Iain Lees-Galloway

Gerry Puts The Boot In

Iain Lees-Galloway — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:45:17 +0000

Whenever an opposition MP wants to visit a government agency, department, DHB etc we have to ask the Minister. I want to take Labour’s Transport spokesperson Phil Twyford to have a look at the Manawatu Gorge and I haven’t been there since September which is after the first slips but before the massive slip came down. So I asked, since the NZTA is running the site.

Gerry Brownlee then apparently called the Manawatu Standard and told them that I shouldn’t think myself such an ‘expert’ on the Gorge since I haven’t seen the slip myself. That’s rich from the fellow who only got there last week.

Ah well, such is politics. I don’t think I’m an expert. What I have consistently called on the Government to do is get the real experts to do a proper economic analysis of the options for a more reliable, resilient road to the east of Palmerston North. Not a big ask, but they keep saying ‘NO.’

That’s the issue here and although Gerry will run interference like he does in the house when things aren’t going National’s way, the issue remains. And I won’t stop asking for that analysis to be carried out because so long as our transport infrastructure isn’t up to scratch, our ability in Palmerston North to play to the strength our central location gives us as a distribution hub and retail centre is unnecessarily constrained.

Gerry Will Look At The Gorge

Iain Lees-Galloway — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:26:03 +0000

It’s taken a bit if badgering but I’ve just got word that Gerry Brownlee intends to come and have a look at the Manawatu Gorge.

Good on him.

I don’t know yet if he will also talk to businesses and residents affected but I expect he will since he will be making the trip.

Hopefully this is a sign of progress!

David Shearer in Palmerston North

Iain Lees-Galloway — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:37:33 +0000

It was great to have David Shearer in the electorate today. The reception he got was amazing. Having a fresh new face to introduce to people was exciting and everyone he met seemed to warm to the new guy.

Our first visit was to Ezibuy where we talked to people working in their distribution centre and call centre. Is was good for David to see how important distribution is to Palmerston North, but also to see how much innovation goes into a modern distribution centre.

After lunch with some locals, including Mayor Jono Naylor, David proved he really is a Shearer, being a bloody good sport and taking part in a More FM promotion in the Square.

Back to serious business, I took David to the Riddet Institute at Massey University where we discussed food innovation and I reinforced to him the importance of R&D and innovation to the Palmerston North economy.

People we spoke to there were impressed with David’s decision to retain the Science and Innovation portfolio as leader and saw it a very positive reflection on how much of a priority Labour places on innovation for economic development.

Unfortunately we didn’t have time to get out to the Manawatu Gorge but David certainly had a good grasp of how frustrated people feel about it by the end of the day. We also discussed the Manawatu River.

It was a great day and a privilege the Palmerston North is one of the first electorates David chose to visit as leader.

Palmerston North Voted To Keep Assets

Iain Lees-Galloway — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:00:25 +0000

Before the election last year many commentators and politicians, myself included, painted the vote as a referendum on asset sales. In a bid to get people looking at the policies rather than just the personalities, we implored the voting public to vote for parties whose policies reflected their own views on state asset sales.

Given that, it could be read that New Zealand voted for asset sales when it elected a National-led government. Certainly the word ‘mandate’ has been thrown around quite a lot since election day. National gained 48% of the vote, it has formed a government and has the confidence of Parliament. Surely that constitutes a ‘mandate’ to sell off our assets?

Not exactly. The referendum on asset sales threw up an interesting result: 60 MPs clearly in favour of selling assets, 60 MPs clearly opposed to selling them and 1 MP, Peter Dunne, whose position on asset sales seems to depend on the direction of the prevailing wind at the time he is asked where he stands.

For now, Peter Dunne says he will support the Government’s programme to sell off the Government’s top performing assets. Those that produce the greatest rate of return for taxpayers are the first on the block.

So just how enthusiastic are New Zealanders about asset sales? Unsurprisingly, not very. Polls regularly show around 75% of us are in favour of holding on to our power companies and majority share of Air New Zealand. Here in Palmerston North, we overwhelmingly displayed our desire to keep our assets at the ballot box. 53.5% of us voted for parties that favour retention and just 45.2% of us voted for parties that favour selling them off.

So should we resign ourselves to the National-led Government inevitably acting against our wishes? Not on your life! Democracy doesn’t just happen once every three years. Expressing our views and being listened to by our government is more than just a right. It is a privilege that we must make the most of at every opportunity.

Opposition politicians, and those who supported us, must accept election results and allow the government to govern while stating our opposition where we disagree and building the case for our alternative view.

However, where it is obvious that the government is not only working against the best interests of the nation but also the will of the people, we all must fight with every resource and every ounce of energy we can muster.

Printed in The Tribune on Wednesday, January 18.

Gorge Clean-up Challenge

Iain Lees-Galloway — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:30:31 +0000

As I have said previously, the actual job of cleaning up the Manawatu Gorge and gettting the road re-opened is a massive one and the fact that is taking such a long time is nobody’s fault. This photo, supplied by the NZTA, shows why.

You can see at the top where the ‘benching’ work (a bit like terracing) has got to so far. There is an awful lot of dangerous, expensive work ahead. We can expect the shocking Saddle Road to be overloaded for quite a while yet.

Brownlee Tells Us How Important The Gorge Is

Iain Lees-Galloway — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:31:33 +0000

Before Parliament adjourned last year I put a handful of questions to new Transport Minster Gerry Brownlee. They weren’t terribly challenging, just getting an idea of what information the Government had gathered on the Manawatu Gorge and what solutions they might be looking at.

It wouldn’t have taken much effort to pull together some standard answers. But apparently even that was too much effort for Gerry. This is what I got back:

Question: What is the expected total cost of work to re-open the Manawatu Gorge road?

