Investing in young kiwis 

Since 2020, New Zealand First has campaigned on funding Mike King’s Gumboot Friday initiative, to provide free counselling for 5-25 year olds across New Zealand. 

We committed to this in our coalition agreement and we couldn’t be happier to have made this pre-budget announcement last week. 

New Zealand First believes that health and education are an investment in our most important asset; our people. $24 million over the next four years, straight into frontline mental health services to support our young people is an incredible investment, and one that we are very proud to have been a part of. 

In addition to this exciting announcement about mental health support for young kiwis, leader Winston Peters was also in the headlines as the Government continued to bring kiwis home from New Caledonia, reminding people about the value of democracy in local government, and continuing to work relentlessly on the world stage to advocate for our country’s national interests. Here is some coverage from the past week: 

• Coalition confirms $24m for Gumboot Friday charity I Am Hope  
• Barry Soper: "Winston is the saviour of MFAT" 
• New Caledonia riots: Third mercy flight heads home from Nouméa carrying 49 more Kiwis 

Or as always, you can follow Winston’s Facebook or X pages to hear straight from the source.

Taking the megaphone to Blackball 

Our industry and resources champion, Shane Jones, released details of the Government’s draft strategy for mineral mining this week at a public meeting in Blackball. Speaking to an overflowing audience, he announced the Government’s plans to double the sector's export value to $2 billion by 2035. 

“[Today] in the heart of mining country, I am telling Kiwis they are back in business. No longer will these communities with rich histories intertwined with mining be told they cannot utilise the rich mineral endowments contained in their land” - Shane Jones 

Even amidst a calculated smear campaign, Shane still takes every opportunity to progress the interests of New Zealand’s economic prosperity. New Zealand First will never back down from protecting our national interests because of the shrill voices of a few outliers, and this is yet another example of the grit and determination of our caucus. 

• Shane Jones attacks 'metropolitan, identity-driven' Labour Party as he commits to new mining projects  
• Resources Minister Shane Jones unveils mineral mining strategy 
• Mining 'back in business' with plan to double export value - Govt  

Shane and the New Zealand First team are deeply committed to seeing our country prosper. Make sure you keep up to date with our progress through all our social media channels and share this newsletter to spread the word.  

• In an increasingly complex world, is NZ's fuel supply secure? | Q+A 2024  
• Extracting NZ's resources will create "greater resilience" - Shane Jones  

Or enjoy this clip as an alternate – and much funnier – report on the public meeting coverage. 

Commonsense member’s bills 

In addition to house proceedings, and being out in the community, our team also work on member’s bills to be submitted into the ‘biscuit tin’ for ballot. These can be submitted by any Member of Parliament who is not a Minister. 

Never a party to shy away from the challenging topics, we caused a few waves with our latest two member’s bills submissions, but we have received so much positive feedback from our supporters about progressing commonsense ideas that protect the freedoms and the safety of all New Zealanders. 

Have a read of the two member’s bill announcements we have made, below: 

• New Zealand First Member’s Bill to protect Freedom of Speech  
• New Zealand First Member’s Bill to protect women’s spaces  

It is fundamental values such as freedom of expression, and protecting the rights and safety of women and girls, that we must ensure are upheld in society. New Zealand First’s ‘war on woke’ continues, and there is much more to be done. Watch this space.