Getting NZ Back on Track

I had the pleasure of hosting Chris Luxon at public meetings in Kaikoura and Blenheim on Monday and the feedback has been very positive. He is working hard holding multiple Get NZ Back on Track meetings every week throughout the country.

While most people are aware of his success in the business world, politics is different. But for those who know him well, he has a genuine interest in people and ensuring that everyone gets a fair go: a quality that is often not to the fore in the business world. This came through clearly in his address along with a unique skill of explaining complex issues in a way that was easily understood.

There was a broad range of issues raised, from failing public services, such as education, where the emphasis has been on everything but reading, writing and maths, the three things that parents expect to be the priority for their children, to health, where the sector is in disarray with emergency departments overflowing due to chronic staff shortages, to access to medical procedures being determined by ethnicity.

Our descent into lawlessness with gangs taking over towns and spreading their misery wider by the day. Chris pointed out that the only target the government has is to reduce the prison population by 30 per cent at a time when crime is growing by in excess of 33 per cent.

A lot of the feedback voiced the concern that the mainstream media are not reporting Chris Luxon fully or fairly, to which I can only agree.

The Ministry of Education’s decision to choose synthetic carpets over wool has been jumped on by some in an attempt to drive a wedge between the National Party and farmers. I have to congratulate Chris for standing up for what is right and not what could have been politically expedient.

There are local brands that have made their name with fine Merino wool, such as Ice Breaker and Untouched World reaching up the value chain. Strong wool on the other hand reached a peak in the 1950s wool boom and the failure to develop high-end products has since then forced wool to compete directly with synthetics.

Mandating wool carpets in schools would be nothing short of crony capitalism and if we go down that track the ultimate losers will be farmers. Chris pointed to opportunities for wool in much higher value and larger markets where processed wool can be a valuable additive in products such as cosmetics and paints, which are markets worth trillions of dollars. The answer for strong wool is research and development and reaching further up the value chain as fine wool has.

That said it is astonishing that the Labour government mandates government departments to purchase the costliest option, electric vehicles (EVs), for their vehicle fleet renewals, supposedly in the interest of addressing climate change. However, this same government ignores the eco-friendly option of natural wool, which has zero emissions, and instead favours synthetic carpets derived from oil and natural gas. Such actions can be seen as nothing but outright hypocrisy.

If you are sick of this sort of nonsense, you can make a change on October 14. Party vote National.