Our Hawke’s Bay Expressway is the first Road of National Significance (RoNS) to have shovels in the ground and this means construction is starting 15 months earlier than previously thought.
The silt from Cyclone Gabrielle is being re-purposed to prepare the expressway, which is a great local initiative that saves the ratepayer from burying it and saves the taxpayer from buying other materials. It’s a real win-win.
This is an innovative way of helping and supporting the region after the cyclone as well as building a desperately needed resilient roading network across Hawke’s Bay.
Our primary industries are the backbone of our Hawke’s Bay economy, and since becoming an MP I have talked loud and proud about the importance of backing and enabling our farmers and growers to do what they do best- farm and grow.
Hawke’s Bay is the fruit bowl of New Zealand, and I am a strong advocate for the RSE Scheme. Having worked in the Hawke’s Bay horticulture sector, I know how important it is to have a seasonal workforce, so we can get fruit off the trees and off to the overseas markets, at the optimum time. The RSE scheme also creates more permanent jobs for New Zealanders as it enables businesses to grow and invest.
It is unacceptable to let millions of dollars of valuable export-quality fruit rot on the trees, which was a familiar story under the previous Labour Government.
Our Immigration Minister, Erica Stanford, visited Hawke’s Bay growers with me in March this year and listened to the need to future-proof our vital RSE scheme.
Our Government moved quickly and announced changes to the RSE scheme which could be delivered at pace, and improve flexibility in the scheme, reducing costs and compliance for employers and giving RSE workers more flexibility.
The cap on the number of workers has increased by 1250 for the 2024/25 season with more flexibility for RSE workers to move between employers and regions.
Hawke’s Bay recruits more than 40% of New Zealand’s RSE workforce.
While increasing our seasonal workforce is important, we also need to ensure we have a quality scheme, which has flexibility and works well for both New Zealand employers and our Pacific neighbours.
Our government’s announcement on the RSE scheme, is key to growing productivity and revitalising Hawke’s Bay’s economy.
As the fruit bowl, we also desperately need water security, or it will soon be the dust bowl! Water security has long been an issue for Hawke’s Bay and especially now as we look around Hawke’s Bay’s rolling hills, the parched brown landscape causes fear, stress and anxiety. The summers are getting drier and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council predicts that we will need 25 million more cubic meters of water by 2040.
As a strong supporter for water security in Hawke’s Bay, I am thrilled that our government is supporting the Tukituki Water Security Project with up to $3 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund. This funding has been allocated for pre-construction development of the project.
This shows that our government is serious about enabling regional water security, sustainability, and economic growth in rural and provincial New Zealand.
Projects such as this one will create jobs and opportunities and enable diversification of land use, which is so important for Hawke’s Bay.
The Tukituki Water Security Project has also been placed on the fast-track list for approval under the Fast-track Approvals Bill.
This project seeks to dam the Makaroro River to recreate a water storage reservoir, which will enable regional water security and sustainability.
Water security is not only critical for the future wellbeing of our environment, our people and communities, it’s also critically important for unlocking the economic growth and potential Hawke’s Bay has to offer. Currently, we can barely sustain what we grow, let alone grow more to boost our regional economy.
We are making it clear to the world we’re open for business and building a pipeline of significant projects across Hawke’s Bay – because it’s only through a strong economy that we can afford the public services we need.
