After the horrific massacre in Christchurch in March which caused such suffering and grief, I'm sure all New Zealanders were appalled by the senseless, despicable bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday in which Christian worshippers were targeted at churches and hotels.
Many of our Waikato-based Sri Lankan citizens knewsome of the victims, and there were also New Zealanders in the vicinity of those sickening incidents.
I joined some of them on Saturday for a service at St Matthew's Catholic Church in Silverdale to pray for the victims and their homeland, and I anticipate there will be further acts of remembrance in Hamilton soon.
I offer my deepest sympathy to those who are mourning, along with my prayers that there will be no further violence, the injured may recover, and the deceased may rest in peace.
Anzac Day 2019 Again this year, large and respectful crowds attended our Anzac Day ceremonies in Hamilton's Memorial Park. It was great to see a large number of cadets marching behind our veterans at the Dawn Parade.
Well done and thank you to the HCC and RSA organisers, local bands and choruses for your superb musical items, and to everyone who attended the parade and subsequent Civic Ceremony.
It was heartening that so many local schools were represented during the laying of wreaths — and to see all ages and sectors of our community remembering the fallen and honouring all who have served in the defence of our freedom.
Welcome backdown on CGT After 18 months of costly uncertainty, the Government has finally conceded what we knew all along — a Capital Gains Tax isn't needed, isn't wanted, and would hurt our country.
Our economy has suffered while the Government had a public discussion about a policy their own coalition parties couldn't agree on, underlining their political and economic mismanagement.
Two years ago our economy was growing at 4 per cent — it's rapidly heading down to 2 per cent.
Investment slowed significantly while business owners worried and New Zealanders are worse off accordingly.
National's relentless opposition to a CGT was based on our knowledge that it would damage small businesses, hurt small investors, and stop investment in start-up businesses and research and development.
It also had the potential to take $65,000 away from the average person's KiwiSaver over their lifetime.
Labour argued that this was about making the tax system 'fairer'. But fairness isn't raiding someone's retirement fund for which they've worked hard over a lifetime. Labour can't be trusted over tax.
There's still a range of taxes on the table, including a vacant land tax, an agricultural tax and a waste tax. We'll keep fighting for those who earn the money this Government is so keen to acquire.
