Whanganui MP Steph Lewis signs lease for new Whanganui HQ

Steph Lewis' new office will be at 40 Guyton St. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui MP Steph Lewis has signed the lease for her new local office at 40 Guyton St, where she will share the building with Powerco.

Lewis said if she could "lock in some tradies" to get all the work done, the office should be up and running by February.

"They're pretty flat out at the moment, so hopefully we can find someone who can squeeze in a day's work or two," Lewis said.

"The lease was signed by all the parties just before Christmas, so I was very happy about that."

An office in Hāwera had also been sorted, Lewis said, although budget constraints meant there wouldn't be a Labour base in Stratford as yet.

"It's looking like we're not going to have an office space there per se unfortunately. It's not what I'd hoped, but it's because we had to go up in budget in Whanganui.

"If Parliamentary Services come back and say it's definitely not within budget then we'll have a roster of clinic days in Stratford instead, and Jenna [Houghton], who works in the Hāwera office, will also do appointments up there as well.

"No matter what happens, we will make sure the people of Stratford and the surrounding area do have access to support. They definitely won't be forgotten, and we'll make sure we're there as often as they want us."

Steph Lewis at the White Ribbon March in Whanganui last month. Photo / Bevan Conley

Lewis said she had spoken to colleagues in Auckland who were spending a similar amount on rent as she was in Whanganui.

"They couldn't believe it, and were like 'are you sure you're talking about Whanganui?'."

Instead of renting an entirely new space in Hāwera, Lewis said she would be taking over the office at 44 Victoria St vacated by former Whanganui MP Harete Hipango, albeit with a change in colour scheme from blue to red.

"It didn't seem like a good use of taxpayer money to move it 100 metres down the road, just for the sake of a new office.

"Everybody knows where it is, and there's no need to spend money unnecessarily.

"It's still blue at the moment, but now we've got the printer installed it's a fully functioning electorate office."

Lewis said Houghton would remain working in her Hāwera office in 2021, and a new Wellington-based electoral assistant would begin on January 11.

"We have an advert that will run in January as well, looking for our person in Whanganui. I'm really excited, and with any luck at the start of March we should have full offices and a full team on board."