The 53rd Parliament promises to offer many challenges as we continue to negotiate the Covid-19 pandemic and try to protect our economy and the social fabric of our country.

I have a promise to make to my constituents: I won’t be forgetting you, even though I have a new role to play in Parliament. 

You may have heard by now that I have been appointed Treasurer in Judith Collins’ Shadow Cabinet. I’ve also be named National’s Spokesperson for Infrastructure and Statistics, and have been promoted up the party ranks to Number 3.

That means my workload too will rise. But when I got into politics back in 2014, it was because I wanted to make a difference as an electorate MP. I made a commitment to serve my constituents and I won’t be forgetting that pledge.

I will still be available to help all the constituents in the Port Waikato electorate, no matter what their political persuasion – that won’t change. If anyone needs help, support or advice, they should get in touch with me directly or contact my electorate office staff.

Judith Collins has shared the responsibility of the Finance portfolio between myself as Shadow Treasurer and my colleague Michael Woodhouse, who will be Finance spokesperson. Both Michael and I are very happy with the move and I know we will work well together.

The idea of splitting the finance portfolio followed several discussions with the leadership team and demonstrated its deep commitment to National’s focus on the economy. I believe my background in finance and business and, of course, my Parliamentary experience make me well qualified for the new role.

Before entering Parliament, I trained as an accountant before working with merchant banks in New Zealand and London for 10 years. When I came back to New Zealand, I co-founded a merchant bank, offering corporate advisory and capital markets advice to a range of government entities, local authorities and corporate clients.

During my time in Parliament I have served as National's Associate Finance Spokesperson, and its spokesperson for revenue, commerce, building and construction, SOEs, small business and manufacturing.

I have also chaired the Local Government and Environment select committee, and have been a member of the powerful Finance and Expenditure select committee for six years.

The 53rd Parliament promises to offer many challenges as we continue to negotiate the Covid-19 pandemic and try to protect our economy and the social fabric of our country. This has made it an extraordinary year and one that we’ll all be pleased to see the end of. Here’s hoping 2021 will see us turn the corner as far as the pandemic is concerned.