Getting on with the job
It’s been a year since the coalition government came to office. As MPs and Ministers, we’ve all been busy getting on with the job of building a more modern and fairer New Zealand that we can all be proud of.
Right here in Northland, I’m especially pleased that we have already made significant announcements, including a $46 million Northland investment package to develop jobs, housing, transport and businesses, $460m overall over three years for transport projects, 10 new classrooms for Northland schools, 87 extra police, and three marae in Northland have received funding for rebuilds totalling $2.9 million.
The unemployment rate has also dropped nearly 2 per cent since the September 2017 quarter, to 4.7 per cent, with 1500 more people in jobs.
I’m also proud of the work we have been doing in my ministerial portfolios of Corrections, Tourism, Ma¯ori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti, and Associate Education (Ma¯ori Education). Amongst this work is the development of an international visitor conservation and tourism levy, set to raise about $80m a year for tourism infrastructure and conservation.
We are also establishing a new agency to oversee the government’s work with Ma¯ori in a post-settlement era. We’ve seen the prison population fall more than 7 per cent in six months through safe innovations to make the system more effective and by targeting processes that are clogging up the system.
All across New Zealand we are delivering on our promises to improve housing, lift living standards, protect our environment and upgrade critical transport and other facilities. We’re rebuilding the hospitals, schools and public services that all New Zealanders rely on. And we’re responsibly managing the government’s books — running surpluses, paying off debt, and making the sound investments we need for the future.
On top of all this, Jacinda Ardern has been earning acclaim for the way she has been representing New Zealand on the world stage.
The most important measure of our country’s success, and our economy’s success, is whether it’s delivering real gains for our people. That’s why we’re working to ensure every New Zealander has access to world-class education and health care, lives in a warm, dry home, and in a community that is safe.
On housing in particular, it’s exciting that families will be moving into the first KiwiBuild homes over the next few months. Northland has been signalled as one of the focus areas for KiwiBuild homes, and this region is also going to see 180 more public housing places by 2022, and 22 new state houses.
It’s been a busy year, and we’re just getting started. We’re building a New Zealand we can all be even prouder of. We’re striving towards a better New Zealand, for this generation and the next. With your help, we are going to keep doing this.
"Northland has been signalled as one of the focus areas for KiwiBuild homes, and this region is also going to see 180 more public housing places by 2022, and 22 new state houses."