Dannevirke: Town can fix transport issues MP

Alastair Scott (left) and Ian McKelvie, National MPs for Wairarapa and Rangitikei, at the Dannevirke Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Vault Cafe. Photo / Christine McKay

With fewer jobs, fewer people and house prices falling, rural New Zealand is different from the rest of the country, National MP Ian McKelvie told a breakfast meeting in Dannevirke.

"We've got less of everything," the Rangitikei MP said. "Every piece of legislation impacts on us negatively."

However, comments about remote health care had eyebrows raised at the Chamber of Commerce breakfast and, after the meeting, Tararua Health Group chief executive Sharon Wards brought Mr McKelvie up to speed on our local services.

Dannevirke's Community Hospital includes a maternity unit and the mobile surgical bus visits regularly, with excellent facilities and services in the town and Pahiatua.

Mrs Wards invited the MP to see for himself how medical services had fared since the days of the old hospital. The Tararua was also well-served by the volunteer-run St John Health Shuttles.

Mr McKelvie also had concerns about access for rural people, urging the community to address transport issues.

"People in Dannevirke have to travel to Palmerston North for education, health and work and there are numerous families in our communities who cannot afford the cost. We need to look at other options," he said.

"Look at Pongaroa, it has a school bus owned by the community and ideally it should do the school run, then a health and work run. This needs co-ordination and is a role for councils."

Mr McKelvie, chairman of the primary production select committee, said the district would be challenged for a year or two by the dairy downturn.

"It's come off the back of a very buoyant time and dairy farmers have to keep on producing, but they're going to spend up to $2 a kilogram more than they'll get back. It will be a difficult challenge for small rural communities."

Wairarapa MP Alastair Scott said the national economy was in good shape.

"We're still producing 2.5 per cent growth, despite the dairying downturn. With our currency weaker and interest rates falling, they are the safety valves, and as a wine vendor I'm getting more than this time last year."

Mr Scott is on the finance and expenditure committee and is deputy chairman of the transport and industrial relations committee.

However, when asked by businessman and accountant Bill Taylor about the regional-growth study report recently released, Mr Scott was not up to speed with its detail.

"Is there anything specific you want to bring to our region?" Mr Taylor asked. "I want to see more coming to the Tararua. It looks to me that much of the growth will happen in the Horowhenua."

Mr McKelvie said that Scanpower's development of the Oringi Business Park was a great example of a locally owned company investing in its community.