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Labour to set up local insurance companyLabour Leader, David Cunliffe, has announced plans to create a localinsurance company called KiwiAssure to ensure New Zealanders get a fairdeal in the insurance market.

The Christchurch earthquakes have shown payouts are slow and coveragecan be patchy. In Wellington I have worked with many inner city residentswho have seen their insurance premiums triple or even quadruple in thelast couple of years. A state-owned company will focus on providing fairpremiums for New Zealanders - not earning profits for overseas owners.

KiwiAssure will offer home, contents and vehicle insurance and competewith existing insurance companies. KiwiAssure will be a local alternativein much the same way that KiwiBank, launched by Labour in 2002, hassuccessfuly competed with overseas owned banks.

Subject to a final business case, KiwiAssure will be part of the KiwiBank

family of companies and run within existing KiwiBank offices as well asby independent brokers. KiwiAssure offers some relief for Wellngtonresidents who face rising premiums and the risk of quake damage. Amore competitive market and a customer focused provider will help keeppremiums down and deliver the best results for customers after naturaldisasters and accidents.

For more information visit labour.org.nz/kiwiassure

David Cunliffe announcing the KiwiAssure policy at Labour Conference this year

NEWS IN BRIEF

ISSUE 11 | SUMMER 2013/14

Grant ROBERTSONMP for Wellington Central

f Plans to create a stateowned insurancecompany, KiwiAssure,announced by Labour

f Labour has announcedNZ Power, our plan tolower your power bills byup to $330 per year.

f Town Belt managementplan revealed byWellington City Councilensuring ongoingprotection of green spacearound the city

f Jessica Palairet, Youth MP

for Wellington Central,goes to Youth Parliament

f Congratulations to newcouncillors elected toWellington City Council

f Basin Reserve flyover notyet a done deal, Labouropposes spoiling theiconic cricket ground

f Emplyoment portfolio

a focus for Labour with150,000 New Zealandersout of work

f Brooklyn School opensrefurbished classrooms

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NZ Power plan

Earlier this year we announcedour plan to lower householdprices by up to $330 per year.New Zealand power prices have

been increasing at more thandouble the rate of inflation andfaster than competitor countries.In the first two winter monthsalone, New Zealand power pricesrose by 2.2%.

Labour will create an agencycalled NZ Power, which will bethe single buyer of power inNew Zealand. NZ Power will setpower prices so they are basedon the actual cost of production

and fair to both generators andconsumers.

As well as making it cheaperto heat cold Wellington homes,NZ Power will create 5000 new

jobs and add $450m to theeconomy. NZ Power will be ableto consider energy efficiencymeasures alongside expandingour generation ability, meaninga more sustainable approach toenergy use can be pursued.

The current government doesnot agree that we pay too muchfor power. We will not sit onour hands while we watch NewZealanders struggle to pay theirpower bills. Labour will be hands-on and lower the cost of living forhardworking Kiwis.

For more, visit www.labour.org.

nz/nzpower

Town Belt Progress

Following consultation earlierin the year with residents,Wellington City Council has

approved the new managementplan for the Town Belt. This pavesthe way for me to sponsor aLocal Bill to Parliament to ensurethe entire area is protected in thelaw forever. The Bill is currentlyin draft form and will hopefullybe approved by the WellingtonCity Council before the end of theyear.

The Town Belt Management Plansets out a series of activities to

be implemented over the next10 years, including identifyingand protecting ecologicallyimportant sites, improving tracksand signage and investigatingprotection of heritage sites. The

new plan means there will beongoing work all over the beltarea to improve accessibility,usability and better value forcommunities.

I will work with the new counciland Mayor to progress legislationto best protect the belt forfuture generations, and ensure

Wellingtonians can enjoy thegreen space that surrounds ourcity.

CongratulationsCouncillors!

Congratulations to the recentlyelected Wellington City Counciland Mayor, Celia Wade-Brown,following the local body elections.I want to especially congratulateMark Peck, Nicola Young,

David Lee, Sarah Free, MalcolmSparrow and Simon Woolf asnew councillors, I look forward toseeing the new energy you bringto the job.

The council plays an importantrole in shaping our city, and I lookforward to working with the newCouncil and other Wellington MPsin making our city even better.For me the major issue for ourcity is the creation of sustainable

jobs. We need to support newbusinesses to start and stay inWellington. In addition, progressmust be made on publictransport, housing and protectionof green spaces.

Labours NZ Power policy will reduce household power bills by up to $330 per year

Newly elected Lambton Ward Councillor Mark Peck with myself and volunteers

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Youth Parliament 2013

Every three years 120 talentedyoung people from all over NewZealand are selected to take partin Youth Parliament. This year Ihad the tough job of choosingone young Wellingtonian torepresent me and the electoratein the 2013 Youth Parliament.

