Nicola Grigg - Opinion Piece

Don’t go! That should be the nationwide clarion call to the million New Zealanders who are currently thinking about leaving this country for good. Premium Opportunity Awaits This shocking statistic comes from the latest MYOB Consumer Snapshot, showing one million Kiwis are considering moving overseas and 200,000 have already made plans to leave. Forty four percent said they are considering moving for ‘a better quality of life or the cost of living is better overseas’. We have a cost of living crisis, our healthcare system is falling over, wages aren’t keeping up with inflation, owning a home is out of many people’s reach, violent crime is up and we have a major workforce shortage. It’s no surprise that people are looking to move overseas, it’s what I am hearing all over Canterbury. 48 Graeme Foote Drive, Darfield New brick home on large 1,711m2 section, 3 bedrooms, office, 2 bathrooms, modern kitchen, dining, lounge, north facing to capture the sun. Enquiries Over $850,000. Wanted Jacinda Ardern tries to claim that it’s just young Kiwis going on their OE - but a million Kiwis looking to I have a buyer looking for a two bedroom home leave the country isn’t an experience, it’s an exodus. in the Darfield area. If you are thinking of selling So, how do we become the country where our people want to stay, and others are clamouring to join please give me a call. us? www.pggwre.co.nz Licenced under the REAA 2008 For a start, a National Government would focus on removing bottlenecks in our economy, improving Min Cookson 027 249 5417 immigration pathways, eliminating deadweight regulations, and lowering the tax burden on Kiwis. min.cookson@pggwrightson.co.nz But more than that, any government that I want to be a part of should offer hope. It should look to rebuild the confidence of what - I think - is the best country in the world. Currently, we’re undercapitalised, over-regulated, and isolated in more ways than the geographical - and we’re over it. We need an education system that works. The Government is spending $5 billion a year more on education, only to have a staggering 40% of kids not regularly attending school. That is not just a social failure - it is a moral failure and an economic crisis in the making. Second, we’re going to solve New Zealand’s persistent under-investment in infrastructure, by fixing the funding and governance bottlenecks and getting capital to where it can add value. Third, we need to up our game on technology to lift productivity. We need to remove the barriers preventing our businesses accessing capital and ideas so that more of our small businesses achieve a global scale. Fourth, we’ll give businesses a predictable and consistent regulatory environment. We’re going to take a rules-based approach because we know that supports investment, and New Zealand must compete for its capital. Finally, we will rebuild our connections with the world stronger than they were before. More trade, more investment both ways, and greater immigration to help build our workforce. Doing these things well will lift our economic performance, but that is not an end in itself. A strong economy is an enabler - but a government has a moral, LESS IS MORE!!! Megan Ellis social and financial imperative to lift up its most disadvantaged • • NO upfront costs NO marketing costs 027 206 1066 citizens - and I absolutely believe we can do that in New Zealand. So, don’t go, we need everyone to (excludes auction) Call today to find out how you 03 348 4149 www.whittleknight.co.nz put their shoulder to the wheel can save when you list Licensed Real Estate and get this done. exclusively with Whittle Knight! Agents REAA 2008

Nicola Grigg, MP for Selwyn.

SELWYN • RESIDENTIAL • LIFESTYLE