
November 2011
Welcome to my last newsletter before the General Election on Saturday 26 November. In the last three years, I’ve met thousands of you either through my office or out and about. It has been an honour being able to help you through issues which are important to you, particularly following the earthquakes. Thank you for your support.
This newsletter focuses on law and order and updates on the rebuilding of Canterbury.
What’s been Buzzing in the Beehive?
Getting tough on law and order
National will stay tough on criminals so that children like my Blake and Evelyn can grow up safe. Over the past three years we have strengthened laws on sentencing, parole and bail; cracked down on gangs and the ‘P’ drug; put more Police on the street; tackled boy-racers; created Police Safety Orders to protect against family violence; introduced tougher sentences for crimes against children; boosted community probation; made prisons safer; and improved prisoner rehabilitation.
The result is the lowest New Zealand crime rate since 1982, but we want to keep improving. Our next steps we will make bail harder for serious criminals; impose harsher penalties for those caught, producing, trading or possessing child pornography; and tackle elder abuse, and many more. For full details of our law and order policy including other policies, go to http://www.national.org.nz/Policy.aspx. National remains committed to protecting our communities, preventing crime and putting victims first.
In the Out of Parliament Office…
The rebuilding and recovery of Canterbury continues with the announcement this month of a 17,000 seat temporary stadium to be built at the Rugby League Park in Addington by March next year, to cater for top sporting and cultural events. This is fantastic news as Cantabrians, heartbreakingly, had to miss out on the Rugby World Cup and other major events due to earthquake damage at the AMI Stadium.
More good news for the region as economic data released this month again shows steady growth in Canterbury, led by trade and manufacturing. Job advertising remains strong with benefit numbers declining.
I attended many of the Government-organised, CERA community meetings across Christchurch for recently green zoned residents. Over a thousand local people have attended them so far and it has been good to talk to many of you at the meetings. There are more meetings scheduled for this week. See www.cera.govt.nz for details.
Since my last newsletter, 417 Brooklands residential properties have been rezoned from orange to red zone. This is distressing and difficult for the Brooklands community, but the decision was based on sound engineering advice. Some are glad with the decision, whilst some others are not. The area would need to go up by about two metres in places to protect it from flooding which was made worse by the earthquakes. This means removing and rebuilding every house in the area to ensure they would be up to an insurable standard, as well as replacing all the infrastructure. This would take years to achieve and with no certainty of success. CERA will be holding community briefings for those affected soon to discuss options.
Rebuilding Canterbury a priority
Rebuilding Canterbury is one of the Government’s top priorities. There is a huge task ahead. Since the September 4th earthquake, the National-led Government have supported the people of Christchurch with:
• Help for families and businesses through packages such as $200 million wage support and job loss cover package; $6.8 million to help earthquake-affected Canterbury businesses; $4 million to help exporters reassure partners that Christchurch is open for business; $625,000 for Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism; and $10 million for social service agencies and counselling support for Cantabrians rebuilding their lives.
• Rebuilding homes – the Government is making offers to purchase all red zone properties at their latest rating valuation, to enable people to get on with their lives; and standing behind AMI policyholders with a $500 million back-up support package for AMI Insurance.
• $5.5 billion Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Fund; alliance of expert contractors working with CERA and the City Council to rebuild Christchurch’s damaged roads and underground infrastructure; 1500 places for construction-related training, including 1500 new places worth $42 million; earthquake Kiwi Bonds to help fund the recovery and provide investors with a new savings option; and $25 million for CERA over two years to help the authority lead the rebuild.
Go to www.therecovery.co.nz to see what the Government and other National MPs in Canterbury are doing to help with the earthquake recovery.
Achievements over last three years
Here’s an update on the positive outcome of the five local issues I campaigned for in 2008:
• Building of a Northern motorway – now part of the National Road of Significance programme.
• Progressing new high school options for North East Christchurch – the Ministry of Education is currently conducting an area strategy in consultation with the community following my petition of over 3,500 locals to Parliament and through to Select Committee. As a parent myself, the need for more high school options in the area is particularly critical given the earthquakes and the damage to the existing school network. The proposal was produced with the North East Secondary Education group (NESE) which is run by concerned local parents and which I helped set up.
• My proposal to vest the southern end of Brooklands Lagoon as a scenic reserve – approved, but overtaken by earthquake events.
• Reducing crime – National’s tough stance on law and order means New Zealand’s crime rate is the lowest since 1982 and is still falling.
• Boosting the economy and getting New Zealand through one of the worst global economic crisis since the Depression – despite the earthquakes, National has turned around nine years of economic mismanagement by Labour, by taking steps to move the economy away from spending and consumption and towards savings and investment. We’re focused on returning the Government’s books to surplus by 2014/15. Building a stronger economy is the only way to deliver more jobs and the higher incomes New Zealanders deserve.
But of course, all of these have been overshadowed by the earthquakes and all of the things I’ve done for that, including helping thousands of people with information and assistance.
Out and About
On Saturday 19 November many of you attended my Housing Expo at the Burwood Christian Centre where Christchurch East residents affected by the earthquakes met and heard from representatives of local property developers to discuss upcoming land developments, builders and insurance companies as homeowners explore rebuilding options.

Aaron speaking with local residents at the Housing Expo
We also had the second phase of Project Plant on Sunday 20 November, a community plant nursery initiative started by me in May. Volunteers and I helped move plants from quake affected properties to land in Marshlands so that homeowners can rebuild or relocate over the next 12-24 months. Thank you to the Chapman family, all the volunteers and sponsors City Care and Riccarton’s Bunnings Warehouse.
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| Project Plant with Aaron and Hon Kate Wilkinson |
Project Plant with volunteers |
It was also great to speak at the recent re-opening of the Palms shopping mall and help them with getting their Christmas Parade back on track.
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| Aaron at the Palms shopping mall re-opening |
Aaron speaking at the Palms Market Day |
Until Next Time…
With the election just a few days away, you can find out more about the National Party’s policies at http://www.national.org.nz/Policy.aspx and discover for yourself why giving me your vote on Saturday will mean Christchurch East will have a strong voice in John Key’s National Party, particularly as we look to rebuild Christchurch following the earthquakes.
Don’t forget, if for whatever reason you are unable to get to a polling place on Election Day, you have until Friday 25 November to advance vote.
For locations go to http://www.elections.org.nz/voting/voting-info/christchurch-east.html
Along with voting for the 2011 General Election, this year you can also have your say on the important issue of how we elect future Parliaments by voting in a non-binding referendum. For full details go to www.referendum.org.nz. I think there are pros and cons to the current Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system and I will be voting to make changes to MMP. How you vote will be up to you and I encourage you to go the above website to find out more about the options available so that you can make an informed decision.
Thanks for all your support over the last three years. I will be casting my vote on Election Day and then spending it with family, friends and supporters, and hopefully celebrating the re-election of a John Key-led Government.
If you have any comments or views, drop me a line or an email – it would be great to hear from you.
Regards,
Aaron Gilmore