After receiving many very highquality essays, I invited the topthree young people to speakat Parliament on the topic ofthe biggest issue facing youngpeople.

The speeches and answers toquestions were exceptional,but Jessica Palairets speech onhow her generation are beingscapegoated by the governmentwas outstanding.

It was no surprise then thatJess made a stellar contributionto the Youth Parliament itself,speaking strongly and confidentlyon behalf of young people inWellington. She was also the

runner-up in the nationwide YouthParliament Essay competition.Congratulations to Jess, and toeveryone who put themselves

forward to be a Youth MP.

Flyover not a done

deal yet

As we go to press theEnvironmental ProtectionAuthority has set dates for theBoard of Inquiry, which will decideif the Basin Reserve flyover is tobe built. The EPA is requiring thatanybody who made asubmissionattend meetings with the NZTA

to resolve concerns, even if theynoted in their submission thatthey dont wish to be heard inperson. The significance of thesemeetings on the final decisionis unknown because they havenever before happened in a Boardof Inquiry process.

The Board of Inquiry will beginthe hearings on 22 January andthe decision is due by May 2014.I know that many residents,

especially in Mt Victoria will bemaking their submissions heard.My view remains that the flyoveris not the answer to the trafficissues in this area.

There are viable alternatives tothe flyover that will not destroythe amenity value of the areaand will improve traffic flow.

This must include a focus onproviding reliable, high qualitypublic transport. I look forwardto the outcomes of the of

Public Transport Spine Studyconsultation so that we can pushahead with making this a reality.

Myself and Jessica Palairet, the Youth MP

for Wellington Central

Wellingtons historic Basin Reserve is at risk - but the fight against the flyover isnt over!

My electorate office on WillisStreet is a great place to gethelp if youre having troubledealing with Governmentdepartments like Work andIncome, ACC, Inland Revenue,Immigration or Police.

My staff in the office, Anna,Sheila and Reed are ableto help you 9am - 5pmweekdays with any issues.They can help you get intouch with the relevantpeople in departments andagencies or direct you toother organisations which canbetter help you. We also have

a Justice of the Peace (JP)available most days; just giveus a call before you come in tocheck if she is available.

Dont hesitate to get in touchon 801 8079, by email atoffice@grantrobertson.co.nz,or by visiting the office at 220Willis Street.

HOW I CAN HELP

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Employment portfolio

I am really excited about the

challenge of being the LabourSpokesperson on Employment,Skills and Training. For mewhat that boils down to is jobs.Decent, secure jobs that shouldbe available for all who are able towork. This is a priority for Labour,and for me personally.

A focus on jobs is good for theeconomy but it is also about thedignity of work and playing arole in a productive economy andsociety. Currently there are morethan 150,000 New Zealanders outof work, and stories every dayabout further job losses. ManyNew Zealanders who are in workare in precarious jobs wherethey are not sure how regulartheir work will be or how longthey will be employed for.

My focus as spokesperson is tofinalise the development of our

employment policies. These willrange from the big picture ofsupporting industry and regionaldevelopment, through to ensuringthat training opportunities areavailable to young people and

opportunities for local communityemployment schemes to helpoffer opportunities to developskills. There are great modelsaround New Zealand wherecommunities, local councils andbusinesses have come togetherto create jobs. Labour will backthese and make sure that ourfocus is on jobs and puttingpeople first.

Brooklyn School

It was terrific to recently officiallyopen the refurbished classroomblock at Brooklyn School. Justbefore I was elected MP in 2008I have worked with the school onthe issues they have had with thebuilding. Its been a long road forthe staff and board, but they have

persevered and now have roomsand facilities to be proud of.

Congratulations to the Schoolcommunity and I look forwardto returning to the ANZAC Dayservices at the School now all theconstruction is over!

WELLINGTON CENTRAL ELECTORATE OFFICE

220 Willis St, Wellington 6141P 801 8079

office@grantrobertson.co.nz

Authorised by Grant Robertson, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

PARLIAMENTARY OFFICE

grant.robertson@parliament.govt.nzParliament Buildings, Wellington

P 817 9034

twitter.com/grantrobertson1 | facebook.com/grantrobertsonmp

KEEP IN TOUCH

If you would like to receivemonthly updates fromme on what is going onin Parliament you cansubscribe on the Keep InTouch page on my website,

www.grantrobertson.co.nz

Talking with construction workers in Christchurch working on the Arts Centre Rebuild

Speaking to students at Brooklyn School at the opening of their new classrooms.

(Photo: David Lee)