Samantha Gee of RNZ
Chris Hipkins has told Nelson voters that Labour is committed to the Hope Bypass and the Nelson Hospital redevelopment, and the party will not cancel, defer or re-scope projects where work is underway if elected.
After a day meeting people in Nelson, talking to small business owners and touring the region's peanut butter factory, Labour leader Chris Hipkins fronted a public meeting where he fielded questions about healthcare, education and economic development.
Hipkins walked into the public meeting held at the Headingly Centre in Richmond to loud applause and told the audience of Labour's plans to address the struggles people were facing.
"I want to make sure New Zealand is a country where you can get ahead through your own hard work," he said.
"Everywhere I go across New Zealand at the moment, there are people working harder and harder and harder than they ever have before, and yet they're still going backwards."
Hipkins was asked about the health system, the country's animal welfare standards, student accommodation costs, pay equity, hospice and medicines funding, the significance of regional infrastructure projects, lowering the voting age, charter schools and the school curriculum and future economic development.
One woman asked Hipkins how he would ensure bipartisan support for regional infrastructure projects, instead of the "flip flopping" that both parties had done over projects in recent years.
Hipkins said this election, Labour would not campaign on delivering specific projects because it wanted to see an agreed list of priorities and a decades long pipeline of projects established.
"Where work's underway, we're not cancelling or deferring or re-scoping projects. We're going to keep it going because this current government, after the last election, put a whole lot of people out of work by doing exactly that."
He said Labour was committed to the Hope Bypass and stage one of the Nelson Hospital redevelopment, with further discussion needed about the timing and funding for stage two.
After the meeting, Nurses Organistion organiser Jackie Nixey said it was good to hear Hipkins talk about Labour's commitment to Nelson Hospital as it was an issue that was important to people in the top of the South Island.
Hospice nurse Donna Burnett said she felt let down by consecutive governments making idle promises.
"Pay equity, when we lost that last year, it was a swipe of a pen from Nicola Willis and it was gone. It's nice to hear Chris say that it's still live and that they're going to honour that, so I hope that is what happens."
She was concerned about the funding for hospice services in the region, which cost $9 million per year, with half of that raised by the community.
"We are seeing cutbacks in services and we are seeing small hospices close, we are specialist services, we need to be recognised for that."
Nelson woman Marie Lindaya said Hipkins was saying all the right things and answered questions authentically.
"I'm just really still curious, why are the major parties low on the polls? Why are they still low? Why are they not attracting the right people and yet the minority parties are the ones getting the traction?" she said.
"Somewhere people are sick of it or maybe they've had enough."
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz
