Adrian Rurawhe: Cash and high-fives from Labour Party conference in Whanganui

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks at the annual Labour Party Conference in at the Royal Wanganui Opera House in Whanganui.

COMMENT
Firstly, I want to thank our Whanganui iwi, Morehu whānau, and the wider community for being incredible hosts to the 2019 Labour Party annual conference.

Labour Leader Jacinda Ardern, volunteers, MPs and candidates from across the country, loved what they saw and experienced here thanks to you.

It was a privilege to be the event host, hearing our manuhiri rave about our city's customer service, hospitality and manaakitanga – not to mention our incredible weather!

I want to especially acknowledge my own kaimahi and our hearty local Labour volunteers, who went above and beyond to ensure everything ran so smoothly.

And who can forget Jacinda's stunning Opera House kōrero, announcing the biggest capital injection for school maintenance funding in at least 25 years.

Every community will benefit from this initiative. One where nearly every state school and kura receives $693 per student (min $50,000), so they can stop "making do" and catch up on their infrastructure repair wish lists that were neglected by the previous Government.

Incredibly, 328 schools, wharekura and kura in Te Tai Hauāuru will share in $50,211,536. Helping 77,599 local tamariki to reach their full potential.

From Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Atihaunui-A-Paparangi getting a $59,598 shot in the arm to Whanganui High School receiving $400,000, I congratulate Education Minister Chris Hipkins on this progressive news, which creates jobs and work for local tradespeople at the same time.

From education to health, new figures show that just one year after this Government made seeing the doctor cheaper for more than 540,000.

For Community Services Cardholders, 57,000 fewer adults are putting off seeing their GP due to cost than the year before.

Add in that 50,000 fewer are reporting cost is no longer stopping them from picking up their prescriptions, and the positive change this Government is making for our people is clear.

Health Minita David Clark has also made his ministerial appointments to our DHBs.

Focusing on the right skills to help rebuild our previously underfunded health system, I am proud to say, that there is now the biggest Māori voice ever at the top tables of our public hospital system.

Forty-three out of 76 new appointments to DHB governance and four of the 13 appointed chairs are Māori, which will make a significant difference towards improving health outcomes for our whānau – and driving down the various health statistics where whānau Māori are highly over-represented.

Mauriora!

• Adrian Rurawhe is a Labour MP for Te Tai Hauāuru.