Published July 25, 2020 1:30PM
The district’s farmers got an early taste of the September election, with National and Labour East Coast electorate candidates speaking at the Gisborne-Wairoa Federated Farmers annual meeting this week.
“I’m standing because I want to make it easier for people to get ahead,” said National’s Tania Tapsell. “I am focused on jobs for our kids and security for our seniors.
“The biggest issue for Gisborne that I’ll be advocating for is better infrastructure, including safer roads.
“National will support a water infrastructure fund to assist our communities to find water storage solutions and afford much-needed wastewater and stormwater upgrades.
“I support rural education and health services continuing their ‘by locals, for locals’ approach.
“This government has amalgamated tertiary providers and is trying to reduce district health boards. I will be fighting against this to keep our services local.”
Ms Tapsell said the Government’s policies had been hard on farmers over the past three years.
“Farmers and growers are the backbone of our local economy and they deserve a government who supports them.
“National believes in attainable and practical reforms and is against farming entering the emissions trading scheme unless there is science available that can enable farmers to meet obligations without production loss.”
Kiri Allan, Labour list MP and the party’s candidate for East Coast, said the electorate had been neglected by successive National governments.
“Gisborne bore the brunt of that neglect and has not been receiving the attention it deserves.”
She outlined some of the significant gains the region made during the parliamentary term, as well as providing assurances the region would have its voice heard in Wellington.
She discussed the way the Government responded to regional challenges through the Covid-19 crisis and pointed to the $100 million Covid-19 redeployment fund from the 2020 Budget.
“Our community felt the impact of the global pandemic well before the lockdown because of our forestry sector.
“Many people who would have been out of work were able to be redeployed in decent alternative jobs.
“I acknowledge, more importantly, farmers who played a pivotal role in this, with many taking on further staff through this initiative.”
Gisborne received the first Covid-19 relief package in the country, $44m in March, “to ensure we kept our people in work and didn’t lose our local businesses and providers”.
“In addition to this, we have invested in education and training, such as making apprenticeships free from the beginning of this month — which will, of course, include a boost in trades training in the primary sector.”
Ms Allan pointed to the infrastructure gains in the region.
“We were in dire need of investment when this government came into power.
“Community buildings were dilapidated and struggled to secure necessary funding, and our roads had suffered from years of underinvestment.
“More recently we have backed projects like the $40m Olympic Pool development, the $5m Midway surf club development and the $8m for the development of Rugby Park,” she said.
“It is about investing in community assets that create jobs and boost community wellbeing. That will continue for generations.”
Labour list MP and the party’s candidate for East Coast, Kiri Allan, outlined the significant gains the region had made during the parliamentary term at the Gisborne-Wairoa Federated Farmers meeting.
The National Party’s East Coast candidate Tania Tapsell presented her plans for the region, if she is elected, at the annual Gisborne-Wairoa Federated Farmers meeting.
