Steph Lewis' first 100 days: Immigration and housing at the top of constituent concerns

Steph Lewis says there is no "quick fix" when it comes to Whanganui's housing shortage. Photo / File

By next week Steph Lewis will be 100 days into her term as Whanganui MP Steph Lewis. Mike Tweed asks her what she's achieved.

Housing, immigration and roading are the most common areas of inquiry Steph Lewis says she gets as an MP.

She said Covid-19 had affected many people's visas and application.

"Timelines have been pushed out because of Covid-19, and obviously that's having an impact and creating uncertainty. There are also costs involved with having to extend existing visas.

"Then you've got people who have working here for a while and are trying to navigate through the residency process.

"To be fair, immigration was the area that I didn't have a great deal of knowledge in, so I've already tried to do some upskilling. I'm lucky that Jenna (Houghton, Lewis's Hawera/Stratford electoral assistant) is familiar with that process and the different pathways.

"She's been awesome helping me out there."

Whanganui's housing shortage wasn't a "quick fix", Lewis said, and it was important to "build the work force as we build the houses".

"The construction industry was an area where we had a shortage of qualified, skilled, experienced workers, and that's across all of the trades - plumbers, roofers, builders, electricians.

"It's going to take time to train those people, and that's a big part of why we made trade training and apprenticeships free in the last term, to try and incentivise people to go into that industry."

At present, houses were being built as fast as the workforce allowed, Lewis said.

"I was talking to a local architect recently who said they had a four month waiting list before they can even draw up plans. They're absolutely swamped.

"It all starts from there, and you can't get consents unless you've got plans from an architect to put on the table for council to consider and approve. There are a number of cogs in the chain that'll need to be moving in sync for things to happen quickly, and having skill shortages slows that process down, unfortunately."

Lewis said she hoped to get a Whanganui electoral assistant position to be filled soon.

"It's about setting up systems and processes to make sure we're operating as efficiently as possible," she said.

"Obviously the big priority is getting our Whanganui office open and running, and focusing on getting embedded in the community."

Aside from addressing constituent inquiries, Lewis said her first 100 days in office had been filled meeting stakeholders.

"There have also been some issues behind the scenes which I've been advocating on with ministers and minister's staffers," she said.

"I didn't actually realise we'd done quite so much, in addition to all the setup and getting the team on board."

Lewis said she was looking forward to all the upcoming events on the Whanganui summer calendar.

"We've got Vintage Weekend this weekend, and Masters Games coming up as well. I'm excited to be a part of the opening ceremony for that.

"I think I might be the only MP not going to Waitangi that weekend, but that's okay, I'm happy to be at home."