COLUMN: The Daily Chronicle
As a young kid growing up I always remember the end of January was something I looked forward to because of the AP&I Show and a chance to ride on the sideshows. The big downside was that the school term was about to begin for the year.
The Horowhenua AP&I Association held their 101st show over Wellington Anniversary weekend which I had the honour of opening. This was once again a very successful show and thanks to their committee for a well organised event. This iconic event provided many attractions for everyone from sideshows for the kids (my 2 year old really enjoyed the merry-go-round for the first time), rural-based events like shearing sheep, show jumping, animal nursery and dog trials. I had a tough job judging the indoor and outdoor trade exhibits as the standard was so high. My congratulations goes to the winners as a lot of effort was put into preparing their stands of which they can be proud of.
I had a stand in the events centre supported by the National Party which gave me the opportunity to catch up and chat with many of the thousands of people who attended the show. My hole-in-one golf putting competition was a great attraction and the lucky winner will have lunch with me shouting.
I will be attending the Medieval Market this Saturday at the Showground’s Events Park. This market is always popular and well supported and I look forward to seeing many more of you there. (Not sure if I’ll be in the tights though?)
Last week I attended a very successful National Party caucus retreat where significant progress was made towards forming our policy for the next election.
This gave Leader John Key the opportunity to announce that National will investigate disestablishing the Department of Corrections and re-incorporating it into the Ministry of Justice. Following the high profile Graeme Burton parole release and Liam Ashley tragedies, prison construction budget blowouts and rehabilitation failures, the public has lost confidence in Corrections’ ability to meet its core responsibilities.
National still believes in one standard of citizenship and will look to abolish the Maori seats when historic Treaty claims are settled– which we anticipate will be around 2014. We will also ensure more resources are available to help speed up the claims settlement process. We want to improve on the foreshore and seabed legislation passed by the Labour Government, but we do not support the Maori Party’s proposals which would take us back to a situation that was uncertain and unresolved.
We are committed to tackling intergenerational welfare dependency and are working on proposals for a community work placement programme for the long-term unemployed.
I am looking forward to the new Parliamentary year and taking up the challenge of being Junior Whip for National again next week and keeping this tired Government on their toes, locally, and in Wellington.