Until National lost the Northland by-election two years ago, central government barely knew Northland existed. And what about National's promises? The roads, the bridges, the cell tower coverage and super, super-fast broadband. And job opportunities.
Northlanders have had enough of economic plans that sound good on paper, but end in the "sometime-never" basket. With the resources and advantages Northland has - proximity to Auckland and to international shipping routes - our region should be thriving.
We are not. Over the last 10 years annual economic growth in Northland averaged 1.4 per cent, compared with a national average of 1.8 per cent. Both figures are bad, but ours is worse.
Neglect by central government is a major factor. With its depth of water and land availability not seen anywhere else in New Zealand, Northport is way short of the utility it should be. But narrow-minded parochialism from Auckland, condoned by central government, has choked Northport's potential, and we have seen it again with pie-in-the sky schemes to develop a port in Auckland rather than expanding ours.
One thing Northport needs is a rail service, and New Zealand First is working hard to make sure that happens. Also, Refining New Zealand must be supported in its plan to dredge the harbour to keep Northport financially competitive. If oil tankers continue to leave under-loaded because the harbour is not deep enough, the economic viability will be challenged.