CANDIDATE QUESTIONS/Answers to Tauranga & WBOP Grey Power Assn
By the NATIONAL PARTY: MP Simon Bridges, MP Todd Muller, & MP Scott Simpson
Housing – The key to improving affordability is increasing supply by freeing up land for development. We are currently in the middle of a building and construction boom. Our ongoing programme of reforms to the Unit Titles Act, Urban Development Authorities, Resource Management Act and the Building Act, as well as our own ambitious building programme, will ensure this strong momentum is maintained.
Last month the Government announced the successful applicants for the $1 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund. This funding will be used to help fast track the vital infrastructure – roads, bridges, water treatment – to speed up housing development. Tauranga will see our fair share – $230 million – which will help bring forward the building of 35,000 homes to meet much of our forecast growth over the next 30 years.
Apprenticeships – The National Party are huge advocates for apprenticeships, and by no means think that university is the only pathway for our young people. It’s not for everyone.
New Zealand is amid its biggest ever building boom. We’re investing over $180m this year to support work-based training and ensure we have the skilled workers to meet this demand and future growth.
Across the country, we’ve surpassed 11,000 building and construction apprentices actively in training and a total of 43,000 New Zealanders are involved in apprenticeships across all sectors. That’s up by nearly 19 per cent since 2012, and we are on our way to achieving our target of 50,000 apprentices by 2020. That’s providing more jobs and opportunities for young people in the Bay of Plenty.
We believe all our young people should be in some form of employment or training.
National Super – The National Party believes that we have a responsibility to face the bigger, longer-term issues facing New Zealand. That’s why the Government intends to progressively increase the age of eligibility for New Zealand super to 67, starting in 20 years’ time. This is about striking the right balance between making it fair to both present and future generations.
We also remain committed to NZ Super being indexed at 66% of the average weekly wage. It is important to keep in mind that wages are growing – since 2008 NZ Super is up by 36%. This is more than double the rate of inflation over the same time. Changes made in Budget 2017 also plan to increase the pension a further $13 per week in addition to the usual adjustment that happens on April 1st every year. Around 15,000 super annuitants nationwide will also benefit by an average of $29 per week with changes to the Accommodation Supplement.
Education – While the “3 R’s” are still a vital part of our education system, we live in a rapidly changing world. That is why the Government is investing around $40 million over three years to enhance the digital fluency of our young people.
Digital technologies are revolutionising how we live and work and influencing every facet of our lives. To participate successfully in society and get the jobs and careers they want, our children will need to be confident users and creators of digital technologies.
Health –National is committed to supporting older New Zealanders live longer, healthier, independent lives. That is why increasing access to specialist care remains a priority for this Government.
As we live longer, access to elective surgery becomes increasingly more important. The answer to increased demand is to do more, whether it’s assessments or operations, and that’s what the Government is focused on delivering.
Under this Government, the number of patients receiving elective surgery has increased from 117,951 in 2007/08 to 171,608 in 2015/16. That’s over 53,500 more surgeries over the last eight years – a 45 per cent increase.
This uplift has been accompanied by a continuing increase in the number of people receiving elective surgery, and is being supported by the extra $888 million being invested into health services for 2017/18, the biggest increase in eleven years.
Water –National is firmly committed to continuing to improve freshwater quality across NZ so Kiwis can better enjoy our great outdoors. The Government has an ambitious plan to improve water quality in our rivers and lakes that involves stronger direction to councils, tighter regulation and funding to support projects. Freshwater improvement projects covering over 100 rivers and lakes across New Zealand are to receive grants of $44 million. The Bay of Plenty has been allocated $8,250,000 – the greatest proportion of the fund.
To offer some context on the issue of water bottling and export – 213 billion litres of water that has been consented for bottling in New Zealand – this equates to around 2% of consumptive water use in New Zealand. Of the 213 billion litres consented, only 0.5% of that is used. A mere 26 million litres of water was exported in 2016, equivalent to just two minutes’ flow over the Huka falls or one and a half hours’ consumption of water in Auckland.