OPINION

Over the upcoming holiday period tens of thousands of visitors will make their way into beautiful Northland and I am encouraged by reports of full beach accommodation bookings. This is good for our local
economy and good for the Northland story we want to tell.

The journey into Northland this year will however also be a visual diary of some of our more challenging issues. Drivers into Northland will again confront the “goat track” that is State Highway 1. Instead of four lanes of following traffic they will see “sticks’’ in the middle of the road as the government’s trade-off to Northland.

Unfortunately, there won’t be any more traction on these lanes from the current local Labour MP, who has failed to effectively advocate for four lanes.

To the east, Marsden Pt will be silent for the first time in decades. The Government’s MBIE report that declines to support Marsden states “…there may be some rare circumstances in which importing finished products presents a greater risk than importing and refining crude oil”. No kidding, Sherlock.

In New Zealand right now there is unsuitable jet fuel that arrived at Marsden, which is causing airlines to divert elsewhere for fuel.

Do you think the Government thinks this is a “rare” enough circumstance for them? I hope they note that this happened in the first six months of closure.

Closing Marsden continues to be a short-sighted decision. More should have been done to retain Marsden refining especially when one compares the subsidy and attention that Tiwai Pt receives as another privately owned company. I was the MP who sponsored Chris Leitch’s local parliamentary petition advocating for Marsden.

As one travels past Oakleigh, you will pass a business that has recently been burgled. It is part of the crime spree of local Whangārei businesses that have been recently burgled and ram-raided.

I can’t recall a week in the past few months when a hard-working business hasn’t been attacked. This has to stop. Soft on crime is an oxymoron that is not working for Northland, and it certainly won’t stand for a National Government.

Coming into the outskirts of Whangarei, one approaches the Loop Rd intersection and its “carnival of cones”.

I asked the Transport Minister in February what was going here and his response was that it is likely to be complete by mid-2025. Yet another non-delivery for the people of Northland.

Northland is a beautiful place that I call home. Together we can make it better and safer for ourselves, our children and our visitors. I will spend my holidays with family and friends, but also working hard and preparing for a busy 2023 – an election year.

Go well this holiday period.