Thanks - Rory for doing the bulletin for the last two weeks while YHC was sunning himself in Rarotonga. 

 

This was the Davids meeting! David Hogan stood in for the virus confined Phil, David Jones did his normal brilliant "stand -up" to collect loose change, and serous  notes, for charity and David Seymour was our speaker. There were 17 members and three guests.  

 

Were received from: Greg and Phil. 

 

Ingrid reported the the mobile health clinic that the club was involved in supplying to Fiji was providing welcome services over there.

She also added that the container that we had helped fill has now arrived in Fiji, the contents, school desks, wheel chairs, crutches. etc. were well received. 

 

Avis reported that Pam  of the Grace Foundation had sent her a note on our last collection on the Foundation's behalf "It was all helpful. Shampoo
conditioner. Body wash or soaps. Deodorants and shavers. Everyone has been so grateful"

The Grace foundation team are coming on the 8th so Avis is calling for additional supplies of these bathroom essentials for them to take away. We will hear just how useful they are. 

 

David was his usual witty self. Sprinkled amongst his various fines were a few suggestions for any MPs who happened to be present! 

Colleen 'bought the bag' to tell members that her daughter in Australia had a client for a sartorial makeover last year. She was pleased to see that her client has just been elected Prime Minister.

 

Malcolm recently went to see his mother in Levin, just after the tornado had struck. One of the neighbours, a young couple with a baby, had lost their roof and the heavy rain had seriously damaged or destroyed all their furniture. The occupiers have lost their home and its contents. Currently it's almost impossible to find accomodation in Levin so the family has had to split up and don't know what the future holds for them. 

Next time we have a problem it pales into insignificance contrasted  with that young couple. We don't know how lucky we are!

 

The Speaker: David Seymour (38) MP BA, BE.

joined ACT in 2005, elected as MP for Epsom in 2014 and is now party leader. 

Seymour made the proposition that there were now two tribes in New Zealand. One, driven by fear, would be comfortable with further lockdowns and are driven by redistributing the cake. The others, driven by ambition, hardwork and enterprise, want to grow the cake. He was concerned that the latter group, the ones with 'get up and go" will get up and go, mainly to Australia. He cited the fact that Pharmac has a smallest list of funded pharmaceutical products of all   countries in the OECD; evidence of our persistent failure to improve productivity.

In answer to a question from Malcolm  he said that implementing the latest earthquake strengthening legislation would be prohibitively expensive, the money could be much better spent elsewhere.  There had been a 30% increase in the number of bureaucrat EFTs during the current administration. He would introduce a zero based budget in staff numbers.

He claimed that National governments since Holland in 1949 had done little to roll back changes introduced by previous Labour governments. He concluded by saying that ACTs job was, "To make sure that change is real".