John,



We’re focused on holding the Government to account for their lack of delivery on issues that affect the lives of all New Zealanders, like the cost-of-living crisis, making our communities safer, and delivering outcomes in health and education.



Catch up on the latest in politics with our Week in Review below.



→National's plan for the cost of living crisis <[link removed]>→One in four Kiwis struggling to get by under Labour <[link removed]>→Surgical wait list doubles in 10 months <[link removed]>→More than half of Kiwi kids not at school regularly <[link removed]>Christopher Luxon: National's plan for the cost of living crisis



Christopher Luxon was in Nelson this week where he spoke to local businesses about the cost of living crisis.



Labour’s addiction to spending and economic mismanagement is taking Kiwis backwards by putting more pressure on inflation and interest rates for homeowners.



- National has a plan to deal with the cost of living crisis. We would:

- stop adding unnecessary costs on businesses

- reduce bottlenecks in the economy, for example by allowing immigration to alleviate skills shortages

- be far more disciplined with government spending

- provide tax relief for hardworking Kiwis, so you’ve got more money in your back pocket

- focus the Reserve Bank solely on inflation.



You can see a short video from Christopher while he was in Nelson here <[link removed]>.



Nicola Willis: One in four Kiwis struggling to get by under Labour



Under Labour’s watch, one in four New Zealanders are struggling to make ends meet at least once a month and still this Government does not have a plan to tackle the cost of living crisis.



The YouGov study released last week makes for sobering reading. 27 per cent of Kiwis are struggling to pay their bills or buy food for their families at least once a month, and 23 per cent of people fear losing their homes.



Times are tough and Labour is only making things worse with its economic mismanagement and policy failures. Labour’s addiction to spending and unwillingness to fix immigration settings are just adding fuel to the cost of living fire, putting more pressure on inflation and interest rates.



Read more from Nicola Willis <[link removed]>.



Dr Shane Reti: Surgical wait list doubles in 10 months



The health sector is under immense pressure, but Health Minister Andrew Little’s ideologically driven health restructure does nothing except create more delays for our vulnerable Kiwis.



In July last year, the number of people waiting more than four months for a hospital procedure was over 14,000. By April this year, that number doubled to almost 30,000. That is nearly 30 times the number of people waiting for surgery compared to when National handed over Government in 2017.



What makes matters worse is that for Kiwis to be included on the surgical wait list, they have to be referred by a specialist – but those wait times have blown out too. People waiting more than four months to see a specialist is already up to 36,000.



Despite being warned by the health sector in July last year, Andrew Little has spent money on bureaucratic health reforms instead of on people. He has failed at his core responsibility of ensuring Kiwis get access to appropriate health care.



Read more from Dr Shane Reti <[link removed]>.



Erica Stanford: More than half of Kiwi kids not at school regularly



Worsening attendance data shows that half of New Zealand’s students are not attending school regularly, risking a generation of children being left behind.



Latest truancy data shows that just 46 per cent of students attended school regularly in the first term of 2022 – down from 65 per cent in term four last year. This means that 386,000 kids across New Zealand failed to show up for class regularly.



In addition, more than 100,000 students were chronically absent from school, meaning they attended less than 70 per cent of school time. That is a staggering rise from 68,000 in term four of last year, and 38,000 back in 2017. These students are at the greatest risk of becoming even more disengaged with education, which will have serious consequences for their futures.



National has warned the Government that it needs to do everything it can to get our children back to school. This should be the number one priority for the Ministry of Education, yet none of their 4,000 staff are employed to improve attendance rates.



This is not just a social failure but a future economic crisis. Labour’s lack of delivery is failing a generation of children.



Read more from Erica Stanford <[link removed]>.



For access to other up-to-date content and commentary from National, head to our Facebook page <[link removed]>.







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