The First 100 Days
Parliament has just completed a 2 week session and it’s great to be back making a contribution in Government to help Kapiti and Horowhenua people.
Our big focus has been on the economy as the situation has deteriorated quickly and continues to look a bit shaky. We want to help ease the sharpest impacts of this global recession and also prepare New Zealand’s economy for future growth.
Some of our initiatives include assistance to small and medium-size businesses, sweeping changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA), as well as bringing forward $500 million worth of infrastructure projects to help stimulate the economy.
In Kapiti and Horowhenua about 20,000 people are employed in about 7,700 businesses, with many feeling the effects of the economic slowdown. Our assistance package, worth $480 million over the next four years, will reduce paperwork and help cash flow to keep these businesses operating and people employed. We need our businesses to perform and ultimately grow again to take on more employees. Our package is all about cutting bureaucracy and keeping the lifeblood – small businesses – of our economy flowing.
The RMA has also been a source of great frustration and expense for people. The proposed changes will make the legislation more user-friendly and practical e.g. putting up a garden shed or bigger projects like Kapiti’s Western Link Road move through the consenting process quicker.
Other initiatives to ride out the recession include tax cuts that will take effect on 1 April and the introduction of a 90-day probationary period for small to medium size businesses taking on new staff. This will encourage small businesses to grow and take on more staff without the risk associated if it doesn’t work out - for either party.
The National Government has also moved swiftly in its first 100 days to tackle crime. We’ve got different stages of legislation moving through Parliament that will make it more difficult for gangs, tighter bail laws and focusing on victims of crime. We want to allow Police to take DNA samples and issue protection orders. As promised, National is also moving on its plan to introduce military style camps for teenagers who might otherwise end up in prison.
It has been a busy time and there is still so much to do. I’m passionate about our area and the great people we have in Kapiti and Horowhenua. We will weather the economic storm and continue to punch above our weight as a region – mainly because of our resilient people.