Source: New Zealand Government
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou.
Kia Ora, good afternoon, everyone!
How great is it to be here in Christchurch!
Before I start can I acknowledge some people in the room with us today.
President Sylvia Wood and the newly elected Board, thank you for your service to the National Party and ensuring that we are match fit for next year!
My friend and our outstanding Deputy Leader Nicola Willis. She is working every day to rebuild this economy so Kiwis can get ahead!
Can I also congratulate Chris Bishop – who has once again stepped into the role of campaign chair for next year’s election.
And to all of our Ministers and MPs, who are with us here today. Thank you for your sacrifices – the long hours and the time away from family working to make this country a better place.
And most importantly, to all of our members and supporters who are here this weekend – who knock on doors, wave the signs, and keep our electorates humming.
Thank you for your drive, your determination, and your unshakeable belief that our country’s best days lie ahead of us.
Two years ago, New Zealand was in utter turmoil.
Inflation was at 6 per cent. Food prices had risen by 12.5 per cent in the last year. Mortgage rates had just tipped over 7 per cent and unemployment was starting to rise.
Ram raids had taken over the country, violent crime was out of control, and gangs were shutting down whole towns like Ōpōtiki.
Wait times in our health system had blown out, with New Zealanders waiting longer to be seen in emergency departments or to receive surgery.
Meanwhile, less than half of our children and grandchildren were attending school regularly. And while young people in Australia, Singapore, the UK and so many other countries charged ahead, we were falling further and further behind.
We knew turning that around would be the challenge of a lifetime. But in less than two years, we have already made massive progress.
Take law and order.
National’s policies to prevent crime are working.
More cops on the beat in our inner cities, keeping kiwis safe.
Tough new laws that give Police the powers to ruthlessly target gangs and illegal guns.
Longer sentences for violent and repeat offenders, and real consequences for unruly KO tenants and young criminals.
New Zealand is already feeling the impact.
Violent crime is falling.
Youth crime is falling.
And ram raids have collapsed.
Yes, there’s always more to do, but in two short years, Paul Goldsmith and Mark Mitchell have ended an historic era of lawlessness in this country.
And take education.
We campaigned together on giving every child in New Zealand the very best possible start in life, with an education grounded in the basics of reading, writing, and maths.
Yes, every child is now getting an hour a day in each of those subjects and we have banned mobile phones to keep our kids focused.
But the change we have delivered is so much larger than that.
As of today, 30,000 teachers have been trained in structured literacy, ensuring hundreds of thousands of students are getting more out of every day at school.
Just last year at this conference, we promised a sea change in the way we teach maths at primary school, to make sure children in New Zealand didn’t keep falling behind.
Since then, we have rolled out a whole new curriculum and trained more than 20,000 teachers in structured maths – with 3,500 year 7 and 8 students receiving extra support to help them catch up.
There is always more to do, especially at high school – but in just two years, primary school education has been transformed in this country.
Erica – thank you for your relentless energy and positivity, fixing education in this great country.
And take healthcare.
It’s not just the record health funding, or more doctors and nurses hired, or the dozens of new medicines we have delivered for cancer and other illnesses.
We aren’t just spending and hiring more – we’re actually delivering more.
Wait lists for elective procedures are falling.
Wait lists for a first specialist assessment are falling.
Kiwis are spending less time waiting in emergency departments.
And child immunisation rates are continuing to climb.
There are more choices to see a doctor with 24/7 digital care, we’re delivering the largest funding boost for GPs in New Zealand’s history, and we’ve got initiatives underway to further lift the number of doctors and nurses.
Labour might have restructured Health NZ by simply slapping a new logo on a letterhead, but Simeon Brown is actually fixing it.
Simeon, thank you for the massive contribution you make to our team and our country.
Finally – the economy and the cost of living.
We always knew this would be a mammoth task.
The conditions New Zealanders inherited from the last government were the worst in a generation.
The national debt had tripled.
Inflation hit a thirty-year high.
Homeowners were crushed by a surge in interest rates.
And critical growth industries – like agriculture and energy – were under constant siege.
