Three Hawke’s Bay MPs unintentionally score themselves the same for their first term

The only thing Nimon missed this term, she said, was addressing children’s dental delays in the region, with dental assessments stopping during Covid, and Wairoa aged care, which closed after Cyclone Gabrielle, leaving the town without residential, respite or hospital-level aged care.

“If I could have achieved those two things in this term as well, I might have crept closer to a 10.”

Nimon said she acknowledged concerns about the Napier Health Centre closing overnight more than 35 times in 2026 due to staffing shortages, calling it not good enough.

The service had issues before the coalition Government came to power, Nimon said, and she had continually brought it to the attention of Health Minister Simeon Brown and Health New Zealand.

Nimon said she hated seeing announcements that the centre was closed on social media, but said Hawke’s Bay Hospital was a regional hospital, not just for Hastings.

“We are working at pace to bring Napier closer to that hospital.”

Nimon said Napier should vote for her because she was the “type of representative that makes progress for our region”.

“I’m focused on Napier as an electorate having global opportunities that can be found locally. Not just the legislation or the laws that we change, but also the way that we make our decisions and the way that we operate locally, and I am solely motivated by improving opportunities for every Kiwi.

“I think that our electorate would benefit from me having another three years.”

National MP for Tukituki Catherine Wedd said it was a tough ask to mark her own homework, but gave herself an eight out of 10 for her first term.

Wedd said she and National had achieved much for the region, including the four-laning of the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, continued Hawke’s Bay Hospital upgrades, and the India free trade agreement that reduced tariffs on Hawke’s Bay apples going to the subcontinent market.

“There’s always more work to do, and so I want to aspire to a 10 out of 10,” she said.

Before the 2023 election, Wedd said she’d seen the Labour Government hammer food producers with regulations and red tape.

Wedd said the current Government reduced these quickly after coming to power, stopping rules that would limit growers’ water use among others.

“Now we’re seeing growers and farmers getting record prices.”

The flow-on effects from those prices, Wedd said, were working their way into local businesses.

“[Farmers are] buying the products from local businesses and that’s what drives our economy. But it also creates jobs and opportunity and that’s what we ultimately want to see and we want to see wages lift as well.”

“If we’re supporting the sector that drives our economy, which is horticulture and agriculture, then Hawke’s Bay will be doing well.”

There was always more to be done in slashing regulations, Wedd said, which was why the Government must work with these sectors.

While she was a backbench MP this term, Wedd said her members’ bills were picked out of a biscuit tin, including three-day postnatal stays in hospital for mums and babies, which was passed on the last day of Parliament before it closed for the election, and the social media ban for under-16s, which was introduced to Parliament in August.

Wedd said a vote for her this election meant Tukituki receiving the right infrastructure, investments in healthcare and education, safer communities and a forward-driving economy.

“I hope that people will look at that track record, look at the hard work that’s been done and put their trust back in me and party vote National and Catherine Wedd for Tukituki.”

Labour MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti Cushla Tangaere-Manuel told Hawke’s Bay Today, “kāreti kūmara e kōrero mō tōna ake reka, they say the kumara doesn’t speak of its own sweetness”, when asked what rating she would give her first term, but gave herself an eight out of 10 “at least”.

Tangaere-Manuel stepped into her role in 2023 after former Labour Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP Meka Whaitiri joined Te Pāti Māori five months before the election.

By the end of the 2023 election, she was Labour’s sole Māori electorate MP.

Since then, she has become Labour’s assistant whip, spokesperson for emergency management and recovery, the Natural Hazards Commission, sports and recreation, forestry, the first Māori Economy spokesperson in Labour’s 110-year history, and No 9 on Labour’s list after not appearing on the list in 2023.

She said she was pleased she kept two promises she campaigned on.

“That people would see me and they would hear my voice in the house.”

She said daily life for East Coast residents was a challenge after years of weather events damaged roads and infrastructure.

“The people are resilient. We just need to build our infrastructure to be as resilient as the people it serves.”

While in opposition, Tangaere-Manuel said she was forced to work with all sides of Parliament to “get the wins for the people”, including work on the Primary Production Select Committee with New Zealand First Minister Mark Patterson on wool.

She told Patterson there was no focus on Māori wool growers in his presentation.

A short time later, both were in Wairoa meeting with Māori farmers.

She said her electorate had told her they couldn’t stand another three years with the current coalition Government.

“I’m asking for two ticks in 26 for Labour and ‘push for Cush’ and I’ll keep pushing for you.”

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.