The watchdog: Louise Upston casting a National eye over Hawke's Bay

Taupo MP Louise Upston, appointed as Opposition National Party MP to watch over Hawke's Bay. Photo / Doug Laing

The National Party's watchdog MP for the Hawke's Bay area has hit the ground running with a bagful of issues to monitor in the area – starting with gangs.

Louise Upston, Taupo MP since 2008, was in Napier today meeting as many movers and shakers in one day as she could before going to Wellington for a sitting of Parliament on Tuesday, and returning to the Bay for a Wednesday night public community meeting on gangs.

It will be there that she makes her first public appearance in the role, assigned with the party no longer having an MP in the Napier and Tukituki electorates and which she says gives an alternative link to Parliament for people who feel they are "not getting anywhere" through their MP.

As National spokesperson for social development and employment, Upston is also following such issues as housing, and is currently seeking information on the numbers of unoccupied dwellings.

She will attend the meeting with party justice spokesperson and former leader Simon Bridges, who she says told her he gets more correspondence on the topic of gangs from Hawke's Bay than any other area, the issues being highlighted by a shooting in the West Quay bar quarter on the weekend of March 6-7.

"Three people injured in one incident…it seems to be becoming more brazen and there is a lot of concern about the continued escalation of it," she said.

She said she wants to know what issues are linked to the situation, including more about those stemming from housing shortages, and using motels and hotels as social housing accommodation.

Upston is also planning meetings with mayors, as well as business, tourism and events leaders to better assess the impact from the cancellations of the major Art Deco events and the Horse of the Year Show.