Tauranga's new MPs are settling into their new roles, with one already preparing to submit a Private Member's Bill.
New Zealand First list MP Clayton Mitchell and National's Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller have both been put through the paces during a two-week induction process and will be sworn in on October 20.
"It's been an absolutely fantastic couple of weeks with induction," Mr Mitchell said. "We're starting to get our legs under our tables and get our offices sorted. It's been a whirlwind of excitement and knowledge. At the end of the day my brain is sore and swollen from all the information upload. Then I get home and my wife and kids want to know all about it, so I get to information download."
Mr Mitchell said he had already started writing his maiden speech and preparing his first Private Member's Bill, which he planned to lodge in two weeks, although he refused to reveal what the bill dealt with.
"It's a very, very surreal feeling and I feel very humbled and privileged to have this opportunity. I've had to pinch myself a couple of times to make sure it's actually happening and now I have to deliver on it."
Getting rid of the tolls on Route K was still a high priority, he said.
"I plan on getting stuck in and really making a difference for Tauranga, which I pledged to."
Mr Mitchell had taken his family to Wellington to show them around. "[The kids] got their special wee passes around their neck, so they feel very privileged to be here," he said. Mr Muller described his first weeks as "hugely exciting and full on".
The new MPs had even role-played the select committee process and speaking in the House.
Mr Muller had already opened his first event and attended a local organisation's AGM.
"It's been a very busy period, especially considering I'm not sworn in," he said.
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