In the period since, our economic team – led by our outstanding Minister of Finance Nicola Willis – has worked relentlessly, under huge pressure to turn the ship around.
We have been making real progress on that front, and I am confident that progress will continue in the months and years ahead as interest rates continue to fall and pro-growth reforms bed in.
But global conditions have also been challenging.
The impact of tariffs and offshore events in recent months has had a real impact on our economy here at home.
Yesterday’s latest update from the US is a fresh reminder of how life as a small, trading nation like New Zealand is very different today than it was in recent years.
But we can’t just batten down the hatches and hope for the best.
Kiwis are ambitious, resilient, and adaptable – and our job is to put them in the very best possible position to succeed.
Our team is laser-focused on the plan to do just that.
We will spend carefully, we will back Kiwis that back themselves, and we will invest in New Zealand’s future.
It’s why we have delivered more than $40 billion in savings across two Budgets, supporting inflation and interest rates to fall.
It’s why we have driven a relentless programme of reform and relief, restoring confidence to the sectors that need it – like agriculture, tourism and manufacturing.
It’s why we’re carrying out an ambitious programme of infrastructure investment, delivering growth and opportunity to communities all over New Zealand.
And it’s why we’re championing New Zealand on the world stage, giving a platform for Kiwis to export, attract investment, compete and win.
Of course, in the very near term, so many New Zealanders that I meet are still struggling to keep up with the cost of living.
It’s easy to understand why.
Under Labour, inflation hit its highest level in thirty years.
That pressure and those costs don’t just unwind overnight.
It’s why over the long run, we’re so focused on unleashing our economic potential, so we can create jobs, increase wages, and back Kiwis to get ahead.
But right now, Kiwis need support – and we’re doing what we can.
We froze petrol taxes, and abolished the Auckland regional fuel tax, saving every motorist at least 9 cents a litre at the pump, and 21 cents a litre in Auckland every time you fuel up.
We have delivered personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, which has saved an average family nearly $1,600 since this time last year.
We have introduced and expanded FamilyBoost, providing even more financial support for the cost of childcare for tens of thousands of families.
And this week, we have announced we are taking action on card surcharges.
Thanks to a decision by the Commerce Commission last week, small businesses are set to save tens of millions of dollars on bank interchange fees from the 1st of December.
Now we’re taking the next step and making sure those savings are being passed on to consumers by abolishing card surcharges.
They are small changes, but they all add up – both for the businesses who have been stung by excessive fees, and for customers who have been meeting the cost at the checkout.
And we aren’t stopping there.
We are pulling every lever we can, including going after councils exorbitant spending and progressing a cap on rates – so families struggling with the cost of living see real relief.
Clearly though, in the years to come, immediate action on the cost of living isn’t enough.
The last Government spent billions of dollars in failed handouts, only to watch inflation roar and the economy falter.
We have to keep our eyes on the prize.
We can have more jobs, higher wages, and a chance for every New Zealander to get ahead, but that means restoring a culture of ambition, aspiration, prosperity, and achievement.
It means backing every farmer, every small business owner, every innovator, and every entrepreneur to compete and win.
It means backing every Kiwi who backs themselves.
And it means taking the action necessary to make it happen.
Just look at our farmers and growers – and the action we’ve taken to unleash growth in rural New Zealand.
Look, you might have noticed that dairy prices are pretty strong right now.
Our dairy exports are up 16 per cent, meat and wool exports up 8 per cent, and horticulture exports up 19 per cent.
But ask any farmer and they’ll tell you prices come, and prices go.
Hope isn’t a strategy – and just letting the good times roll on isn’t enough.
If we’re serious about unleashing the potential of our rural communities, we need to make our own luck.
And ultimately that means unshackling farmers from the red and green tape holding their businesses back.
I could run through all the policies and detail – but I’ll give you one example of where it’s making a difference.
Here in Canterbury, broken freshwater rules introduced by the previous government effectively shut down dairy conversions, leaving New Zealand’s most profitable industry utterly unable to grow.
