Hope you had a good summer break

What a start to the year!
Dear John,

What a start to the year we've had! Over the summer I had many people say to me things like "well, you've got a big year coming up, don't you?" - but I don't think they envisaged the Prime Minister would resign, Auckland would be hit with unprecedented rain and flooding, we'd have an election date announced, and a ferry would almost be stranded in Wellington harbour.. all before the end of January! It truly has been a extraordinary start to the year. I hope things settle down a bit soon. And it'd be nice if the weather improved.

I hope you had a good summer break. Jenna and I mainly spent it at home, although we did get a week in Napier where it proceeded to rain for seven nights. Jeremy turned seven months a few days ago - I spent the summer talking to him about cricket and even showing him a few matches.... he seems to like it :)

The political year got off to a bit of an earlier start than normal this year in mid-January - by sheer coincidence, both National and Labour had caucus "retreats" (to be honest that's a bit of a misnomer) in Napier, about two kilometres from each other, on exactly the same day. The press gallery certainly liked it. We were all taken by surprise when Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation around lunchtime. There's a few people going around saying they "picked it", but I think there's a bit of revisionism going on, frankly.

And so we farewell Jacinda Ardern and up steps Chris Hipkins, who I know well from his time as a fellow local MP and shadowing him in COVID-19 in 2021 and 2022. The key question for him will be whether he actually takes action on all of the critical issues facing New Zealand: the cost of living, the prospect of a recession, law and order increasingly out of control, and under-delivery in education, health, and infrastructure. So far the signs aren't good - a reshuffling of the Cabinet, but nothing of substance.

In Napier Christopher announced a bit of a line-up change ([link removed]) to National as well, and I've picked up responsibility for Urban Development and Resource Management Act reform, alongside Housing and Infrastructure, ranked 3rd in the National line-up. I'm really excited about this as reform of the RMA is critical to so many issues that bedevil us in New Zealand, and the government's own reforms are deeply flawed. There's lots to be getting into and the hearing of submissions on the government's RMA reforms actually start next week, even though Parliament doesn't go back until mid-February. I'm also looking forward to chairing National's election campaign this year. So yes, those people over summer who said I had a big year coming up were right!

Days Bay to Seatoun Ferry: I've had a few emails about the cancellation of the Days Bay to Seatoun ([link removed]) ferry service, which people thought was starting up again once the wharf upgrade was complete. It's pretty frustrating, particularly for parents of Scots College students who live in the Eastern bays of the Hutt. I've been in contact with East by West (it was a commercial decision by them), as well as the City Council (who upgraded the wharf), the Regional Council, and Scots College. I'll keep you posted. We need more ferries across the harbour, not fewer!

Catch up with Chris: I'll be running regular "Catch up with Chris" clinics this year again - which is a chance for people to catch up with me in a casual cafe setting. Not everyone can make it to the office during the the day, so no need to make an appointment, simply look out for the sandwich board and come over! Check out the first dates below.

That's it for the first Bishop Bulletin of the year - as always, if you need a hand with anything, please contact my office.

See you soon.

Chris
Catch up with Chris - February 2023

Come and say hello! Dates and locations for February.

Maungaraki - Benedict's Cafe, Maungaraki Shops
Thursday 2 February 11am to 12pm

Waterloo - Normablue Cafe, Trafalgar Square
Thursday 2 February 12.30 to 1.30pm

Petone – Flying Bean Coffee Cart, The Esplanade
Friday 3 February 9am to 10am

Alicetown - Alicetown Espresso, Victoria Street
Friday 3 February 2pm to 3pm

Eastbourne – Café Tartine Courtyard, Eastbourne Shops
Thursday 9 February 10.30 to 11.30am

Moera - Coffee Box, Randwick Road
Thursday 9 February 2 to 3pm

Wainuiomata – Library
Friday 10 February 10.30 to 11.30am
Cobham Drive Crossing
Labour has built a transport project in Wellington! It’s a pedestrian crossing. On SH1. Which nobody wanted. It took 7 months to build. It cost $2.4 million. The consultant cost alone was $500k. In seven years Labour has delivered one project which will slow people down. Let’s Get Wellington Moving is a total joke.
Congrats Petone!
Congratulations to Petone Riverside on securing the Joy Lamason Trophy (40 overs) in the Spotlight Reporting Women's Division 1 cricket competition!
New roles
I picked up the portfolios of Urban Development and RMA Reform a couple of weeks ago alongside my existing areas of Housing and Infrastructure. These are critical issues for the future of New Zealand and I will be working closely with my colleagues Simeon Brown and Simon Watts in particular on delivering a plan for NZ that makes it easier to get around, builds more desperately needed houses and makes our cities more liveable. Infrastructure is a major driver of economic growth and National knows how to get things done.
Queens Drive Espresso
Picked up a coffee this am at the new Queens Drive Espresso. A great addition to the street - it's the 8th Espresso store in the chain around the Hutt.
SuperSeed Crackers
Great to see awesome Hutt product SuperSeed crackers spreading far and wide! These packs spotted in Havelock North.
What do you think of the beard?
I wasn't allowed to keep it :)

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
Copyright © 2023 Chris Bishop MP, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this as a supporter, friend or colleague of Chris Bishop MP.

Our mailing address is:
Chris Bishop MP
66 Bloomfield Terrace
Hutt City
Lower Hutt, Wellington 5010
New Zealand
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.