Dear John,
It’s been a full-on couple of weeks since the last Bishop Bulletin – it feels like I’ve been putting out press releases and making announcements almost every day!
As a government, we’re determined to turn around New Zealand’s economic fortunes. We inherited an economy in recession, with high inflation, high interest rates, and high levels of spending and debt. It’s going to take more than a year to turn the situation around, and I know that people are hurting right now. There’s green shoots of change coming through, in particular interest rate cuts, and better days are ahead.
Nicola Willis released an economic stocktake yesterday which details the many initiatives the government has underway to lift our economic growth rate. My portfolios of transport, infrastructure, RMA Reform and housing are critical to our future and it’s a privilege to get the chance to make a difference.
In my view, what is required is a single-minded obsession with growth – and ending the culture of “no”. Time to start saying “yes” to our economic opportunities. I talked about this in the House on Wednesday and a few people have emailed to say they enjoyed it – you can check it out here.
Talking of saying “yes”, I’m writing this from the Hawke’s Bay where I’ve just announced that the government will fund the Waikare Gorge Re-alignment Project, a new 4km road and new bridge over the Waikare Gorge. Last week the PM and I were in Christchurch announcing funding has now been confirmed for the SH76 Brougham St upgrade, a really important project for Christchurch. Also this week, the first test train went through the City Rail Link in Auckland (video here), another milestone on the journey to this game-changing project opening in 2026.
Investment Summit: Again with the theme of “yes”, this week the PM and I announced that we’ll be holding a NZ Investment Summit in March. This is all about attracting international investment into NZ infrastructure and other growth sectors and we have pension funds and other investors coming from all over the world. There’s billions of capital out there looking for a home and NZ is very much “open for business”. The summit is already over-subscribed!
Kainga Ora: You might remember that last year we reviewed the performance of the government’s state house company, Kainga Ora, which was allowed to borrow billions by the last government and given billions in funding. We replaced the Board last year and asked them to produce a “turnaround plan” to get the agency back on track. It was launched last week and I’m really pleased by the response. Under the plan, KO will get back to its core job of building and maintaining state houses, and will cut costs to get back to financial sustainability. It will also sell houses which are uneconomic to maintain, can’t be upgraded, and where the funds gained can produce better results elsewhere. For example, why does KO own 200 houses worth $2 million or more, mostly in Auckland?
Vintage Cars: Last weekend we had a family day out to Upper Hutt for the British & European Car Show (Jeremy absolutely loves cars!) and I took the opportunity to officially announce we’ll be consulting on reducing the frequency of WOF and COF inspections for vintage cars and private motorhomes from 6 months to 12 months. The evidence is that vintage cars are driven less and pass their tests at a higher rate so a 6 month inspection is just unnecessary time and cost. Consultation opens 27 Feb and the feedback so far has been amazing!
Around the Hutt: As you can see my Ministerial portfolios are keeping me busy! I’m looking forward to catching up with people at the Petone Fair tomorrow on Jackson St. We’ve got a National Party stall and we’ll be selling blue ice creams as a fundraiser for the Kitten Inn. Please stop by and say hello if you’re in the area – look for the blue gazebo 😊
Youth MP: Finally this week, it’s Youth Parliament time again! I’m looking for a Youth MP to represent me at the event on 1-2 July. They need to be 16-18, live in Hutt South and interested in making the Hutt and NZ a better place. Applications are now open – please get people to email me to apply and please pass this on to a young person who you think would be keen!
Have a great weekend.
Chris
P.S Did you see this profile of Hutt legend Ewen Chatfield?
P.P.S Check out this video of the tunneling of the Mt Messenger Bypass. It's up to over 500,000 views on Facebook - people love tunnels!
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We'll be consulting on reducing the frequency of WOF and COF inspections for vintage cars and private motorhomes from 6 months to 12 months. Opens on 27 February - get your submissions in!
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I hopped on the train at Petone on Monday to meet Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick coming into town. This was the first service from Wairarapa since Christmas when KiwiRail’s big repair job on Remutaka Tunnel started. The 8.8km tunnel has now reopened.
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New affordable housing for seniors
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It was a real pleasure to open new affordable housing for seniors in Christchurch on Wednesday last week. The Christchurch Methodist Mission’s Wesley Village contains 14 new affordable one bedroom units and was part funded by the government.
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Nearly half a million maths workbooks, textbooks, and teacher guides have just been shipped to primary and intermediate schools around New Zealand! And they were all shipped by and from BlueStar in the Hutt. I called into the logistics hub last week to see how the big operation was going.
From this term, parents can expect their children to benefit from a new year-by-year knowledge-rich curriculum grounded in the science of learning, structured approach to literacy and numeracy, new classroom resources, targeted interventions for kids who need extra help, teachers' professional learning and development, and the roll-out of the new phonics check.
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Have you heard of Pickleball?
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I opened the Wellington Pickleball Cup at the Kilbirnie Sports Centre. The fastest growing sport in the world! A huge amount of fun.
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Kainga Ora Turnaround Plan
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The previous government poured billions of dollars into Kāinga Ora, with debt on its balance sheet rising from $2.3 billion in 2017/18 to $16.5 billion in 2023/24.
Last week we released the plan. Kāinga Ora will be refocused on its core mission: building, maintaining and managing quality social housing, and being a supportive, but firm landlord.
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Our Fast-track one stop shop is open for project applications!
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Now we can start to get moving on growing NZ’s economy and sorting out our infrastructure deficit and get more houses built, instead of tying essential projects up in knots for years at a time!
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Electrification to Pukekohe is now complete!
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Electric trains will run from Pukekohe, meaning no more 40 min bus journeys or train changes from diesel to electric.
This project was first committed to by National in 2017 and it is great to see it complete. It is part of a big investment in Auckland rail including the City Rail Link coming soon, plus the Third Main and new stations at Drury and Paerata.
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