Now that Todd McClay and Chris Bishop have fixed it, 15,000 more cows have been approved here in Canterbury in just six months.
We can have more growth, more exports, more jobs, and higher wages for every New Zealander – but we have to say yes to letting it happen.
Construction and infrastructure are also top priorities.
Years of rampant inflation, high interest rates, and the resulting painful recession have taken their toll on New Zealand’s construction industry.
I understand the frustration.
We can’t keep replicating the boom-bust cycle driven by unsustainable levels of spending, that as Labour showed, only ever ends in skyrocketing debt and record interest rates.
The construction industry deserves a credible, sustained pipeline of projects, so they have the confidence to invest long term.
Equally though, the public deserve real, cost-effective projects – that make a difference in their community at a good price.
Let’s get real – taxpayers can’t drive to work on a business case, or an engagement survey. Endless paperwork and bureaucracy might keep consultants in business, but it won’t do anything for economic growth.
Unlike Labour, I can’t promise the roads or bridges we design will win awards for urban design and cultural protection, but unlike Labour you will actually drive on them.
And I can say that confidently, because our party, the National Party, has a track record of delivery.
Spend one day here in Christchurch and you’ll see exactly what I mean – modern, reliable highways, criss-crossing the city that just work.
Or visit Waikato, or Kapiti, or the expressway north of Auckland to see the impact our Roads of National Significance programme has made for those communities.
After years of pain, it will take time for the impact of falling interest rates to be felt in the construction industry.
But we’re doing everything we can to get the industry moving now.
Before Christmas this year, more than $6 billion of projects will get underway.
Projects like the Brougham Street upgrades here in Christchurch!
The Otaki to Levin expressway!
The Melling Interchange!
Or – Ryan Hamilton and Tama Potaka – brand-new medical school at Waikato University!
Private sector construction activity is also critical. New roads make a difference because people and freight are there to use them.
That’s why we have a massive programme of work clearing away the jungle of red tape which is slowing construction down in New Zealand.
We’ve already achieved a lot – and more reform is happening right now.
Fast Track is rolling, with more than 50 applications underway.
And I’m incredibly excited to say that just yesterday the very first consent was released for upgrades at the Ports of Auckland, with construction set to kick off as soon as possible.
A flood of legislative amendments will become law by the end of this month, unshackling construction of housing, renewable energy, infrastructure, and a range of other sectors.
We’re backing businesses to invest in more plant and equipment through Investment Boost, so the trucks, machinery, tools, and utes they need to grow are more affordable.
And in just the last week, thousands of new building products from offshore have been approved for use, ushering in competition and driving down the cost of construction, for basic materials like plasterboard, doors, and windows.
And of course, later this year is the big one – when Chris Bishop, having already achieved more reform to the RMA than any other Minister in decades, introduces legislation to finally do what so many have tried and failed to do before.
Knock off the RMA, for good.
The result will be transformative, as we bring an end to the red tape parade that plagues farmers, business owners, and builders all around the country.
Of course, there will always be activists and opposition who don’t want growth.
Like the people who tried to stop cruise ships coming to Milford Sound, or an apartment getting built on a gravel pit on K Road in Central Auckland.
Or people happy to shut down a gold mine in Otago, putting 700 jobs at risk.
Or those defending a derelict death-trap – the Gordon Wilson Flats in central Wellington – when Victoria University has plans for more student accommodation in a city that desperately needs it.
Each of those cases have now been resolved, but let’s get real.
If we want to make New Zealand an attractive place to build a career and raise a family, we need high-paying private sector jobs that create opportunity and keep our economy moving.
Take a look at Australia.
If they shut down their mining industry, or their energy industry tomorrow, as Labour and the Greens want to do here, I guarantee you would see fewer Kiwis moving across the ditch.
And if the activists won here at home – pulling cows off the Canterbury Plains, taking cruise ships out of Milford Sound, or closing a gold mine in Otago, more would leave tomorrow.
We can’t afford to leave any stone unturned, shut down whole sectors, or just sit around and hope that conditions will improve.
