PHOTO
With just two months to the election, most incumbent MPs in Christchurch are in the swing of campaigning. But what have they achieved for their voters this term? Raphael Franks reports
Hamish Campbell, Ilam, National
Campbell says one of his biggest achievements has been introducing a members' bill to Parliament to make tax on backdated ACC payments fairer after being approached by one of his constituents facing the issue.
Campbell says he has also advocated for funding for new classrooms at schools in Ilam, including two new rooms for Ferndale School, and reversing the open-plan classroom design at Merrin School.
He also said he managed to get schools in Ilam, including Burnside High, Breens Intermediate, Christchurch Girls’ High, and Ilam School, selected for the Solar in Schools programme.
"I think we got a good share of both new classrooms and solar panels, and I would like to think that was due to some of the advocacy work that I did,” he said.
Campbell also said he coordinated the Ministry of Education to help repair the Hartley Ave railway overbridge at Waimairi School.
When asked what he had failed to achieve for the electorate, Campbell said a “cheeky answer” was not finding a work-life balance for himself.
Duncan Webb, Christchurch Central, Labour
Webb is retiring at the election after nine years in politics, saying he will take a break before working out what he will do next. He said he made the decision after considering whether he could commit to another term.
Over his latest term, Webb says it has been difficult to accomplish much while on the opposition benches, but points to slowing down the Government’s progress on homeless move-on orders.
"Homelessness and begging and people who are transitory are a real issue. But we know that just picking them up and moving them a few hundred metres away doesn't solve the problem at all,” he said.
Pressed on what Labour achieved around homelessness when in government last term, Webb pointed to helping the City Mission with funding for transitional housing and building new state houses.
He says “it would have been nice” to see progress on Christ Church Cathedral, but he said he understands why the Government has stepped back: “I don't see it as a political problem; it’s the Anglican Church’s problem.”
Labour has picked George Hampton as its new candidate. Hampton, son of high-profile lawyer Nigel Hampton KC, co-owns Mr Whippy, and is a former diplomat and United Nations adviser. He ran unsuccessfully for Auckland’s North Shore at the election in 2023.
Reuben Davidson, Christchurch East, Labour
Davidson says his successes this term include his campaign for a new Pages Rd bridge to New Brighton and his support for the community’s push for a bus service in Aranui.
The Government is putting in $38.5 million to rebuild the bridge after Davidson lobbied for funding.
"We ran a petition. We made sure residents understood, and more importantly, that central government understood, this bridge is 10% of code. It's literally a lifeline if you need to get out of New Brighton in a hurry, if there's a natural disaster.
"We did a lot of door knocking and went out and connected with local residents about it. We launched a campaign. It was just one of those things that was too important an issue for Wellington to forget about.”
He said he has failed to push the Government to do more to support the homeless in Christchurch East.
"I have raised this issue on a number of occasions and tried to get central Government to do more to support people. That message has not been heard. So I'm disappointed that that's the case.”
Megan Woods, Wigram, Labour
Getting the Government to reverse its decision to cut funding for the Brougham St upgrade was Woods’ biggest achievement this term.
"That was fully funded under Labour. The National Government took away that funding and reassigned it to North Island roading projects.
“We had a petition, we had billboards up, I was lobbying for it, I was doing media on it. But it was very much the community that knew that they needed that safety crossing across Brougham St.”
Woods also pointed to individual case work she has done for constituents.
But when asked what she has failed to achieve this term, Woods said she has not been able to help everyone who walked into her electorate office “because the support just isn't there”.
Woods is not standing in the electorate this election, instead running as a list-only candidate ranked fifth on Labour’s list.
She said she ran only if she could commit herself to serving six years until Wigram’s next scheduled boundary review. “This time, I can’t." Boundaries have changed ahead of this election, with Wigram taking in parts of what was previously Selwyn.
Labour’s candidacy has passed to Dominik Yanzick, a tech consultant for firm Edge Consulting. He was the only person to put his hand up for Labour in Wigram as the party went through candidate selections.
Vanessa Weenink, Banks Peninsula, National
Keeping the speed limit from Little River to Akaroa at 60km/h - against her own Government’s blanket increase - and pushing for new classrooms have been Weenink’s achievements this term.
National brought the speed limit between Halswell and Tai Tapu back to 100km/h, reversing Labour’s drop to 80km/h.
However, she changed her mind on increasing the limit back to 100km/h between Little River and Akaroa after getting crash data from police.
Weenink now says it would have been “disastrous” if the speed limit had increased there.
Weenink also points to 10 new classrooms at Cashmere High School, along with a further 14 due to begin construction, two new rooms at Somerfield School, four at Halswell, and Te Mātaitihi, a new bilingual school on Milns Rd in Halswell.
Weenink said she has been able to explain to her colleague, Minister of Education Erica Stanford, that Cashmere High could not be down-zoned any further.
Nicola Grigg, Selwyn, National
Grigg points to her work with Stanford for investment into schools in Selwyn, as well as RMA reform.
Lincoln South is getting a new 18-classroom primary school, four new rooms will be built at Darfield School, six new rooms at Darfield High School, and Rolleston College will also be expanded.
Asked what she had failed to achieve this term, Grigg said “nothing I can think of”, but said she has been frustrated by how long RMA reform is taking.
Grigg’s electorate boundaries have shifted for this election, with Prebbleton and Templeton being absorbed into Wigram. The changes are due to population growth in Rolleston and Lincoln.