Week that was: Counting down to Election Day
It’s getting incredibly close to Election Day now – and over a million people have already cast their vote!
This week, Jacinda Ardern and the Labour team have been hard at work on the campaign trail, meeting people all across the country and talking to voters about why they should be giving two ticks to Labour this election, and not risking the progress we’ve made.
On Monday, Jacinda was in Christchurch in her Prime Ministerial capacity to announce the change of Alert Levels for Auckland. She also visited the site for the new Canterbury Multi-Use Arena, joining Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel in a signing ceremony to begin the build.
On Tuesday, Jacinda nailed The Press Leaders’ Debate in Christchurch. She clearly outlined our five-point rebuild plan, and yet again showed New Zealnders why we can trust her strong, stable leadership and Labour’s team to deliver our plan for recovery. Click here to see her closing statement.
On Wednesday the Prime Minister was in Dunedin, meeting with students from Otago University. It was a great opportunity to meet with the new generation of voters and to announce our policy on climate change.
Labour has already taken significant steps in our first term to address climate change, but we know there is more to do. That’s why, if re-elected, we’ll phase out coal-fired boilers and decarbonise public transport buses. We’ll also continue working with farmers and boost funding across agricultural climate change research.
As we recover from COVID-19, tackling climate change is an opportunity not just to help save our planet but also to create jobs. Head here for our full environment and climate change policy.
Gisborne was the next stop on the campaign trail, with Jacinda joined by partner Clarke for a visit to his hometown on Thursday. While there, she got to see our Jobs for Nature funding in action. The Jobs For Nature Fund is creating 11,000 environmental jobs in our regions to kick-start the economy post-COVID and protect our natural environment.
Jacinda also met up with the amazing team of volunteers and supporters who are campaigning for Kiri Allan and Meka Whaitiri, and she visited the Eastern Institute of Technology to hear about all the new apprentices there are since we made training free.
Posted by Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday, October 7, 2020
The team headed up North for Friday, starting the day by officially opening the Te Honoga Hundertwasser Memorial Park Cultural Community Hub in Kawakawa. Not only is it a functional space for the community - it’s also pretty beautiful to look at!
We also had the opportunity to visit the beautiful Manginangina Kauri Walk to announce our plan to combat kauri dieback disease. We’ll roll out a National Pest Management Plan, the strongest form of protection under the Biosecurity Act, and invest an additional $32 million over five years. There is great work being done across the country, but this additional funding will strengthen the protection of our beautiful kauri - a taonga for New Zealand. You can read more about our kauri dieback policy here.
Friday was busy: we also announced our law and order policy. Labour will continue transforming our justice system, keeping communities safe, and breaking the cycle of offending by tackling the root causes of crime. Our policy includes rolling out Northland’s Te Ara Oranga meth harm pilot to other regions, supporting 4,000 more people and their communities. We’ll also establish an Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court in Hawke’s Bay, establish better support for women in prisons and strengthen the Māori, Pacific and Ethnic Services branch of Police.
Jacinda was back in Auckland for Saturday, where she got out and about at Otara Markets and Mangere Markets. It was the last Saturday before Election Day, and the energy was enormous! It was so great to see so many people supporting Labour and our strong, stable team.
Posted by New Zealand Labour Party on Friday, October 9, 2020
It was also another day of action, which saw volunteers and supporters around the country take part in phone banks, door knocks, street corner meetings and more. This was another chance for the Labour team to reach people yet to cast their vote and let them know about our plan to create jobs, grow the economy, and support people through COVID-19 - and encourage them to get to the polls!
Popped into another one of our phone hubs today - this is where our volunteers come together and call people to check...
Posted by Jacinda Ardern on Friday, October 9, 2020
We topped the week off with a rally in Wellington! COVID-19 restrictions have affected a lot of our planned rallies this campaign, so we were really excited to finally be able to all get together in one place and celebrate our momentum as a team.
We got to hear from Jacinda about the New Zealand she wants to see in 2030. We also were treated to a hilarious introduction from Grant Robertson, and some fantastic musical guests.
New Zealanders need a strong, stable government to lead our economic recovery. Our plan is already in motion, so vote Labour and let’s keep moving ⏩
Posted by New Zealand Labour Party on Saturday, October 10, 2020
Missed out on attending? You can watch the livestream of the whole event here.
Check back next week for the next installment of this weekly series, and back us on Election Day with two ticks for Labour.
Want to know more about Labour’s policies? Check out all the information you need to cast your vote.