Creating more economic opportunities out of the underutilised DOC land is a great example of how we can make that mission a reality.
It’s not well known, but a whole third of this country is managed by the Department of Conservation – huge tracts from the most pristine parts of our National Parks to areas of grassland used for grazing and inaccessible land.
And with such a massive footprint, it’s no surprise that there are a range of great Kiwi businesses already operating on the DOC estate – from guided walks and ski fields, to filming documentaries, grazing sheep and cattle, or hosting concerts and building cell phone towers.
And that includes some of our most iconic destinations, that Kiwis love, and visitors keep coming back to visit time and time again.
But to do any of that you need a concession – essentially a permit – to stay within the rules and make sure the environment is protected.
There’s huge potential for growth on DOC land, so we’re making real efforts to process those consent applications faster, with around 1,600 approved so far this year.
But despite that progress, the concessions regime is fundamentally broken.
Right now, an application has to clear more than 100 different plans, strategies, and documents that guide decision making – many of which are out of date and sometimes contradict each other.
The process is too slow and too uncertain.
All that uncertainty is degrading the quality of our visitor experience, because without a reliable process, business owners can’t confidently invest in their business.
At times, the impact on the ground has been baffling.
E-bikes are tightly controlled because the law forces DOC to treat them in many areas more like a 4-wheel drive than a mountain bike.
And growth in tourism on the Routeburn is being held up because the trail crosses artificial boundaries, with different rules and different limits.
Meanwhile, DOC, who should be focused on protecting the environment, is forced to spend millions of dollars every year fighting appeals.
At the heart of the issue is the Conservation Act, which is nearly 40 years old and now unworkably complex.
And the effect has been to strangle economic activity on a third of New Zealand’s land – when we should be unleashing growth, creating jobs, and increasing wages all across the country.
So, in the spirit of saying yes to more jobs, more growth, and higher wages, today I can make two announcements.
First, we’re going to fix the Conservation Act to unlock more economic activity through concessions – like tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure, in locations where that makes sense.
That means more certainty for businesses, less bureaucracy, and much faster decisions, so the businesses that should be operating can get up and running.
There will still be restrictions to protect our amazing natural environment – so of course it won’t make sense for businesses to be operating on every part of the DOC estate.
But where it does make sense, we need to get to the “yes” much faster – instead of being bogged down in process and uncertainty.
If we’re serious about keeping Kiwis at home, creating jobs, and increasing wages for all New Zealanders, we can’t afford to keep saying no to every opportunity that comes our way.
At the same time, sites that are truly special to New Zealanders should be protected.
Which is why my second announcement is that we’re giving DOC more support, by introducing a charge for foreign visitors at high volume sites.
Initially, we will be looking at four locations – Cathedral Cove, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Track, and Mount Cook – where foreigners make up more than 80 per cent of all visitors.
I have heard many times from friends visiting from overseas their shock that they can visit some of the most beautiful places in the world for free.
It’s only fair that at these special locations, foreign visitors make an additional contribution of between $20 and $40 per person.
For the conservation estate that will mean $62 million per year in revenue, which will be directly re-invested into those same areas, so we can keep investing in the sites that underpin so much of our tourism sector.
At the same time, there will be no charge for New Zealanders to access the conservation estate. It’s our collective inheritance and Kiwis shouldn’t have to pay to see it.
Tama Potaka, our great Minister of Conservation, Hamilton legend, thank you for all of the incredible work you do as part of our economic team, ensuring New Zealand’s best days are ahead of us.
The best part of this job – by a country mile – is the people.
Every week I have the privilege of getting out of the Beehive, and meeting extraordinary New Zealanders who – like me – believe our country’s best days are ahead of us.
The loud, proud, and excited types.
And the rugged, humble, quiet types.
Kiwis who – in tough times – make the impossible possible every single week.
Kiwis who work all day, and often all night, just to leave a better future for their children and grandchildren.
We’re doing everything we can to make that a little easier.
In difficult times and in a world full of uncertainty, it’s never been more important to stay focused.
We have the potential.
We have the team.
And we have the plan.
So, let’s keep working.