An UpDate from Kate #3
Welcome to 2008
Happy New Year and welcome to our first email newsletter of 2008! January has already flown by and I have been making the most of the long summer recess by getting out and about around the Waimakariri electorate – something that’s not always possible when the House is in session.
Election year has started off with a hiss and a roar for John Key and the whole National Party. John gave his second State of the Nation address at the Novotel Hotel in Ellerslie this week. 2008: A Fresh Start for New Zealand; outlining the issues facing New Zealand and also the direction in which a National government will lead our country.
Importantly, John outlined policy that forms part of our plan for giving young people the future they deserve - to give them the opportunity and responsibility to better themselves no matter what their circumstances, abilities, or track record . Our Youth Plan has two major aspects to it – one focusing on education and the other providing the tools to deal with the problems at hand.
Youth Guarantee
The first part will be a new education entitlement - National’s Youth Guarantee.
The Youth Guarantee will allow every young person under the age of 18 to access, free of charge, a programme of educational study towards school-level qualifications. This new entitlement will be on top of, not instead of, the education entitlements they have now. We realise that school doesn’t work for all people so we want to get these kids into some form of education that does. Under a National Government, those who aren’t working, and fail to take up these education entitlements will not be eligible to receive a benefit (except for special circumstances like illness).
Tackling Youth Offending
The second part of our Youth Plan will provide the tools needed to deal with Youth Offending.
We will give the Youth Court new powers to get young people back on the rails, and tougher sentencing options to deal with those who pose a serious threat to the safety of our communities, by way of:
· Parenting orders: Parenting courses to address problems at home that may be contributing to a young person’s offending.
· Mentoring programmes: Providing role models to young offenders for a period of up to 12 months.
· Drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes: Designated funding to help get young offenders sober.
A National Government would also enable the Youth Court to impose tougher sentences where needed and extend the jurisdiction of the Youth Court so it has the power to deal with 12 and 13-year-olds accused of serious offences.
The Fresh Start Programmes have already generated a lot of attention. These revolutionary, year-long, intensive programmes are designed to instil discipline and address underlying causes of offending; including up to 12 weeks of residential training at, for example, an army base. We are not talking about ‘scaring kids onto the straight and narrow’. We are taking a more modern approach, mixing the effective elements of army-type training and combining them with the most advanced expertise in youth offending and rehabilitation that New Zealand has to offer.
National will back these increased powers up with increased funding to the services involved.
The full version of John's speech can be viewed at:
Three Day Caucus
Our annual three day caucus is about to be held in Rotorua where we will be fine tuning even more policy, discussing some of the absurdities of the new Electoral Finance Act and how to deal with that now that we are in the 'election period" - and really getting organised for what will be a huge year ahead.
In The Electorate
The dates for the February clinics have now been set. Feel free to pop in – it would be great to see you there.
Monday, 11th February: Kaiapoi, 10 – 11am, at the Kaiapoi Library.
Monday, 18th February: Oxford, 10 – 11am, at the Jaycees Hall.
Monday, 25th February: Redwood, 10 – 11am, at St Silas Church Hall.
Until next time,
Kate Wilkinson
National MP
Welcome to 2008
Happy New Year and welcome to our first email newsletter of 2008! January has already flown by and I have been making the most of the long summer recess by getting out and about around the Waimakariri electorate – something that’s not always possible when the House is in session.
Election year has started off with a hiss and a roar for John Key and the whole National Party. John gave his second State of the Nation address at the Novotel Hotel in Ellerslie this week. 2008: A Fresh Start for New Zealand; outlining the issues facing New Zealand and also the direction in which a National government will lead our country.
Importantly, John outlined policy that forms part of our plan for giving young people the future they deserve - to give them the opportunity and responsibility to better themselves no matter what their circumstances, abilities, or track record . Our Youth Plan has two major aspects to it – one focusing on education and the other providing the tools to deal with the problems at hand.
Youth Guarantee
The first part will be a new education entitlement - National’s Youth Guarantee.
The Youth Guarantee will allow every young person under the age of 18 to access, free of charge, a programme of educational study towards school-level qualifications. This new entitlement will be on top of, not instead of, the education entitlements they have now. We realise that school doesn’t work for all people so we want to get these kids into some form of education that does. Under a National Government, those who aren’t working, and fail to take up these education entitlements will not be eligible to receive a benefit (except for special circumstances like illness).
Tackling Youth Offending
The second part of our Youth Plan will provide the tools needed to deal with Youth Offending.
We will give the Youth Court new powers to get young people back on the rails, and tougher sentencing options to deal with those who pose a serious threat to the safety of our communities, by way of:
· Parenting orders: Parenting courses to address problems at home that may be contributing to a young person’s offending.
· Mentoring programmes: Providing role models to young offenders for a period of up to 12 months.
· Drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes: Designated funding to help get young offenders sober.
A National Government would also enable the Youth Court to impose tougher sentences where needed and extend the jurisdiction of the Youth Court so it has the power to deal with 12 and 13-year-olds accused of serious offences.
The Fresh Start Programmes have already generated a lot of attention. These revolutionary, year-long, intensive programmes are designed to instil discipline and address underlying causes of offending; including up to 12 weeks of residential training at, for example, an army base. We are not talking about ‘scaring kids onto the straight and narrow’. We are taking a more modern approach, mixing the effective elements of army-type training and combining them with the most advanced expertise in youth offending and rehabilitation that New Zealand has to offer.
National will back these increased powers up with increased funding to the services involved.
The full version of John's speech can be viewed at:
Three Day Caucus
Our annual three day caucus is about to be held in Rotorua where we will be fine tuning even more policy, discussing some of the absurdities of the new Electoral Finance Act and how to deal with that now that we are in the 'election period" - and really getting organised for what will be a huge year ahead.
In The Electorate
The dates for the February clinics have now been set. Feel free to pop in – it would be great to see you there.
Monday, 11th February: Kaiapoi, 10 – 11am, at the Kaiapoi Library.
Monday, 18th February: Oxford, 10 – 11am, at the Jaycees Hall.
Monday, 25th February: Redwood, 10 – 11am, at St Silas Church Hall.
Until next time,
Kate Wilkinson
National MP
