Political Email Archive

Dear [Name],

I think most New Zealanders know we have an infrastructure deficit (and we don't look after what we've built very well either). As Infrastructure Minister I am determined to sort these problems out. Building better infrastructure is a critical part of the government's plan to grow the economy and improve our prosperity.

Yesterday the PM, Nicola Willis and I announced https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/track/click that there are $6 billion worth of new infrastructure projects set to start in just the next six months. The projects getting underway include new roads, hospitals, schools, high-tech laboratories and other government buildings.

Construction is starting on $3.9 billion worth of roading projects very soon, including the Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway, the Melling interchange and RiverLink project, SH22 in Drury, and the new Ōmanawa bridge on SH29. Health projects kicking off include upgrades to Auckland City Hospital, Middlemore Hospital, and the construction of the new acute mental health unit at Hutt Valley Hospital. Between now and the end of this year, school property projects valued at nearly $800 million will get underway across the country.

This is very exciting and I can't wait to see these projects underway, creating jobs and driving economic growth!

Local Government: Another area I know people are frustrated by is local government. This week I told local government leaders at their annual shindig that New Zealanders have serious questions about their performance. https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/track/click Rapidly rising rates, a reputation for wasteful spending, restrictive planning rules holding back economic growth, and crumbling local infrastructure have led Kiwis to question whether local government is fit for purpose.

The good news is that the government is taking action. Local Government Minister Simon Watts introduced legislation to Parliament this week to focus councils on what really matters: core services.

In my speech https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/track/click I told councils that it’s ok to build a local road without spending hundreds of thousands on artworks. Not everything they do has to be an architectural masterpiece. Not everything has to win awards for being the most sustainable or the most innovative or the most beautiful. Simplicity is smart. Complexity is costly. The only awards council projects should be winning are for cost efficiency and effectiveness.

As a government, we are getting our house in order. For example, by moving to standardised modular classrooms, we’ve already lowered the average cost of a school classroom by 28%, meaning we were able to deliver 31% more classrooms last year compared to 2023 - 583 classrooms in total. Currently new classrooms cost on average $620,000, compared to the $1.2 million average cost per classroom at the end of 2023.

So we're doing getting our house in order. It’s time local government sorted theirs out, too.

I've had some positive feedback about my interview on The Platform discussing this - check it out here https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/track/click and if you want to read the full speech, here it is. https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/track/click

I also announced https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/track/click that the Government will stop councils wasting their officers’ time and their ratepayers’ money on district plan changes in advance of our new planning system coming into force. It doesn't make any sense for councils to persist with district plan changes when the new system will look so different in a couple of years.

Out and About: It was a busy week at Parliament last week but I really enjoyed officially opening the new Aspeq office in Petone on Friday afternoon. Aspeq are a great Hutt success story - they do examination and assessments and exam software for the aviation market amongst others. They've just moved from High St to Petone and are growing strongly - exporting to 24 countries, all from Lower Hutt! I always enjoy celebrating Hutt business success.

Have a great rest of the week.

Chris

P.S Did you see that we're ending the use of open plan classrooms? What do you think?
Crane Parade
Jeremy and I loved the Crane Parade in town on Saturday, featuring the Hutt’s Titan Cranes!
Hard truths
Aspeq Opening

Opening the new Aspeq office in Petone on Friday. Congratulations!

Visit to Whanganui

All new Kainga Ora houses will now be using NZ wool for their new carpets! While in Whanganui with local MP Carl Bates recently we visited Bremworth Carpets, who make all the yarn for the wool.

New Social Homes for the Hutt

The government is backing the Community Housing sector to deliver social houses for people in need. Last week Dwell Housing Trust, who do great work in Wellington, announced they'll be building a ten house development in Bell Road in the Hutt.

Did you see the news? https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/track/click

New EV Chargers at Z Petone

Checking out the new EV chargers at Z Petone a couple of weeks ago.

Love a hard hat and hi-vis!

From the announcement yesterday in Drury.

Youth Parliament
Back in the House last week after the recess and found this note from my Youth MP Lucy. Thank you Lucy - you did Hutt South proud!
[Twitter] https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/track/click
[Facebook] https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/track/click
[Website] https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/track/click
Copyright © 2025 Chris Bishop MP, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this as a supporter, friend or colleague of Chris Bishop MP.

Our mailing address is:
Chris Bishop MP
66 Bloomfield Terrace
Hutt City
Lower Hutt, Wellington 5010
New Zealand

Add us to your address book https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/vcard


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/profile or unsubscribe from this list https://chrisbishop.us8.list-manage.com/unsubscribe.

[Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp] https://login.mailchimp.com/signup/email-referral/