Todd McClay: Busy two weeks

The past two weeks Parliament has been in recess which means I am able to spend all of my time in the electorate. These two weeks have been extremely busy. I have hosted two ministers and visited the Te Puke, Makutu and Kawerau parts of the Rotorua electorate.

There have been announcements and ceremonies that I am particularly proud to have been involved with.

The first was the signing of The Wai-Ora Agreement between the Lakes WaterQuality Society and a collective of farmers who live and work in the Lake Rotorua catchment. I first proposed this agreement more than 12 months ago and it has been negotiated over six months.

It sets a foundation for two groups who are committed to cleaning up Lake Rotorua, but who have been arguing and fighting with each other for many years, to now join forces and put their energy into positive action and strategy for a clean and healthy Lake Rotorua and a sustainable rural sector.

I am grateful for these parties for having joined with me, including a six-hour negotiating session in my office one Saturday, to do what is necessary for the good of our community.

I also attended the official launch of a floating wetlands on Lake Rotoehu with Environment Minister Nick Smith.

This wetland is extremely interesting as it's built from 360,000 plastic Coke bottles (which have been processed) and means that native plants and trees will grow on the lake, taking up phosphorus and nitrogen from the water to be released back into the atmosphere.

This will have huge benefits for water quality and must be considered for parts of Lake Rotorua.

I was delighted to host a signing ceremony to mark an investment of $12 million and the creation of up to 200 jobs in an exciting start-up business in the forestry sector.

A Bay of Plenty businessman who has developed a great idea over many years will build a plant in the Rotorua area to take tree stumps and turn them into valuable commodities, used in the manufacture of perfume, paints and foods for export.

The most impressive thing about this process is that it takes forestry waste and turns it into jobs and income for our local economy.

I am glad to have played a role in making sure that this company stays in the Bay of Plenty and that these jobs will be available to the people of Rotorua, Kaingaroa and Murupara. Congratulations to Ray and his family.

His hard work will add significantly to the quality of life of the many people who will gain employment as a result of his efforts.

Friday last week was a big day for health in Rotorua. Minister of Health Tony Ryall and I visited Whare Aroha to witness a system of monitoring patients which reduces the risk of falls and injuries for the elderly.

This innovation was developed locally and will soon be exported to the world. We also attended the opening of Rotorua's new hospital. A fantastic building with some of the best facilities in New Zealand. Congratulations to the Lakes DHB team and to the doctors and nurses.

Thank you for the great job you are doing improving health outcomes for local people. We finished the day opening the Rotorua Eye Clinic at the old McDonalds building (and previously a tavern) on Fairy Springs Rd. I am told that this is the best private facility in the country, another first for Rotorua.

All in all a busy two weeks and this week it's back to Parliament.