New Zealand First opens Fourth of Five offices for Northland
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Thu Mar 24 2016 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
New Zealand First opens Fourth of Five offices for Northland
Thursday, 24 March 2016, 8:29 am
Speech: New Zealand First Party
Embargoed till delivery
New Zealand First Leader and MP for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters
Speech to open NZ First Dargaville Office
87 Victoria Street, Dargaville
5.45pm, Wednesday, 23 March, 2016
New Zealand First opens Fourth of Five offices for Northland
It is a pleasure to be in Dargaville and the Northern Wairoa, a town and area that has many memories. My political leanings were forged here, as were my beliefs.
By opening this new office today New Zealand First is showing its commitment to hear your voice and to work for your future.
Last year in the Northland by-election our slogan was:
“Send them a message.”
The people of Northland heeded that call and gave the National government a very clear message
That message was plain and simple – “we’ve had enough; we’ve been ignored and forgotten for too long.”
The result of that message has been renewed interest from the Government in Northland.
It is as though they have discovered this jewel of the north that they never knew about.
Yet this interest has only been sparked by self-interest; by their desire to ensure their viability as a government continues.
Furthermore this interest has no depth.
There have been grand visits to the North by Ministers and the Prime Minister, yet the same issues and challenges we saw in the by-election campaign are still here, and in some instances are worse.
RAIL
Rail is a classic example. The Prime Minister plays fast and fancy with words but the
government want all rail in Northland shut down and are doing that by a process of letting
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lines run down.
A wonderful opportunity is also being lost with Northport. Ports of Auckland
are looking for a suitable site and the deep water port at Marsden Point is the logical choice.
But the government won’t support a 20km rail line from the port to the main trunk line. This would benefit both Northland and Auckland but the government won’t have a bar of it.
Two years ago they closed the rail service from Dargaville to Whangarei without the decency of making a public announcement about it.
That demonstrates a contempt for local people.
DAIRY
This morning Fonterra announced its half-year profit of $409 million which begs the question: Why are the suppliers and contractors having to wait 90 days for Fonterra to pay their bills?
Given the dire straits dairy farmers are in why are 19 of the Fonterra management getting $31 million between them?
Why are they not taking a financial haircut when dairy farmers are their lifeblood?
Northland’s dairy industry, like everywhere in New Zealand, has struck hard times which has not been helped by Fonterra whose overpaid employees fail to pursue dairy wealth-creating strategies, and by the government which has shut the door on a trade deal with the world’s second biggest dairy importer, Russia.
FORESTRY
The wealth of our forests are exported to benefit foreign companies while local mills struggle to gain logs at competitive prices. Sawmills here are competing with foreign owners and buyers who can buy 18 workers for the price of one New Zealand worker. These foreign buyers don’t pay ACC or all the costs New Zealand businesses have to pay.
ROADING
Road funding for the North has dropped seriously in real terms since 2009. In the last six years rural roading support money has gone to Roads of National Significance.
The other day Kaipara commissioner and former National MP John Robertson said:
” Council receives requests from time to time to seal metal roads. We rarely do.
“Roads cost a lot to seal – around $500,000 per kilometre.
“The New Zealand Transport Agency used to provide a subsidy to assist with such work.
“They no longer do so.”
What is fascinating about that statement is he did not say why the NZTA stopped funding rural roads and when.
He knows full well that rural roads subsidies stopped in 2009 under the new National government.
If Northlanders don’t react to that misinformation and half-truth then we will never get the fair share of resources this province deserves.
The Northern Advocate trumpeted a headline this week: “Work on New Bridges”.
That was complete misinformation.
The fact is no work has started on 10 two-lane bridges as promised.
Reading the article the so-called work is not physically starting to build, but just discussions. It’s another talk-fest.
Northland must demand better than long-winded documents and political spin.
ACTION PLAN
One of those long-winded documents is the Northland Regional Action Plan which Minister Joyce announced in February at Kerikeri.
When I asked him if this document was backed up by monetary and fiscal policy changes in Wellington, his answer was – no.
It is difficult to find anything in that document which provides real projects to get Northland people into jobs.
ROYALTIES FOR REGIONS
New Zealand First has a deep concern for the regions and towns such as Dargaville.
That is why we have a ‘Royalties for Regions’ scheme.
This policy would see no less than 25 per cent of royalties collected by the Government from a region’s natural resources (in Northland’s from such things as forestry, fishing and mineral exploration) returned specifically to the region.
These royalties would go in to a fund which would be used to fix roads, build health centres, improve water treatment plants, and for many other regional projects to enhance the economic and social quality of life here in Northland.
CONCLUSION
When we won the by-election last year New Zealand First said we would work tirelessly for the people of the North so they can have a better life.
Opening this office today is part of that commitment.
Please feel free to tell us about your concerns.
The office will be open for two days a week and we will be pleased to hear whatever matter you wish to raise regardless of your politics.
Dargaville and Northern Wairoa can be assured they have a voice in Parliament.
This is the fourth of five offices we now have in Northland. The fifth will be the opening in Kaitaia in early April, all less than a year since being sworn in as your new MP.
That’s offices in Warkworth, Whangarei, Kerikeri, Kaitaia and Dargaville. That’s WWKKD. That sounds like a network and it seriously is.
We are putting the resources into Northland in an attempt to make up for decades of neglect.
No more will Northland be the victims of plenty of pre-sales talk and no after sales delivery.
The first part of New Zealand that people from other nations see is Northland.
It is our intention to ensure that it is the first part of New Zealand that Parliament and Wellington sees as well.
Thank you for your support in turning out today for the opening of this new office.
ENDS
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