Luxon tours Bay of Plenty, fielding questions on Year 11 agriculture and tolls
National leader Christopher Luxon toured the Bay of Plenty's rural heartland on Wednesday 21 October, stopping at Pongakawa, Edgecombe and Whakatāne, according to RNZ.
He was joined by senior candidates Todd McClay, Erica Stanford and Louise Upston, and by party whip and East Coast candidate Dana Kirkpatrick. The party whip is the MP who helps manage the party's votes in Parliament.
At Pongakawa Hall, Luxon held a public meeting and question-and-answer session. Pongakawa and Edgecombe are about 30 kilometres apart.
At a cow shed near Edgecombe, Brent Mountford, Federated Farmers' Bay of Plenty provincial president, asked Luxon about Year 11 students missing out on agriculture classes. National has a policy to introduce a foundational award in literacy and numeracy for Year 11 students. Luxon argued this would be a better option than a stand-alone Year 11 agriculture subject.
Luxon said Tauranga Boys' College has about 2200 boys, and about 300 of them study agriculture. Mountford told RNZ after the conversation that he remained concerned about the Year 11 agriculture changes.
During the Edgecombe visit, a resident raised concerns with Luxon about highly productive land being taken up by solar farms.
Toll roads also came up. Bay of Plenty has two of New Zealand's three toll roads, and the Takitimu North Link is set to charge a toll once it is complete. Luxon said toll roads would play a part in New Zealand's future because they allow infrastructure to be built faster. He said a national toll strategy would be developed separately next year.
