COLIN KING MP for Kaikoura

Te Tau Ihu claim settlement will be great for Marlborough

nospam@example.com (admin) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:00:43 +1200

In 2009 the Government signed the deed of intention for the top of the south settlement bill, which was a great occasion for local iwi. Four years later we can reflect on the celebration that surrounded the signing of some settlement agreements – one at the Te Hora marae in Canvastown, the others at Omaka marae.

We’re now at the point where legislation has been before the House; the Te Tau Ihu Claims Settlement Bill passed its first reading unanimously and has been referred to the Maori Affairs select committee.

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Steady as she goes the best course of action for primary sector

nospam@example.com (admin) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:16:00 +1200

Budget 2013 has delivered on a number of fronts that will support the drive to ensure our primary sector retains its edge internationally.

The extreme drought that much of the country struggled with this year has reinforced the need for better water storage and $80 million in funding for regional irrigation projects will ameliorate the effects of such events in the future.

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PM meets and greets in North Canterbury

nospam@example.com (admin) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:14:00 +1200

Budget 2013 has delivered on a number of fronts that will support the drive to ensure our primary sector retains its edge internationally.
The extreme drought that much of the country struggled with this year has reinforced the need for better water storage and $80 million in funding for regional irrigation projects will ameliorate the effects of such events in the future.

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Food for thought a theme of the past fortnight

nospam@example.com (admin) — Wed, 29 May 2013 09:18:00 +1200

This year’s post-Budget breakfast held at the Clubs of Marlborough was a highlight for me. I’ve held these breakfasts for the past four years and am always on the lookout for a guest speaker who has a talent for articulating what the Budget will actually mean for New Zealanders in the context of what is happening nationally and globally. To get Phil O’Reilly, CEO of Business New Zealand, to come here and dissect many of the Budget’s key areas of interest was considered by some as quite a coup.

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Seafood will bring prosperity to the region

nospam@example.com (admin) — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:18:00 +1200

New Zealand seafood is a premium product and five important projects focusing on aquaculture will benefit from the latest round of Sustainable Framing Fund Grants.

The projects being granted funds cover wide ranging projects including farming premium salmon to Koura aquaculture (developing best-practice guidelines for raising fresh water crayfish), short-fin eel aquaculture (learning more about young glass short-fin eels so they can be raised successfully and sustainably) and management of the GLM9 green lipped mussel spat resource.

Managing the wild greenlipped mussel spat resource is of particular importance to mussel farmers here in Marlborough. Which brings me back to what has been happening in the Sounds in recent times.

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Feeling a Sense of Achievement – Nationally and Locally

nospam@example.com (admin) — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:45:00 +1200

This is a particularly special time of the year, especially for those on the treasury benches. These people set the budget, something that has a big influence on every man, woman and child in New Zealand.
While opposition parties make all sorts of wild promises, they cannot carry them out because they don’t have the authority or the finances to implement them.

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North Canterbury set to benefit from Sustainable Farming funding

nospam@example.com (admin) — Sat, 11 May 2013 10:41:00 +1200

Last month a total of $8.8 million was awarded in funding for 42 sustainable farming projects.

These projects are driven from grassroots and will help to improve economic and environmental performance. This co-funding will make a real difference to rural communities because it focuses on community driven initiatives to address common problems.

All the initiatives that have received funding are highly appropriate and some are essential for successful farming in North Canterbury into the future.

Stopping the Chilean needle grass (CNG) invasion is one issue I have promoted in Marlborough and the Hurunui. My efforts alongside the Marlborough District Council, ECan and the local committee group, chaired by Charles Wiffen, have included attending field days with Charles and the ECan commissioners, helping me elevate the issue with the Minister of Primary Industries. Somewhere up the track we really do need to have a national strategy to eradicate this pest.

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Water storage debate continues.

nospam@example.com (admin) — Sat, 11 May 2013 09:33:00 +1200

In recent correspondence it was suggested that this government is giving away land for water storage in the Hurunui. There is no giving away of land, no move to sacrifice what our forebears once fought for – all that I am advocating for is a change of land use for water storage. Water storage that will green the Hurunui and make it more viable for farming of all types. Water storage isn’t a nod to intensification but rather a means of ensuring our rural communities prosper into the future.

