National Party leader Chris Luxon laments ‘mismanaged economy’ during Whanganui visit

Christopher Luxon (left) with Carl Bates on Victoria Avenue. Photo / Bevan Conley

The Government’s “wasteful spending” was front and centre as National Party leader Chris Luxon visited Whanganui.

He was in town to talk at the Davis Lecture Theatre alongside his party’s Whanganui candidate, Carl Bates.

Speaking to the Chronicle, Luxon said this year’s election was all about the economy and who could manage it better.

“The Government has increased spending by over 80 per cent but we haven’t had an 80 per cent improvement in healthcare, education, management of climate or crime statistics.

“People are doing it really, really tough and it’s because the Government has mismanaged the economy in the extreme.”

One example was having 200 communications staff at Whatu Ora Health New Zealand instead of 200 extra nurses, he said.

“The focus is in the wrong space.”

Luxon was in the Rangitīkei District in January to attend celebrations at Rātana Pā.

During his speech, he said National opposed co-governance in the delivery of health, education and critical infrastructure, and “By Māori, for Māori” could be within a coherent public service.

This week he said he was “a big fan” of Te Pūwaha - the Whanganui Port redevelopment that brings together Whanganui iwi, Whanganui District Council, Horizons Regional Council, Q-West Boat Builders and the Whanganui District Employment Training Trust.

“That is something we are very supportive of and it happened under our government.

“Local iwi working with local government on the management of local natural resources in the context of Treaty settlements is fantastic.

“The Whanganui River settlement [Te Awa Tupua], with the legal personhood status being granted, is something we should be incredibly proud of.”

However, the party was not a fan of co-governance when it came to national public services.

“To me, we are one country with one public service system and we deliver those services on the basis of people’s needs, not ethnicity,” Luxon said.

He said wasteful spending could be stopped by giving money to the people who needed it most, not “spraying it everywhere”.

Targeted spending would not be hard to achieve.

Rather than offering free prescriptions to everyone, National would give them to those with Super Gold or Community Services cards, he said.

“Obviously if you have high needs above $100 spend, that would carry on and you’d get supported after that point in time as well.

“If you think about how we’re going to make the payment for childcare [FamilyBoost], we are going to send it straight into your bank account through the IRD.

“It’s pretty straightforward if you use the existing systems to deliver the money through. This government tends to create a whole bunch of bureaucracy and extra resources to make those payments and it didn’t need to be that way.”

Former Whanganui MP and current National list MP Harete Hipango will contest the Te Tai Hauāuru seat in October, the first time a National candidate has run in a Māori electorate since 2002.

Luxon said the party was at its best when it was a “national National Party”.

“What I mean by that is we talk to all communities across New Zealand and we present our ideas, our values and our policies to everyone.

“It’s exciting having Harete run in a Māori seat because we want to make the case why we think a National government is good for Māori, non-Māori and, in fact, all New Zealanders.

“It turns out the issues are the same. It’s about the cost of living, how we restore law and order, and how we build a better health and education system.”

As for the Whanganui electorate, Luxon said he got a sense that Labour MP Steph Lewis had been “missing in action”.

Bates was already advocating for Whanganui very strongly, he said.

“We had a meeting with the mayor [Andrew Tripe] this morning and, between Carl and the mayor, they were very aligned around what the priorities are and what they need to do to move the city forward and realise the opportunity it has.”