Portfolio: Transport

Minister: Hon Gerry Brownlee

Date Lodged:21/12/2011

Answer Text: I am unable to provide a response at this time and undertake to provide the member with a final response at a later date

Attachment: None

Date Received:16/01/2012

__________

Question: What reports or briefings, if any, has he received estimating the cost of proposed options for improving road access between Palmerston North and Napier?

Portfolio: Transport

Minister: Hon Gerry Brownlee

Date Lodged:21/12/2011

Answer Text: I am unable to provide a response at this time and undertake to provide the member with a final response at a later date

Attachment: None

Date Received:16/01/2012

__________

Question: What options, if any, is he considering for improving road access between Palmerston North and Napier?

Portfolio: Transport

Minister: Hon Gerry Brownlee

Date Lodged:21/12/2011

Answer Text: I am unable to provide a response at this time and undertake to provide the member with a final response at a later date

Attachment: None

Date Received:16/01/2012

And so it went on for these questions too:

What is the total annual cost of work to clear slips and other causes of closure to the Manawatu Gorge road for each year since 1996?

What is the total cost to date of work to re-open the Manawatu Gorge road since August 18 2011?
What reports, if any, has he received regarding closure of the Manawatu Gorge road since August 18 2011? When does he expect the Manawatu Gorge road to be re-opened?

So while the closure of the Gorge is costing our region money and endangering our safety, the Government hasn’t even got the energy to answer a few simple questions. Obviously my faith in Gerry was misguided.

Fix The Gorge – But Then What?

Iain Lees-Galloway — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:29:52 +0000

145 days after the latest closure of the Manawatu Gorge commenced, any signs that our primary road link to Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and, most importantly, the Port of Napier will reopen are still well over the horizon. With the summer holiday upon us, many more unlucky travellers have now experienced the frustration of being stuck behind a heavy vehicle not at all suited to the undulating twists of the Saddle Road. For those who travel the route daily, the journey’s additional complications have become far more onerous than a pesky inconvenience. It’s costing money and endangering travellers’ safety.

No one can fault the clean-up operation. That it is taking so long is not the fault of the NZ Transport Authority, the Government or the contractors working on the cliff-face. In fact, we should all acknowledge the skill and bravery of those workers who are tackling what is a colossal engineering challenge that cannot be rushed. We will be in their debt when the work is done.

But once it is done and the road re-opened, how long will it be before another slip closes it again? We can’t answer that question but we know that closures are inevitable. Some will be small, others will be large and there is nothing to say that even more substantial slips than the ones that caused the current closure will not occur. That is the nature of the Gorge’s geology and geography.

Constant closure would not be tolerated on roads – dare I say it – further North. There are strong economic and safety arguments in favour of building better transport links to the East of Palmerston North and doing so is long overdue.

Will this just be another opportunity to overlook the provinces or will the Government make a serious assessment of the options available and act decisively in favour of our region?

Printed in the Manawatu Guardian 12.01.2012

Good News For The Gorge?

Iain Lees-Galloway — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:36:08 +0000

The new cabinet has been announced and Gerry Brownlee is the Minister of Transport.

This gives me some hope that a solution to the Manawatu Gorge problem may get greater priority than it did under Steven Joyce.

Although Gerry is still an ‘urban’ MP, he’s not from Auckland and that’s a good start. Further, Gerry’s experience as the Minister for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery should have shown him the value of working across levels of governance and across party lines to get positive outcomes.

I have heard mixed reviews about Gerry’s performance after the earthquakes but I have heard enough that is positive to believe there might a chance he will work collaboratively to get the result our region needs.

Thank You Palmerston North

Iain Lees-Galloway — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 03:25:15 +0000

Last night was, to say the very least, bitter-sweet. On the one hand, we successfully held Palmerston North and increased the majority 3-fold. On the other hand the party vote in Palmerston North reflected the swing across the country and Labour was firmly in second place behind National.

It’s worth noting, though, that the Government parties (National, ACT, United Future, Maori) amassed 13,755 party votes in Palmerston North whereas the Opposition (Labour, Greens, NZ First, Mana) collected 14,833 between us. Palmerston North remains a left-leaning city, if ever-so-slightly.

There are plenty of challenges ahead both for Palmerston North and for Labour and in my roles as electorate MP and member of the Labour caucus I intend to tackle those head on.

Today, however, I’m getting some rest and enjoying this wonderful sunshine.

Thank you to everyone who voted for me, volunteered for the campaign or supported us with positive thoughts. You got us over the line and you elected me to get back to work for you. That’s exactly what I intend to do.

Last Thoughts Before Tomorrow

Iain Lees-Galloway — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 22:06:10 +0000

Tomorrow you get your chance to have your say on a number of things: Which party you want to lead the Government. Who you want to represent Palmerston North in Parliament. Whether or not we should keep MMP.

Each is separate decision. I have strong views on each, none of which will come as any surprise to anyone.

I think you should party vote Labour principally because only Labour has been able to show New Zealand that we have a plan to grow and diversify our economy, create jobs and ensure that everyone gets a fair go.

I think you should electorate vote Iain Lees-Galloway because I have the experience to do the job well, I have the skills required and I have focused on local issues that are important to our region’s economic, social and environmental development. I see my job as being Palmerston North’s voice in Parliament, not my party’s voice in Palmerston North.

I think you should vote to keep MMP because it is the only system on offer that provides genuine proportional representation where your vote counts no matter where you live or who you are.

But ultimately what really matters is what you think. I hope we have done a good job of convincing you to agree with me on all of these questions, or at least some of them.

Whatever the outcome, I’ve enjoyed this campaign immensely. I love the contest of ideas and I love working alongside the committed and passionate group of people who make up my campaign team.

One last thing: I think you should VOTE! We are privileged to have the right to and we should all make the most of it!