Tom Rutherford says he will work hard to represent the people in his electorate.
New Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford says his key priorities include the cost of living and fixing the economy.
Rutherford, National’s youngest MP, stormed to victory on Saturday night with a victory margin of more than 13,000 votes.
Speaking to the Bay of Plenty Times at Pāpāmoa Domain on Sunday, Rutherford said he and his partner Hannah Ralph had spent the earlier part of the day thanking supporters and catching up with family and friends.
Rutherford said like many others, he watched the All-Blacks quarter-final match against Ireland this morning.
“What a nerve-racking game, but what a brilliant result and brilliant game of rugby.”
Rutherford said he was humbled by the election result. “It’s very, very humbling to receive strong support from the local Bay of Plenty community for me to serve as the local MP.”
He said it was a “huge privilege” to represent the people of the electorate and he would work extremely hard.
Rutherford said in his first 100 days,he wanted to focus on the cost of living and fixing the economy.
“People are really struggling to make ends meet financially, and our focus as a National-led Government will be to get the cost of living under control so people can afford to live in the beautiful Bay of Plenty and in New Zealand.
“And as a local MP, I will be working extremely hard to be part of that team to bring some real solutions to the table.”
Congestion was a “major challenge” for the Bay of Plenty, he said.
The restoration of local democracy at Tauranga City Council was alsoimportant, he said.
“I will be working hard with Sam Uffindell, the MP for Tauranga. Together, [we will] work with the Local Government Minister to ensure we get local body elections again as soon as we possibly can, likely to be in 2024.”
Rutherford also said he really felt for businesspeople impacted by the congestion on Cameron Rd.
“And Sam and I will be working with the city council to ensure that we can get that project completed as soon as possible, and some normality restored to our CBD.”
Rutherford said another priority for him was making sure Pāpāmoa got a 24/7 medical centre.
Tom Rutherford has been elected as MP for the Bay of Plenty. Photo / Alex Cairns
“I am going to be the strongest advocate for the electorate to ensure people they access to the health services they deserve and transport projects we need to do get signed off.”
“We have a sense of lawlessness running through our communities at the moment, and it’s now time for us to restore law and order.
“And that starts by giving police greater powers to do their job.”
Rutherford said he had loved the contest of the election.
“I‘ve really enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to getting to work on behalf of the people of the Bay of Plenty to bring about change for our community.”
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.
