Labour Party leader and MP for Manukau was out and about in Manurewa this morning talking with supporters and knocking on doors. A small portion of his day was posted on social media, an excerpt of which is below.
"Hello everyone, I'm out in Manurewa this morning to talk to people. I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk to all of you online. One of the big concerns people have raised with me today is the quality of our schools. Over the last six years we've done a lot of work on tertiary education but we haven't done so much for early childhood, primary and secondary education. We've had the Feed The Kids legislation and in the last term we offered schools $150 per student if they didn't ask for a school donation. Next term we'll extend that to $200. What's happened with that is that some schools are choosing not to take up the offer - and this isn't because they're greedy, it's simply because their costs are too high. If we raise this a bit more, it'll become viable for more schools. This is really important for families in low income areas like here in Manurewa. This takes away a financial burden and improves parents' relationships with the school. It means that parents can afford to pay for things like school trips.
"With any luck I should be able to answer some questions, I think I just...there we go, I can now see your comments. 'Are you going to do anything about renters this term?' Yes, we are. There'll be an announcement in the next few days with all the details but what I can say right now is that we'll be abolishing letting fees and limiting rent increases to every 12 months. We'll also increase the eviction notice period to 12 weeks. All of this is part of our plan to make renting a more sustainable long term solution. Our renting laws are really behind places like Europe, where renters have a lot more rights.
"'What things are you planning on doing for the LGBTQ community?' Well, we're going to allow adoption for same-sex couples, which is long overdue. We've been working on and will continue to work on mental health throughout New Zealand.
"Unfortunately, that's all I've got time for right now. I'll be around Manurewa for at least another hour, so if you're nearby, come along and have a yarn."