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The House: Morning Tea with Matt Doocey
Like most electorate MPs, National MP for Waimakariri Matt Doocey spends a lot of his weekends back home in his electorate.
Saturdays are generally spent in the community and chatting to constituents.
Last Saturday, The House attended one of Doocey's Q&A sessions with over-60s.
They're something he likes to hold regularly in the electorate's population centres of Kaiapoi, Oxford, and Rangiora. This one was at the Rangiora RSA.
The issues discussed at these sessions are many and varied.
Last Saturday there were both big-picture concerns about a perceived "brain drain" and international trade, as well as local queries about roading and healthcare infrastructure.
"People do want to ask you a specific question about potentially a road in their neighbourhood, or maybe there might be an issue with accessing a local public service," Doocey says.
"And then for some people they do think a bit more nationally and they want to have a talk about the economy or what's happening internationally in the current geopolitical environment."
His electorate, historically made up of dormitory towns, has seen significant growth since the Canterbury earthquakes.
Doocey, who has been the local MP since 2014, has observed the challenges that a growing population presents.
"When you have that significant growth, you have what I call 'growing pains of growth'.
"Quite rightly, I've got to get in and make sure I bat for this area so it gets the investment it needs into vital infrastructure like the Woodend bypass, a new road of national significance."
Doocey and his family live in the Waimakariri electorate, which he says has accepted him over the years as just another member of the community.
This Parliamentary term, he has the added responsibility of being a Cabinet Minister.
He must balance ministerial duties in Wellington and elsewhere, with addressing the concerns of his constituents in Canterbury.
Given he's out-of-town frequently, Doocey's Electorate and Community Office (ECO) staff in Kaiapoi and Rangiora act as first responders for constituents asking for help with things like ACC or Work and Income.
"They are really your front line," he says.
"Through our office, we can go up to a higher level in a government department, escalate their issue in quite a timely fashion, and get them connected to the person they need to talk to as well.
"So in that way, constituents don't need to wait two weeks to see their local MP."
Doocey says the regular sessions with the community on the weekends have been a good forum to address some of those more generalised concerns.
"I'm here for the weekend, and people do like the idea of coming to a meeting when it's not as pressured [as it would be] during a nine to five, Monday to Friday, and we can spend a bit more time unpacking the issues of the day."
Rangiora resident Chris Knight, who came along to Doocey's Q&A, is a regular viewer of Parliament's Question Time. For him, events like these offer a welcome opportunity.
"You don't often get an opportunity to meet or talk to an acting MP," he says. "To come to something like this and actually meet your local MP is good."
Knight describes himself as a social democrat and a lifelong Labour voter both in New Zealand and the UK where he emigrated from, but he acknowledges Doocey's efforts as an electorate MP.
"I think Matt does a pretty good job around here. I read some of the stuff that he has in the papers, and he's always around and available, which is good. Whether or not I'll vote for him next time, remains to be seen."
ECO offices sport the colours of whichever party the MP is a member of, which may give rise to the misconception that electorate MPs' offices aren't approachable if you don't support their party.
"I make it very clear," Doocey says. "I work for everyone in Waimakariri, no matter how they vote.
"I'm here to serve all in the Waimakariri irrespective of how they vote.
"But I do acknowledge that sometimes people come in and there might be a perceived barrier there about whether they voted for me or not, or whether they voted for my party.
"But as a local MP, I'm here to work for everyone. I think over time people have got to understand that, and actually when you're working as a local MP it's not a party affiliation, in fact it's a Waimakariri affiliation, because you just want to help everyone in your community."
To listen to the audio version of this story, click the link near the top of the page.
* RNZ's The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk.
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