🎄 Kirihimete/Christmas Wrap Up 🎁

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou,

Before anything else, my heart goes out to the victims and families who have been devastated by the Whakaari eruption last week. Amongst this disaster, the support from New Zealanders across the country has been inspiring. From rescue teams to medical staff, there is no limit for our capacity to care for and support those impacted by tragedy.

While reflecting on this difficult time, I’ve also reflected on 2019 as a whole. Thinking back on the year that’s passed, I’m pleased with what the Government has done in our two years in office. And, looking forward to 2020, I am excited by what we have ahead.

I can’t list everything we’ve done so far, but I do have a few highlights.

First was the Wellbeing Budget, where we put $1.9b into mental health funding. I’ve heard from many Wellingtonians about how important it was to improve our mental health system. Now we can do better by people in our community facing mental health and addiction issues. 

We’ve begun improving our cancer care. For too long, where you live dictated the quality of your treatment. That’s not good enough, so we are standardising care so that everyone can access the same quality treatment, no matter who you are.

We’ve funded 2000 new teachers , begun lunches in schools and ended fees that made life harder for parents. 

We’ve built  more social housing than any government since the 1970s, with more planned for areas like the Rolleston St flats in Mt Cook. We’ve also announced that for first home buyers, government backed mortgages will have a deposit of only 5%. It will now be much easier for Wellingtonians who were previously locked out of the housing market to buy their first home.

And we’ve passed the Zero Carbon Act. This year has been a strong one for environmental action, particularly with the Wellington School Strikes for Climate sending a strong message. There is still so much to do, but with this Act we are starting to lead in solving the climate crisis.

These are just a handful of the things we’ve achieved this year to rebuild New Zealand, and next year we’ve got even more in store.

Some of this will come from Budget 2020, where we’ve recently announced our Wellbeing Priorities. The next Budget prioritises a just transition to a low carbon economy, preparing for the future of work, lifting Māori and Pacific opportunities, improving our children’s wellbeing, and our physical and mental health.

Cabinet has also agreed to a $12 billion infrastructure package. The books are in good shape, so it is time to take decisive action. This will be made up of initiatives like our one off spend of $400,000 to nearly every state school to modernise and rebuild facilities. For Wellington Central, that’s a $4.2 million investment. We’ll be putting $8 billion into transport, decarbonising state assets, fixing up our hospitals and revitalising regional opportunities.

This spending is part of our long term approach to issues. We’re planning for the next thirty years, not just the next three. When we think long term, we make better decisions for our communities and generations to come. It is why we’re becoming carbon neutral, transitioning to a higher wage economy and significantly investing in our infrastructure to improve wellbeing now and into the future.

Once the holiday break has come and gone, we’ll be back into it. For now, it is a good time to recharge the batteries.

If you’d like to get in touch, flick me an email at [email protected]. Wishing you and your whānau peace and joy over the summer break. I’ll be back in touch in the new year.

– Grant