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New law will be fit for purpose

nospam@example.com (admin) — Sat, 11 May 2013 09:31:00 +1200

New vehicle rules are set to reduce costs in the rural sector. I have advocated strongly on behalf of local agricultural contractors, firm in the belief they should be given special consideration. Today very few farmers own all the equipment that they need to till, cultivate, plant and harvest in the technologically sophisticated way modern farming demands. The contractors’ gear needs to move from farm to farm and for reasons such as this, the new rules for agricultural vehicles are timely.

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Plenty of good news for the primary sector in April

nospam@example.com (admin) — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:02:31 +1200

Recent news from government has been good news for farmers. In mid-April Nathan Guy welcomed 30 new vets into the 2013 intake of the Rural Veterinary Bonding Scheme. This scheme is into its fifth year and making good headway in tackling the rural vet shortage.

We now have a robust number of vets which, in the first instance will manage the health and wellbeing of our animals, but most importantly will provide a biosecurity ‘safety net’. Rural vets are part of the front line defence when it comes to identifying biosecurity problems.

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Visiting Ministers gain insights into Marlborough.

nospam@example.com (admin) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:48:19 +1200

Minister Ryall after the Chruchill Trust Hospital opening with Dominic Ramano left and Hamish Matheson right.

It’s always a very positive experience to have cabinet ministers visit Marlborough and over recent weeks I have hosted two, Tony Ryall and Nathan Guy.

Tony Ryall, Minister of Health, was here for the official opening of the Churchill Trust, an exceptional asset for Marlborough that will provide top quality elective health services while delivering extra income for our hospital and assisting in the retention of specialist services in Marlborough.
The new Churchill Trust facility is twice its previous size and while it provided some 1400 operations for Marlburians last year, it now has the capacity to double that number. In the context of the Wairau Hospital redevelopment, we are well placed to utilise the additional third theatre. The private/public service arrangement that exists between the Churchill Trust and Wairau Hospital is one of only two examples in New Zealand and is both innovative and positive for the province.

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Minister’s visit a positive step forward

nospam@example.com (admin) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:34:51 +1200

Nathan Guy, Minister of Primary Production views the green lipped mussel farms in the Marlborough Sounds.

In the last edition of Seaport Scene Councillor David Oddie made some particularly salient points. Clifford Bay will be a political decision made at a national level, not based on Picton’s interests. However, Picton’s interests will be carefully considered and it is understood that the town may need some kind of assistance in order to fully adapt to change.

My last meeting with Andrew Robertson, commercial director of the Clifford Bay project, continues to bear out the fact that once the current planning process is completed and decisions are taken, the next job will be assessing social impacts. This is the second step alluded to by Gerry Brownlee when he spoke at a recent Chamber of Commerce meeting.

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Update from Colin

nospam@example.com (admin) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 12:20:00 +1300

Nelson Marlborough DHB

On the 26th of March I participated in the NMDHB public hearing session regarding the region’s hospital services where I reinforced sentiments expressed by the people of Marlborough. I am delighted to see that at their March board meeting the NMDHB announced that it was committed to its 24 hour, seven day a week acute cover for the Marlborough region at Wairau hospital.

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Visit sees a maturing of Clifford Bay conversation

nospam@example.com (admin) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 11:49:00 +1300

Earlier this month the Minister of Transport, Gerry Brownlee, spoke at a Marlborough Chamber of Commerce lunch. This event provided an excellent opportunity for Mr Brownlee to present the government’s position on the Clifford Bay issue clearly and his speech was later released into the wider public domain.

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Supporting R&D – a goal for Marlborough businesses

nospam@example.com (admin) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:04:00 +1300

Earlier this month it was announced that over $25 million worth of government Technology Development Grants had been awarded to eight high-tech New Zealand businesses to help them speed up the development of innovative products and services and get them to market faster.

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