Looking back on one year with East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick

East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick reflected on some of the wins and challenges in her first year as MP. Photo / Mark Mitchell

East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick is taking some time to “download” after the first year of her first term before looking at what to tackle in 2025.

Kirkpatrick sat down with the Gisborne Herald to reflect on the biggest successes of this past year, challenges, and her priorities for Tairāwhiti and the wider East Coast next year.

Cyclone recovery, mental health ward among successes

The spectre of Cyclone Gabrielle and other weather events that hit Tairāwhiti in 2023 still linger, but the region’s recovery is the first thing that comes to mind for Kirkpatrick when asked about success.

“We were able to channel an enormous amount of money into Tairāwhiti for roads and for buyouts for homes alongside the council and flood protection,” Kirkpatrick said.

“There was a huge amount of work done. I think that every time we have one of these cyclones we learn something new and we grow a little bit more.”

She said the local Civil Defence system was now “one of the best in the country, if not the best” thanks to the lessons learnt and other districts were emulating it.

She said a first-of-its-kind emergency water filtration system added to Gisborne’s emergency response kit this year was a “significant initiative”, but there was still “work to do”, particularly for areas outside the city.

Kirkpatrick felt the new mental health unit finished at Gisborne Hospital this month was a “win”, although she acknowledged it was advanced under the previous Labour Government.

“I think that is a massive step forward for our community, to have a specialist area that looks after mental health and addiction issues and is able to help those people,” she said.

“The old mental health ward at the hospital was pretty run down and as one of the people [at the opening] said, no one was getting better in there.”

Act leader David Seymour’s announcement earlier in the month that he would undertake a sector review of the hairdressing industry as minister for regulation was good news for Kirkpatrick not long after she submitted a member’s bill that aimed to snip hairdressing regulations.

“Some people say ‘They stole your bill’ but what it means is it will probably get done. With a member’s bill, it goes in the biscuit tin and it might not get drawn out.”

Dana Kirkpatrick and Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey pictured at the opening of Gisborne Hospital's new mental health and addictions unit earlier this month. Photo / Wynsley Wrigley

Scope of the electorate, school attendance and homelessness among challenges

One challenge highlighted by Kirkpatrick was navigating her electorate, and she had made it a goal to visit all of its towns.

“Thirteen thousand and seven hundred square kilometres, stretching from Gisborne all the way to Maketū in the Bay of Plenty and including Kawerau down to Murupapa and Ruatahuna,” she said.

“There might be a couple that I haven’t got to but mostly I’ve managed to get to every place. What it means is you get spread thin and you can’t be concentrated.”

During those visits, she saw local agencies and iwi groups who she said were doing “incredible” and often unrecognised work in the social sector for their community.

“I find we are a very generous community and a very giving community when it comes to our time, but we have some big issues to face.

“The challenges are homelessness, getting kids to school, our literacy and numeracy rates are terrible.”

She said another challenge for the community was the Treaty Principals Bill.

“We, as the National Party, will not be backing the Treaty Principles Bill past the second reading,” she said.

“I don’t think it is a bad thing that it goes to select committee so that people get to have their say and perhaps learn a bit more about what it and the Treaty principles are about, but my big thing about it is that if you are going to have a conversation like this you have it with Māori, not to them.”

When asked if she found addressing forest regulation difficult in Tairāwhiti, Kirkpatrick said her regular catch-up with the Eastland Wood Council and forestry representatives had been useful in understanding their perspectives.

“I really welcome the work that has been done by the action group that has, sitting around the table, forestry, farming, council, environment and community [interests] looking at how do we make sure we don’t end up in this situation again.”

She said forestry monitoring and consenting were being looked at in more detail and changes were likely.

She complimented the forestry industry for recognising the need to change and developing initiatives like the “slash nets”.

“I think the forestry sector and many of the players didn’t get the credit they deserved for the work they did in cleaning up.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visited Toitū Tairāwhiti's joint venture with Builtsmart providing affordable homes for those in need in September. Photo / Wynsley Wrigley

Looking ahead to the coming year

After taking a couple of weeks to “download” everything that has happened in the past 12 months, Kirkpatrick said next year will be about supporting government agencies in delivering targets like fewer people on the Jobseeker benefit, shorter waiting times in ED and better reading and writing levels for students.

Kirkpatrick believed things were on the right track with roading in Gisborne, but there was still some way to go particularly for some families with no solution nearly two years after bridges to their property were destroyed in Cyclone Gabrielle.

“We should have had a way to help those people by now, so I will be following that.”

She said there was work to be done around recruiting doctors and nurses for regional hospitals like Gisborne.

She was excited about the 11th Youth Parliament in 2025, with applications opening in February for young people aged 16 to 18 to become youth MPs.

“I’m looking forward to engaging with young people and hearing their issues.”

James Pocock joined the Gisborne Herald as chief reporter in 2024 after covering environmental, local government and post-cyclone issues in Hawke’s Bay. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives near Gisborne. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz.