Faster Broadband
Right now household incomes are stretched, with soaring food and petrol prices coupled with the second highest interest rates in the developed world. Groceries have gone up by over 25% this year alone. The Labour Government’s answer to these issues is to get in the gutter and make up silly songs and say ‘diddums’ about National Leader John Key. Most New Zealanders hate the personal politics from our Prime Minister Helen Clark.
It’s no wonder that people are voting with their feet and leaving New Zealand for Australia. Latest figures show that 43,000 Kiwis left for Aussie permanently – a staggering 19% increase over the last 12 months. What is worse is the latest opinion poll said 10% of us are considering moving to Australia. People are leaving as wages are on average a third higher and there is less tax to pay.
It’s clear the economy has cooled. So now, in election year, Labour is talking up a tax cut – although it is dithering about when it’s going to deliver the tax relief that hard-working people in Horowhenua deserve.
A National Government will create the right incentives to keep more Kiwis in Horowhenua and will deliver a long-term programme of tax cuts. National will also reduce some of the rules and regulations suffocating how we live our daily lives.
We are focused on delivering better wages and higher aspirations for New Zealanders through strong leadership, a sound vision, innovation and technology.
Ultra-fast broadband will help achieve that. Last week National announced its Broadband policy that will bring us closer to our trading partners, put us at the forefront of technological innovation, and greatly enhance the way we do business and the way we communicate.
We’re not talking about broadband speeds as we know them now. We’re talking about download and upload speeds many, many times faster than most Kiwis have ever experienced.
National will invest up to $1.5 billion to drive the roll-out of a fibre-to-the-home, ultra-fast broadband network. Our medium to long-term vision is for a fibre connection to almost every home, supported by satellite and mobile solutions where it makes sense to do so. We will also invest to ensure fast broadband solutions are delivered in rural and remote communities, like Horowhenua’s coastal settlements or places like Ohau that struggle with slow dial-up speeds through the copper phone lines.
Our initial goal is to ensure the accelerated roll-out of fibre right to the home of 75% of New Zealanders.
Just think of the potential productivity gains – less flights and face-to-face meetings with access to video-conferencing facilities instead. Small business won’t have to waste precious dollars on expensive toll-calls – they’ll make those calls at next to no cost over ultra-fast Broadband.
As people are able to do more virtually from home, we’ll see less travelling by car and plane, in turn reducing our individual carbon footprints and achieving a better work-life balance.
Fibre to schools and children’s homes could hugely enhance teaching and learning, while fibre to hospitals and medical centres could improve the productivity of the health sector.
Faster broadband will positively transform Horowhenua and National will provide the vision and energy to deliver the step change that our community is ready for.