Wedd's Weekly

Sending greetings from Norway.

I am here as the chair of NZ Parliamentarian's Group on Population and Development (NZPPD) and my role gives me the opportunity to provide a voice for women and girls on the global stage and to advocate for issues which have driven me to Parliament such as increasing support for parents and improving maternal health.

As a mother of four children, including two daughters, I understand the challenges of raising teenage girls in today’s world.

Read on to find out all I have been up to.

Representing New Zealand at the New Zealand at the International Parliamentarians Conference | At 'The Storting' the Norwegian Parliament

At the University of Olso | With the team from the Pacific

I am very proud to represent New Zealand at the International Parliamentarians Conference in Norway and join hundreds of MPs and Ministers from across the world to develop global policy and a unified commitment to Sexual Reproductive Health Rights. 

As the chair of the NZ Parliamentarians Population and Development Group I am advocating for NZ and the Pacific Region. It’s vitally important that New Zealand it as the table to discuss maternal mortality, teenage pregnancy, abortion laws, domestic violence and the global shift in population growth with the challenges posed by inequality, climate change, immigration, urbanisation and technology.

We fund many programmes in the Pacific where we have a lot of work to do on sexual reproductive health with high rates of teenage pregnancy, maternal deaths and lack of contraception and access.

It’s been good to connect with MPs from across the globe and team up with our Pacific delegation from Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands to ensure our voice is heard.

Thank you to UNFPA and the Norwegian Government for funding this global event for MPs around the world.

Me along with MP for Wairarapa Mike Butterick and Michael and Karen Toulmin (centre)

It was great to celebrate our Hawke’s Bay's primary sector. Tukituki is a food producing region and there is so much to celebrate in Hawke’s Bay from our pastoral, forestry, horticulture sectors to our leaders and emerging stars who contribute so much to our primary industries.

Congratulations to all the amazing award winners and a special mention to Michael and Karen Toulmin - the 2024 Hawke’s Bay Farmers of the Year.

Here is the list of the winners, and a hearty congratulations to all.

Horticentre Trust Hawke’s Bay Horticulturalist of the Year - Ben James

Pan Pac Hawke’s Bay Farm Forester of the Year - Thomas Gordon

Heretaunga Hastings District Council Primary Sector Industry Leader of the Year - John Loughlin

Unison Hawke’s Bay Primary Sector Professional of the Year - Brent Paterson

Craigs Investment Partners Hawke’s Bay Emerging Leader - Jack Jensen

Bayleys Hawke’s Bay Primary Sector Innovation Award - Metris

Lawson Robinson Hawke’s Bay Scholarship - Guy von Dadelszen

Laurie Dowling Memorial Award - Jacky Stafford

It was a privilege to see families, with their children, moving into a new warm home after spending years in emergency housing motels.

The coalition government has announced a series of first steps it has taken to end the large-scale use of emergency housing, including meeting its First 100 Day plan to establish a Priority One category for families with children in emergency housing, helping them to move into social housing faster.

The Priority One category applies to families with children who have been in emergency housing for twelve weeks or more, because we know that children in emergency housing for an extended period are most at risk of poor health and education outcomes.

Our government is committed to ending the large-scale use of Emergency Housing motels and returning them to a rarely and briefly needed last resort.

Solving emergency housing won’t be easy and it won’t happen immediately. Bold and radical steps will be required. We’ll be exploring a range of options including better support to prevent the need for emergency housing in the first place, as well as for those who exit.

It was amazing to see the talent on display, the participants should be proud of the skills they showcased. Congratulations to 20-year-old Archie Knight who claimed the title of Hawke’s Bay’s champion at the regional heats.

t was an honour to warmly welcome Hukarere Girls' College students to the Havelock North community. The resilience and strength of character they have shown losing their school in Cyclone Gabrielle has been incredible and will make them stronger.

It's wonderful to have the girls as part of the Havelock North community.

Tukituki electorate is vast, and it is hard to figure out what it includes. So, I wanted to include the boundary of our amazing electorate so you, the constituents, know what areas I cover.

Named after a popular trout fishing river, the Tukituki electorate comprises the communities of Hastings, Havelock North, Flaxmere, Clive and Ōtāne, as well as the coastal settlements of Haumoana, Te Awanga, Ocean Beach and Waimārama. Much of the electorate’s northern boundary is defined by the Tutaekuri River, which extends from the southern end of the Kaweka Forest Park to the river mouth just north of Clive. The Ruahine Ranges mark the western edge of the electorate. In the south, the electorate boundary runs north of the settlements of Norsewood and Takapau, skirting around Waipukurau and Waipawa, then travelling south-east as far as Pourerere.

For the 2008 general election, the southern boundary was shifted north, moving the towns of Waipawa and Waipukurau into the Wairarapa electorate. At the same time the northern boundary was extended to include Te Awanga and Cape Kidnappers within the Tukituki electorate. There were no boundary changes to Tukituki following the Representation Commission’s boundary reviews in either 2014 or 2020. 

You can follow regular updates on Facebook- Catherine Wedd for Tukituki | Facebook