuine costs employers can recover from workers (such as transport, insurance and accommodation), giving workers and employers greater certainly about what costs can be recovered and how.
The changes will be introduced in stages beginning in early 2027 through to 2029.
These reforms will help ensure the RSE scheme remains fit for purpose, supporting Pacific workers, New Zealand employers and the horticulture and viticulture sectors for years to come.
The Government has released its response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19.
The independent Commission is clear that restrictions stayed in place for longer than needed against public health advice, that Auckland was kept apart from the rest of the country for longer than it needed to be, and that the cost to jobs, businesses, and everyday life was not given sufficient weight alongside the health response.
The Commission also found that more than half of the $60 billion COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, spread across more than 800 programmes, was not directly related to the pandemic. That has left New Zealanders carrying higher debt and a higher cost of living they are still feeling today."
The Inquiry ran over four years and heard from more than 44,000 New Zealanders. It made 63 recommendations across 23 agencies. The Government has accepted 21 in full and a further 36 in principle, while partially accepting the remaining six.
Read more here- Government responds to COVID-19 Inquiry | Beehive.govt.nz
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Kind regards,
Catherine Wedd
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