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The House is now back in session and the holidays seem to be a distant memory already.
I hope everyone had a happy and safe Christmas and New Year and enjoyed their break. I managed to grab a few weeks holiday but have been back on board for some time, even though the House has not been sitting, mainly popping into events, such as the Trad 7 concert at Gladstone Vineyard and the Wairarapa Caravan Club rally.
Wairarapa has been buzzing with events over the past month or so and, despite the weather not being the best, it has been great to see so much happening.
Last weekend was a good example, with the Masterton Show, Team Extreme, the Ngawi Fishing Contest, the Hurricanes v Highlanders match, Big Coast Mountain Ride and a display of highland dancing in the lower part of the electorate.
In the northern end there was the Dannevirke & District Sheep Dog Trial Club 97th Annual Trials and the Dannevirke Car Club Quarter Mile Sprint, among others.
Wairarapa is certainly a great place to live.
The following are a few interesting points from the Prime Minister's speech in Parliament last week.
This year's Budget will provide for more students to qualify for allowances from the 2005 academic year. This year there will be an extra 774 teaching positions in our schools, above roll growth requirements, and record numbers are in industry training.
This year, the Budget will bring important changes for families. A new programme to promote positive parenting will be announced shortly and we plan major improvements to the level of family income assistance.
Responsible 21st century governments and societies don't try to reinvent the economic policies of the 1990s, the society of the 1950s, or the attitudes towards indigenous people of the 1830s. New Zealand has moved on.
Helen said she regrets the ill will shown by a bad mannered, noisy minority at Waitangi and she deplores the violence. But none of that will dissuade her and this government from getting on with doing what's right for all of us - Māori and Pakeha. We want to build a New Zealand which offers equal opportunity, a fair go, and security for all our people. We want to unite, not divide. We want New Zealanders to take pride in all our country's achievements - economic, social, and creative.
This year will also see big steps forward in health policy. From 1 July, all New Zealanders aged 65 and over enrolled in Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) will have access to low cost primary care. Already more than 60 percent of New Zealanders are enrolled with PHOs. Steps will be taken to lower the waiting times for major joint surgery, such as hips and knees. Legislation will be introduced to phase out asset testing on older people in care from July 2005.
While on the subject of PHOs, Tararua's PHO came into being last year and the Wairarapa PHO, which services the Wairarapa DHB area, came into effect on January 1.
PHOs have the very real potential to improve the overall health of all New Zealanders, giving us one of the best chances we've had in years of truly making a difference to the quality of life in this country.
But PHOs are not just about making primary health care more affordable. They have a public health focus, are intended to involve a whole team of health professionals offering a variety of services, and are charged with providing continuity of care for their enrolled populations. Community participation in the governing process of PHOs is also important, because a strong primary health care system must give local people a voice in the planning and delivery of services in local communities.
My congratulations to the team at Makoura College for the efforts in getting the Wairarapa Study Support Centre approved.
Study centres are a simple idea and one that I have found particularly satisfying. They provide a quiet place, resources, a registered teacher, information technology and all the basics necessary to develop good study habits among children at risk of education under-achievement and have the potential to raise the educational achievements of thousands of students.
It's really important that children gain good study skills and habits before they reach secondary school. Unfortunately many children's home circumstances do not support this for a range of reasons.
The merged Masterton and Dannevirke schools have been running for several weeks. I have been kept up to date with progress by the Minister's office and will be keeping an eye on what is happening. I hope all pupils have settled into their new learning environments and that teachers and staff are coping with any short-term disruptions that may be happening.
I'm sure most of us will be pleased with the end result.
Finally I was happy to join Social Services Minister Steve Maharey when he opening the new Heartland Services centre in Pahiatua on Friday, as well as personally launching the Youth Health Clinic in Greytown.
The clinic is the first of the mobile nursing services that have been developed out of the Primary Health Nursing Innovations funding that The Wairarapa Primary Health Care Nurses Group was successful in being awarded last year through the Government's Primary Health Care Strategy.
It's great to see it being put into practice.
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