National Party members are gathering for
the party’s annual general meeting, with a big focus on the
economy and an election policy announcement
expected.
Saturday’s agenda in Lower Hutt will include
some opening remarks from leader Christopher Luxon and party
president Sylvia Wood, as well as a keynote address from
finance spokesperson Nicola Willis on the
economy.
Willis will also chair a forum on jobs and
incomes, alongside Chris Bishop, Louise Upston, and Todd
McClay.
Matt Doocey, Simeon Brown, Erica Stanford, and
Penny Simmonds will hold a forum on health and
education.
On Sunday, National leader Christopher
Luxon is expected to announce an election policy, which RNZ
understands will be in the economic space.
The economy
and the fuel crisis will hang over the AGM, but the latest
GDP figures have given Luxon cause for
optimism.
“It just underscores that we had good
economic momentum going into the fuel crisis. Obviously the
fuel crisis will have some impact on inflation and also on
growth, but that’s why we’ve tried to be really responsible
economic managers to make sure that as we get through the
crisis we can pop out the other side and continue to
accelerate growth,” he said on Thursday.
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“As you saw
through our Budget, even through the crisis we’re expected
to grow the economy 2.7 percent over the next four years on
average. That’s higher than the EU, it’s higher than
Australia, Japan, many other countries.”
Campaign
chair Simeon Brown will also speak to delegates on Sunday
ahead of a candidate roll call.
Ahead of the
conference, Speaker Gerry Brownlee and list MP Nancy Lu
confirmed they would run as list-only candidates at the
election.
Brownlee said after the House rises, he will
continue to be Speaker of the House for all
non-Parliamentary matters.
“At the same time, I will
work with my National Party colleagues in advance of the
November election,” he said.
Lu, who entered
Parliament off the list following
the Port Waikato by-election, and who had according to
the New Zealand Herald sought the party’s nomination
in Papakura, said she would continue to campaign with New
Zealand’s ethnic communities to turn out the party
vote.
“I have helped secure fairer visa settings, the
first ring-fenced mental health fund for Asian communities,
and better connection with our people and their local
National Party MP,” Lu said.
At the last
election-year AGM in 2023, National’s last AGM in
opposition, the party set the membership a goal of hitting
45 percent of the party vote at the election.
National
ended up getting 38 percent, and entered a three-way
coalition with ACT and New Zealand First.
No board
member positions are up for grabs this year. Board members
serve three year terms, with the next batch of renewals due
in 2027.
National is first cab off the rank to hold
its AGM this year.
The ACT Party and Labour are both
holding theirs next weekend, with Labour sticking to its
tradition of calling its election-year meeting a
‘congress’.
New Zealand First and the Green Party’s
AGMs will be held next
month.
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