Joseph Mooney - MP for Southland
What a week it has been.
Fortunately, Queenstown managed to miss the brunt of Thursday’s destructive winds which swept up the country.
Not far from here across the Southland electorate the storm caused major damage and disruption. Power outages, cancelled flights, ripped roofs, blocked roads, and so many trees toppled.
On Friday, Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell declared a state of emergency for the Southland region. The local state of emergency is necessary as a precautionary step due to concern about the potential impacts of power outages on other lifeline utilities. A local state of emergency has also been declared for the Clutha district with power, water and transport networks affected.
It’s times like these southern communities show their supportive spirit and I have heard many instances of people doing what they can to help ease the pressure on those facing adversity.
A big thanks to all the emergency personnel and volunteers who are putting a huge effort in to deal with the challenges the wind threw down at us.
The Queenstown community is packed with people who want to do their best for our region and the recent local body elections are another prime example.
Congratulations to new Queenstown Lakes District Mayor John Glover, and all the returning and newly elected Councillors.
Thank you also to outgoing Mayor Glyn Lewers and outgoing Councillors for their service to our community. Serving the community in an elected role is not an easy one, and well done to everyone who puts themselves forward to do so.
Well done to all candidates who put themselves forward for nomination to our district and regional councils. Representing your community is a challenging task but it is also vital for a healthy, vibrant society. I look forward to working with you in the months and years ahead.
Since becoming an MP, I’ve consistently pushed for better access to healthcare across our region. I set up a leadership group two years ago and set about working with Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago’s mayors alongside our neighbouring MP Miles Anderson of Waitaki and local list MP Todd Stephenson, with input from health practitioners and providers across our region.
The aim of our Otago Central Lakes Health group is to bring more public health services closer to home. We have brought the needs of our growing population and the challenges Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago people face in accessing public health care to the forefront.
I’m incredibly proud to see a lot of the data and insights we have surfaced being picked up by Health New Zealand as they undergo Clinical Services Planning for the Otago Central Lakes area. This planning is a must-have before any decisions to develop public health services are made for inland Otago.
Earlier this month, Health NZ gave an update on their clinical services planning to local health practitioners and advocates in a meeting Miles Anderson and I organised with them. It was a well-attended event and outlined what services our community has been calling for and how Health NZ go about filling those needs. The Clinical Services Plan is on track to be completed by December and while I look forward to its release I’ll continue advocating for more public health services being delivered closer to home for our growing communities across the southern region.
In further good news for our Queenstown lakes, just-passed legislation will soon allow Kiwis to build granny flats up to 70 square metres in their backyards without a building consent, unlocking more housing choices.
It’s currently far too hard to build the homes New Zealanders need, with even the simplest dwellings requiring complicated and costly consent processes.
We know increasing housing availability directly translates to lower living costs for our communities.
These simple dwellings have the potential to be part of the solution for providing families with more housing options. This will be great for grandparents, people with disabilities, young adults, and workers in the rural sector.
Our change to the Building Act is expected to be in place by the end of the year.
Hopefully by then the weather will have calmed down a bit!
