November 7 has been announced as the date of the 2026 election.
Announcing the date early in the New Year allows Southlanders to focus on the future. It also gives markets, businesses and investors certainty for the year to come.
But before we look too far ahead, it’s also a good time to reflect on the progress that the Government has made.
Over the past two years, National has focused on fixing the basics and building the future to help Southlanders get ahead. And we will continue throughout the year to deliver on our plan.
Let’s not forget that when we took office, the country was going in the wrong direction, and it’s taken a lot of hard work in the past two years to start turning things around.
Through careful economic management and by stopping wasteful spending, inflation has fallen from over 7 percent under Labour to just 3 percent now — resulting in considerable interest rate drops, making mortgage repayments easier for people in this region.
The economy is also picking up, with increasing business and consumer confidence, and Southland is leading the way. Building and manufacturing have also taken off, and exports, particularly for the rural sector, are doing incredibly well.
We’ve supported farmers in the South and ensured they can get on with doing what they do best, instead of struggling with red tape and bureaucracy.
These results show that under National, the people of this province can look forward to more prosperity and opportunity, higher wages, lower mortgage costs, and a brighter future for themselves, their children, and grandchildren.
In law and order, police are more visible on the beat and in schools. Our focus on teaching the basics brilliantly has seen the number of new entrants achieving in phonics jump from 36 to 58 percent.
With our eyes on a November 7 election date, I want to assure Southlanders that over the next ten months we will keep the focus on fixing the basics and building the future, so that we can help you to continue to get ahead.
— Penny Simmonds
Funded by Parliamentary Services, published by arrangement.