I am proud to be the local National candidate in the Botany by-election.
Our community needs to keep its strong voice in John Key’s Government, so that we are heard within the National caucus and by Ministers who make the big decisions.
This is important because as the country emerges from recession, it is critical that we keep our eyes on the longer term – to grow the economy, create lasting jobs, build productive infrastructure (like roads rail and broadband) and deliver efficient public services that the country can afford.
The last few years have not been easy for this country, but for others around the world it has been far worse.
I think it is important to put some context around the situation that the Key-led Government inherited and what it is doing to correct structural problems built up over decades.
Crisis upon Crisis
New Zealand was already in recession when the Global Financial Crisis swept the world in 2008. The Labour-led Government took the country into recession before the rest of the world, and then presented with a set of books that were awash with red ink.
A decade of deficits and a huge build up of debt was forecast- and this was before the extent of the global crisis was fully understood. With this as the backdrop, the National-led Government took office promising to protect the vulnerable from the sharpest edges of the recession.
Despite pressure to do otherwise, Mr Key kept his word and maintained working for families, higher pensions, kept interest-free student loans and protected benefit levels.
The Government has done a lot more than simply tweak the status quo.
It has set about removing red tape and bureaucracy to make life easier for households and businesses, and has delivered comprehensive tax reforms to rebalance the economy towards savings and investment.
On law and order, it has delivered more police on the streets of South Auckland and passed 18 new laws that help make our communities safer.
Coping with Tragedies
The National-led Government has also faced up to other domestic challenges including the Canterbury Earthquake and the Pike River Mining disaster.
The Government has remained focused on the things that matter. Among these are infrastructure that supports growth, frontline health services and fewer back office bureaucrats, education standards that help identify children who fall behind, as well as the tax switch, which has put more money in people’s pockets.
But the battle to get back in the black has to continue so we do not leave future generations facing a mountain of debt.
The unfunded and reckless promises being made by National’s opponents run the risk of increasing mortgages at a time when families need it least.
That is why I am proud to stand on National’s record in the Botany by-election.
I believe in National’s values.
I believe in giving people the chance to get ahead through their own efforts, and I believe in commonsense economic decision-making that paves the way for the brighter tomorrow New Zealanders deserve.
