The general election is just a week away (Saturday October 17), and today the Wanaka App is profiling the New Conservative candidate for Waitaki, Troy Allen.

The Wanaka App asked the nine candidates one simple question: Please tell us what you think the top three issues facing the Wanaka region are, and how you would respond to them?

Here is Troy’s response:

COVID Recovery

We have a $50 billion expense ($130 billion total currently with $5.8 billion in interest only) and nothing to show for it except a broken economy, generations of debt for our children, and all the severe ramifications of that.

New Conservative has a comprehensive COVID Recovery plan [on its website]. The New Conservative lower taxes policy calculator is in that plan: punch in your details to see how much you save and get to re-invest in the economy.

This policy alone will provide a $10B boost to our economy WITHOUT borrowing.

Tourism is an integral part of the local economy. To keep that going our policy of NO MORE LOCKDOWNS will be vital as we continue to evaluate the best way forward to open the country up again.

Farming

The wanton attack by our Socialist UN driven government on farming in New Zealand is unbridled and overt.

New Conservative will reinvigorate farming and support farmers who provide 30% of our GDP. 

Employment

Seasonal workers are an integral part of the New Zealand culture and economy especially in the horticulture, viticulture and dairy industries. There is a persistent shortage of quality workers in these industries, frustratingly, while many New Zealanders who are physically capable of doing these jobs are on benefits doing nothing.

New Conservative has a policy to fix this. As an absolute minimum anyone on an employment benefit will be required to regularly front up and clock in.

We live in challenging times where airline pilots are applying for menial tasks. Unemployment is reportedly skyrocketing at 400 jobs lost per day. There will be ample hands available for farming (of all types) support. The key is to make sure we can get them there. New Conservative will be requiring our welfare agencies to recognise where the need for workers is and direct capable people there.

New Conservatives immigration policy includes allowances for highly qualified international seasonal workers.

Troy is originally from Oamaru and started his working life dairy farming then worked as a musterer in the Canterbury high country. After a stint at Lincoln University, he worked as a musterer in Manapouri before returning to large herd dairy farm management and lower order share milking. In 2006 he changed career to commercial real estate in Christchurch. 

After the earthquakes, Troy and his family moved to Darfield, where Troy helped build the Fonterra Darfield powder plant, where he subsequently worked.

“To build a strong nation you need strong families. In recent years I have been concerned about the direction we are headed in. History shows that if we continue on this track, we’ll lose our rights and freedoms and end up an impoverished socialist state,” Troy says.