Over the last two months Health NZ has been considering a proposal to merge local Chief Medical Officer positions to District level. This proposal included taking away the Chief Medical Officer at Whanganui Hospital.

I met with local medical professionals, wrote to the Minister of Health, and along with Whanganui’s Hospital Leadership Team met with Dr Reti when he visited Whanganui Hospital recently. We have just been advised that after the consultation process Health NZ is retaining local clinical leadership at Whanganui Hospital. It is great to finish the year with another win for the Whanganui electorate.

The Parliamentary year is over, and the House has recessed until January 2025. However the last few weeks have been filled with activity as we ensure the Government continues to deliver on its promises in the coalition agreements.

Two weeks ago we held our second Scrutiny Week of 2024, a new addition to parliamentary procedure this year. This Scrutiny Week departments and other government entities appear before the relevant select committees to explain their performance over the last year. A highlight for me during the Education and Workforce Select Committee hearings was the Tertiary Education Commission acknowledging that they had engaged with Te Pūkenga about ways to reduce red tape. This followed questions I had asked Te Pūkenga during June’s scrutiny week hearings.

Last week the House moved into urgency on Tuesday which involved sitting until midnight each day. This continued until all the legislation on the urgency motion was debated and the House then rose on Friday evening. On Monday Prime Minister Christopher Luxon confirmed that we had achieved 42 out of 43 targets for the fourth quarter. Changes to the Crown Minerals Bill are complex and the Bill will not be passed until early 2025 to ensure we get it right.

We also took a moment during the week to catch up with the Prime Minister and reflect on the huge amount of work achieved in 2024.

The month included a whole range of events, as diverse as the official opening of the revamped Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui and Story Time in Miss Gilberd’s classroom at Normanby School. This included hosting Minister Goldsmith in Whanganui to speak about the support of a number of successive Governments, commencing when Hon. Chester Borrows was our MP, provided the Sarjeant project.

With Christmas now less than a week away, my diary has been packed with end-of-year appointments, prize givings, graduations, Christmas parades, as well as ongoing constituent work and advocacy. Along with Mayor Phil Nixon I judged the Hāwera Christmas parade on Saturday, having attended or participated in the Eltham, Stratford and Whanganui parades the previous weekend.

We have provided dozens of messages to be read out on my behalf in the last few months where I have been unable to attend a function in person. During the year we also posted or hand-delivered hundreds of letters to constituents having significant birthdays and/or anniversaries, and to people who have achieved noteworthy things.

One such letter went to Charlie, a young man from Waverley who grows lettuces and other produce to donate to the community. 136 lettuces so far in 2024. The following weekend Charlie ran up to me at the Whanganui River Markets where he was handing out flyers for Waverley’s Summer Jam. He was chuffed to have received my letter, and I was chuffed to meet a youngster already invested in his community. Moments like this make the role of Electorate MP so satisfying.

Closing out 2024 has seen a run of Ministers visiting Whanganui, including Hon Louise Upston, Hon Dr Shane Reti and Hon Nicola Willis. Minister Willis’ engagements ranged from touring two outstanding South Taranaki businesses to judging the floats in the Eltham Christmas parade!

Other significant events attended in recent weeks have included the openings of City Mission Whanganui’s Ara Social Supermarket, Te Ramanui o Ruapūtahanga (South Taranaki’s new community hub in Hāwera), Stratford Medical Centre’s refurbishment, the new MRI Suite at Whanganui Hospital and the 75th anniversary celebrations of Ravensdown Aeroworks where the Harding family’s contribution to aerial topdressing was recognised.

Thanks to my awesome team, Linda, Tony, Stacey and Maree who have supported me so much throughout 2024. Without their support we simply would not be able to achieve as much as we do across the Whanganui Electorate.

So, as of Friday 20th December we will be having time with family and to recharge to support you all in 2025. The offices will be closed until mid-January.

During last week’s urgency motion some significant legislation was passed. The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill passed its Third Reading as did the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill and the Therapeutic Products Repeal Bill.

Reinstating the Three Strikes regime will help keep New Zealanders safer while sending a strong message to those who keep committing these serious crimes that they will face increasingly serious consequences. We are committed to enforcing tougher consequences for violent offenders while denouncing their actions.

As we head into the holidays Candice, Angus, Logan and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and an exciting and prosperous 2025. May you and your families be touched by the miracle of Christmas and keep safe and well through the summer break.

Carl Bates

Whanganui - South Taranaki - Stratford