Wed, Jan 26, 2022 1:10 PM

National leader talks issues

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Jenny Nicholson

National Party leader Christopher Luxon held a public meeting on Thursday at Hope Community Church. He talked about National’s plans and his own views on a variety of issues. Here’s what he had to say:

Labour shortages
The biggest issue facing the Top of the South is labour shortages, meaning businesses are not able to expand or realise opportunity. That’s a problem we have with the government, whether it’s with mechanics, vets, doctors, nurses, or RSE workers. We have some big challenges in terms of being able to get those workers into the country. The immigration system is blocked up but was slowing up well before Covid-19. While the rest of the economies of the world are taking off, people with the talent and skills we need in our country don’t consider New Zealand open for business.

RSE workers
We know exactly what we need. Every year the same volume of production needs to be picked. We would open that up. Many growers have good plans to manage the risks and already do a fantastic job managing and looking after that workforce. In a Covid environment they have often gone to the government proposing different and new ideas of how they could manage risks with RSE workers, and the government doesn’t listen to them. You cannot just approve the RSE workers in November when you need them in December. That is too little, too late.

Roading
I’ve experienced the Southern Link. That is a classic road of regional significance that does need serious investment. It speaks to a bigger problem of road maintenance that is not happening on some of our highways. There have been instances of lowering speed limits rather than fixing or expanding roads. We need our roads, so it’s important we make that investment in that infrastructure. We would be very supportive of that.

Three Waters
Groundswell put volume and voice to the issue of how the rural communities are feeling about an overwhelming sense of regulations coming at them. They know they need to change but they need sensible and workable regulation. They can’t digest it all. It’s like ten tennis balls coming over the net at once. You can’t hit any of them versus hitting one at a time. National would repeal Three Waters legislation if we are voted in in 2023. We also need to not demonise farmers. They are doing a great job and we need to help them to be the best in the world.

Taxes and spending
National is opposed to a capital gains tax and is not in a position to lower taxes. A goal for National would be not to increase them, but we need to crank down on wasteful spending. Interest deductibility would be reintroduced. About seventy per cent of those with rentals own just one or two properties. They are not property speculators.
Labour has their $50 billion Covid-19 fund but that money has not all been spent on Covid. The reality is the debt must be repaid, so that will limit what we can do going forward. It affects cancer research, road building, funding more police, upgrading hospitals. If we really care about people, we have to care about money. Otherwise, we have to make very terrible choices when it’s time to pay the money back.

Centralisation
The government has been building a culture of control and centralisation. They haven’t listened to what community and business say. We need these three players (community, business, and government) to work together. The people closest to the problem can often make the best decisions. Local government doesn’t always work well but neither does making things mindlessly centralised.

Education
Investing in education is the single biggest thing that lifts people up and helps them get ahead in life. We are failing our kids in their ability to realise their own Kiwi dream. Only 60 per cent of children go to school 90 per cent of the time. This lack of education means individuals have less opportunities and choice on how they lead their life. We want to ensure we have a truly world-class education system with teacher instructed learning and a focus on mathematics, English, and science.

Act
David Seymour is both a good friend and a past neighbour. Both parties need each other but the focus for National is on what they need to do. We will both oppose and propose policy.

Covid
I commend the government for 2020, but 2021 was a shambles. We are going in the wrong direction, playing a fearful and inward game. We haven’t added any extra ICU beds since Covid-19 started. In contrast, New South Wales doubled theirs. There is a lack of a clear plan around Omicron, and the possibility our testing regime will get overrun. We also need to connect people and bring our New Zealanders home.

The National Party
We have a big job to earn the trust of people in New Zealand. A lot is presenting our ideas, not just criticizing. We must have solutions.
People would be given roles based on their skills. We would have a dedicated Mental Health minister.
Targets would be based on need, not ethnicity. We care deeply about vulnerable people and need powerful, targeted interventions.

Nelson App is owned by Top South Media. a locally owned media company.