Wairoa whitebait fritters… hard to beat!
February 15, 2012
From the debating floor of the house to the best whitebait fritters I’ve had in a while, my first week back in Parliament was certainly full of diversity.
Last Monday began with Waitangi Day celebrations at the Clive River. We paddled the waka down the river where we met the replica British tenders returning together to hold speeches on the shore. The Clive festival has always been a celebration of partnership. Sure partners don’t always agree but 172 years on we’ve done pretty well. Personally I’ve got no time for the shenanigans which overshadowed Waitangi this year. The protestors showed no respect for Māori protocol or tikanga. The paepae is the place for debate, no problems with expressing your opinion there, but to require the massive Police protection to get on to the Marae and to shout down the PM… ridiculous.
On Tuesday we were back in the House. It’s great to have the step up to a Ministerial role while not having to be “Sergeant Major” as the “Senior Whip” any more. My new roles as Minister of Civil Defence and Consumer Affairs, together with Associate roles in Transport and Tourism, give me plenty to get my teeth into. For instance this week I had my first question in the House and also my first piece of legislation introduced. The legislation is the “Consumer Law Reform Bill” which updates a vast array of consumer law from the Fair Trading Act to the Consumer Guarantees Act. Trade-me style internet auctions will now give consumers the same protections as other purchases under the new legislation.
On Thursday night I was fortunate to represent the Minister of Sport at the Halberg Awards in Auckland. The All Blacks certainly cleaned up big time. I sat at a table with the CEO of Sport NZ where we discussed our chances at the London Olympics. He’s very excited at the prospects which is very encouraging.
Friday morning I was on the 7.00am flight back to Napier and straight up to Wairoa. Following a couple of constituency meetings Mary Crarer and I met Denise Eaglesome and Alan McIntosh up at the Wairoa Hospital site. We discussed the new plans for the ‘Integrated Health Centre”. It really is exciting to see the progress. All going well Wairoa should have a brand new facility by Christmas 2013.
From the new hospital we had a meeting at Aged Concern to discuss transport issues and care for the elderly before meeting at Hilton Rohes place for lunch. Hilton was keen to celebrate his new hip replacement so invited us for Whitebait Fritters and Māori Bread. Absolutely delicious. It’s always a pleasure to visit Wairoa!
Chris Tremain
