PUBLIC MEETING

LAW & ORDER - LOCAL PUBLIC SAFETY

Melissa Lee MP Mark Mitchell MP National List MP National Spokesperson for Police

Friday 2 June 2023, 7pm Mt Albert Senior Citizens Hall, 3B Wairere Avenue, Mount Albert

For more information:

MPLee@parliament.govt.nz 09 520 0538

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Authorised by Melissa Lee, Parliament Buildings, Wgtn.

HELEN WHITE: KEEPING FAMILIES ACROSS AOTEAROA HEALTHY

As global inflation drives up prices around the world, we continue to be focused on bread and butter issues.

I recently hosted a public meeting with Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister, Hon Duncan Webb, to discuss our supermarkets. It was great to hear him share about how this Government intends to bring prices down through fostering fair competition.

Labour is proposing the introduction of rules which will require supermarkets to display unit pricing, such as price per kilogram/litre of a product. This helps Kiwis make informed decisions and encourage competition between brands which will ultimately bring down prices. There is also work underway to shake up the supermarket duopoly, to help smaller retailers and new entrants into the market. This, too, will result in better prices at the checkouts.

Bringing down food prices is just one of the ways we are committed to keeping Kiwis healthy.

People in Aotearoa deserve to feel confident they can get the health care they need this winter. Our Government is working hard to make sure this is a reality for everyone, and we now have a comprehensive plan to ease pressure on the health system during the colder months.

The 2023 Winter Plan, led by Te Whatu Ora, will make it easier for New Zealanders and their families to get care early, and in many cases closer to home. This will help to make sure that small issues don’t become big problems requiring hospitalisation, and people can hopefully get better quicker.

One of the new initiatives that I know will make a real difference for many families in Mount Albert, is free access to pharmacy consultations and paracetamol for children and Community Services Card holders. Other initiatives include ‘hospital in the home’ services, increased access to radiology services in the community, and community rapid response tools to protect those most vulnerable. You will also be able to see your pharmacist for free help with minor ailments, saving you a trip to the GP.

Our Winter Plan utilises the work we’ve done since 2017 to rebuild New Zealand’s health system following years of neglect. This includes delivering more nurses and doctors, upgrading hospitals and health centres across the country, and boosting Pharmac’s funding so more people can access life-saving medicines.

Also, thanks to our reforms, the health system is now coordinated at a national level. This means that resources can be shared across health facilities within a region, and communities like ours will be better served.

Having a warm home is an essential part of preventing respiratory illnesses through the winter season and lowers the risk of other health issues. To reduce the chance of people getting unwell, we’re helping over a million New Zealanders, including many here in Mount Albert, with the cost of heating their home through winter.

The Winter Energy Payment started again on 1 May and will run through until 1 October. Those eligible for the payment – seniors, veterans and people on benefits – will receive this boost automatically. Single people with no dependent children will receive an extra $20.46 per week, while couples and people with children will receive an extra $31.82 per week.

(HELEN www.labour.org.nz/helenwhite Funded by Parliamentary Service

ROSS THORBY: THE LAND OF FIRE AND VOLCANOES

There was a swirling cloud encompassing Kilauea. It dominated the landscape all the way up the coast to Hilo and left the volcano barely discernible through the haze.

We slipped by, skirting the 3000m tsunami breakwater built to protect the town from the sea. This part of the island of Hawaii is prone to devastating tsunamis from the east and the sizzling creeping lava flows from Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes at its southern and western sides. Mauna Loa is one of the largest and most active volcanoes on earth and Hilo is built on old lava flows, so it naturally worships the goddess of the volcanos and fire – Pele.

Between the tsunamis and the lava, you can’t get much closer to the perils of nature than Hilo.

Last night there was excitement on the ship in anticipation of our call today. Recently, the volcanoes of Hawaii had woken with fiery displays of lava spewing from their mighty depths.

In Halema’uma’u' crater on Kilauea, lava had been seeping out over the floor of the caldera and down its flanks towards the sea, destroying the roads and farms lying in its path.

The mighty and spiritual gods of the land had awakened –although, disappointingly, today they have also awakened Lonu, the god of rain. A real Hawaiian rain, equalled only by that of a summer’s monsoon in Auckland.

Subsequently, today the vistas from the surrounding volcanic viewing points are a complete whiteout with barely a glow of orange peeping through the curtain of precipitation. Therefore cancelling most of the tours.

There were plenty of moping Cunarders wandering our hallowed halls realizing that their dreams of seeing nature’s wonder in all of its glory, were dashed against a blistering volcanic crater.

It may be raining but, hey, it is still 33 degrees.

In an act of infantile sulkiness, most of the passengers decided to stay on board, but for me the siren’s call to visit Hilo again was too much. I remembered last time (pre Covid) Hilo being full of a certain funky tourist vibe, a lively coffee culture with a fascinating indigenous scene.

The island has embraced a number of different cultures, in particular the Japanese.

The Lili'uokalani Park and Gardens contain the largest Japanese gardens outside of Japan and have free entry, not that it was a defining factor other than, well, they were free.

It also appears that they lay half way between the ship and the promise of a decent cup of Kona Coffee. Aaahhh, Kona Coffee. The gift of the gods… it’s not Ponsonby Road, but needs must, and it’s only a 20 minute walk.

Built between 1917 and 1919, the park is on land donated by Queen Lili'uokalani and is beside the breakwater, affording a terrific view of the town on one side and the ship on the other.

I love a good Japanese garden. The serenity invoked can relax the most highly strung cruiser and outlive any expensive treatment in a ship's spa – besides, did I mention it’s free?

Huge banyan trees line the entrance leading you through the park into the themed areas: serene ponds full of fish, beautiful pagodas set on islands in a lake, carved arched bridges decorated with dragons and bright red fretwork with multiple sculptures abounding and, fortunately, a tea house that offered a welcome shelter from the downpours that dominated the day.

Sadly, it seems for the township of Hilo, Covid and the intervening years had not been kind to what was, only a few years ago, a vibrant and cafe-laden town. The economy here was particularly decimated and now the main street is awash with lots of empty and dilapidated shops and numerous cafes now shuttered and closed. The vibe, so well remembered, had now sadly vanished.

Even the farmers market, once lively and colourful, seemed sad and neglected. Like the rest of the world, the tourist town of Hilo has suffered much, but with the charms and assets the island has to offer, it can only improve from here. On the one hand, it was too soon to visit the island on a cruise ship, but, on the other hand, if we don’t visit, how can it recover?

As the ship prepared to throw off our lines and depart, the sun came out and a rainbow formed over the town –hopefully a portent of a more prosperous future.

The Captain said, “Look out for the whales on the starboard side.” I was on the port… but, hey ho, it’s still 33 degrees.

(ROSS THORBY)  PN