What your candidates are saying: part 2
In last week’s issue of the Informer the Labour Candidate, Beryl Riley, and National Party Candidate and Member of Parliament, Scott Simpson, responded to questions put by The Informer as part of assisting the electorate becoming familiar with the candidates and their party’s policies and strategies for the General Election. The responses to the first three questions were published and below are their responses to the final two questions. The same questions have been put to ACT Candidate, Michelle Verburg, who will respond once she is up and running next week. Pamela Grealey, Green Party candidiate, may also respond. Today, we set out the Green Party press release on Free Dental Care, which is a strong point in their campaign strategy. For New Zealand First, we introduce their candidate for the Coromandel electorate.
Scott Simpson is your National Party candidate Q: What has changed in the people’s hearts and minds or what do you perceive has changed? We have collectively lost the sense of personal responsibility for both actions and inactions that used to underpin how people lived their lives. Standards of acceptable behaviour have slipped. There’s a lack of accountability for actions and deeds that impact negatively on society. It’s time to get our country back on track. Q: What are your strengths in this whole matter of improving the quality of life for New Zealanders? Life, business, community, and political experience. Being practical and pragmatic with an optimistic view of the world and our place in it. Scott’s summary: This election voters have a stark choice between a chaotic coalition of Labour, the Greens and Maōri Parties against a stable, Christopher Luxon, National-led government that will fi x the economy to reduce the cost of living, restore law and order and improve our schools and healthcare. The choice is simple… Party Vote National.
Pamela Grealey is your Green Party candidate. FREE DENTAL CARE: A HUGE HELP FOR ALL RESIDENTS IN THE COROMANDEL ELECTORATE - Press Release The Green Party has unveiled an ambitious policy to provide free dental care for all New Zealanders, ensuring access to essential oral health services. Green Party Candidate for the Coromandel electorate, Pamela Grealey is a passionate advocate for this much-needed change- "Our health and wellbeing depend on healthy teeth and gums. Every individual should have access to the dental care they need to thrive and participate fully in society," says Pamela. “This is especially important in rural areas like the Coromandel where access can be a costly burden.” The policy addresses a long-standing issue which has seen successive governments exclude dental care from the public health system, resulting in 40% of people being unable to aff ord necessary treatment, with even worse disparities for Māori. “This only further proves that come the 2023 election, we have a choice to make and the time is now for this to change. This is a political choice, and it's time to make diff erent choices," says Pamela Grealey. The Green Party's policy aims to tackle the problem of costly dental care, which has led to millions of people postponing visits to the dentist. On average, a dental trip costs $353, about 40% of the weekly income for minimum wage earners. "Investing in preventive dental care is crucial. Delaying or avoiding dental treatment can have life-changing consequences," warns Pamela Grealey. "Many issues can be prevented with timely visits to the dentist." The new policy aims to extend this care to all New Zealanders by establishing the New Zealand Dental Service. The policy states the Greens will off er free annual check-ups, cleanings, and basic dental care like fi llings and extractions to anyone in need. The plan includes funding for mobile dental vans and community dental clinics, making dental care easily accessible, even in remote areas like the Coromandel, including marae. "We believe that everyone deserves access to excellent health care. By making dental care free for all, we can build a healthier, fairer New Zealand," says Pamela Grealey. The Green Party will also address the demand for dentists by lifting the cap on training placements and off ering more support to get more Maori and Pacifi ca people into dentistry. The funding for this policy has been fully costed through already announced reforms to achieve a fairer tax system, refl ecting the Green Party's dedication to ensuring comprehensive and inclusive healthcare for all New Zealanders.
Beryl Riley is your Labour Party candidate. Q. What has changed in the people’s hearts and minds or what do you perceive has changed? “We humans have very short memories. Labour got us through the pandemic extremely well (the envy of the rest of the world), plus a massacre in Christchurch and several natural disasters / weather crises. -- but people forget how well Labour managed all these crises and kept us safe, and instead blame Labour for other trends e.g., the global rise in infl ation, the rise in ram raids which have been splashed across all media. Unfortunately, it is to be expected that older people feel unsafe with these ram raids occurring and perhaps then generalise and catastrophize about what levels and types of crimes that they think are being committed - this is a very natural and human thing to do. However, police and justice statistics actually show us that rates of crime have been coming down over the last few years here in NZ while the apprehension of criminals and breaking up of organised crime rings has improved. These positive statistics are occurring because Labour has trained record numbers of new Police graduates, put into practice new technologies and strategies for solving crime. as well as strengthened laws so the hardened criminals receive harsher sanctions and young, inexperienced off enders receive the early intervention programmes and rehabilitation they need to stay on the right side of the law. Unfortunately, National and Act are continuing to whip up support for their false message that Labour has ‘gone soft on crime' - nothing could be further from the truth. Q. What are your strengths in this whole matter of improving the quality of life for New Zealanders? “I bring a lot of strengths to being MP for Coromandel: - ▪ Ability to relate well to people from all our communities/groups/ages/cultural backgrounds. ▪ Ability to network and bring people together to facilitate the development of our own solutions to our issues/problems here in the Coromandel electorate. From my job working in mental health, I see the challenges families face daily (e.g. fi nancial, transport issues, unemployment). ▪ Management/leadership skills from being a businesswoman, school principal, and senior manager in the Ministry of Education - used to managing needs of disparate stakeholders, plus managing budgets and large numbers of staff . ▪ I'm a confi dent, resilient and resourceful person who handles challenges and stress well. ▪ I'm a creative, "out of the box" type of thinker. ▪ I'm passionate about improving everybody’s way of life in the electorate by: • improving infrastructure like roading and transport;• bringing new job/business opportunities to this area by promoting tourism; • supporting innovation and developing infrastructure; • improving access to and quality of health services across electorate; • improving policing numbers and their ability to respond in a timely manner; • supporting youth programmes including access to sports to keep our youth engaged positively in education and training; • improving services to our elderly (eg day activity centres) - a growing group in our electorate.” Her fi nal statement I am passionate about wanting our children and grandchildren to have a prosperous and sustainable future here in Aotearoa. Our beautiful environment is under real threat and the gap between rich and poor is growing bigger. I want to be part of a Labour-led government that acts boldly to tackle climate change. inequity and poverty. If I get the privilege of being your MP for Coromandel, I pledge to be a strong advocate for our environmental, economic, creative and social future.”
New Zealand First - Caleb Ansell
Coromandel Electorate
Matamata Piako District Councillor Caleb Ansell will stand in the electorate of Coromandel this year for New Zealand First.
Caleb is based in Manawaru with his wife Holly and has a background in customer service. He is actively involved within the community through his local church, and worked in the Life Centre Trust during his studies, helping with their food parcel program. Caleb feels deeply passionate about equal citizenship, and is eager to represent New Zealand First’s values in the upcoming election.New Zealand First teams have been working hard to put election signs up across the country.They have put on their boots, tooled up, erected frames and nailed up election signs across the country.
The theme to NZ Firsts campaign is so "Let's Take Back Our Country"