After the initial count, 16,500 more signatures are needed to push this petition over the finish line. Labour is redoubling its efforts to help get the remaining signatures needed to ensure a referendum on asset sales goes ahead . We are absolutely committed to working with the Keep Our Assets Coalition to gather the number of signatures needed to ensure Kiwis have their say. It is not unusual to have signatures ruled out because people aren’t enrolled or have filled in their details incorrectly. However there are still almost 300,000 people who have voiced their support for a referendum. Labour will work to ensure their voice is heard. We are confident that the massive numbers of Kiwis who oppose asset sales means that we can gather the necessary signatures in the next two months to ensure the petition succeeds.

There is wide support across the community and political parties for a referendum. We will be working hard with other political parties and community groups to get the signatures necessary. A tremendous effort has taken place to get us this far, and I thank all those who have signed the petition already. If you are 18 or over and enrolled, and have not signed this petition yet, I urge you to do so - keep our assets in the hands of New Zealanders - who are the rightful owners in the first place. You can find the petition in any of your local electorate Labour offices.

For more information on Keep Our Assets visit www.keepourassets.org.nz

On the 7th May 2013, I attended a Grey Power Meeting in Rangiora to brief the group on Labour's Policy on Power. During the meeting, members also shared their concerns over high power bills.

I don’t think the elderly or any New Zealander should have to suffer and compromise for fear of high power bills that they cannot afford. Some sit shivering at night and have to put a blanket on instead of putting on a heater because they can’t afford it.The current electricity system is an unfair system.

At the moment, power companies are making super profits, power prices are skyrocketing out of control even though demand is flat and residential power prices are now three times higher than that in the industrial sector. National’s supposed fix to this problem is to sell our assets – but this will only drive up power prices further.

Labour is committed to bringing our power prices down. New Zealanders power bills will be reduced on average by $230 to $330 per year and in the process, this will create over 5000 job opportunities, giving our economy a $450 million per annum boost.

Power is a critical and essential service. Canterbury has cold winters – we don’t live in a tropical climate. We should not have to live in a country where we cannot afford to put lights and heating on. People these days are having to make hard choices regarding power consumption, especially elderly folk.

For our full policy go to www.labour.org.nz/nzpower

On the 10th of May, I visited Visit Rangiora Borough School to speak to the Year 8 Inter School Debating Team about Public Speaking.

I made some suggestions about projecting your voice, connecting with the audience, and using humour in the right way. The kids also asked some great questions.

It’s always great to see the future leaders of the country taking charge and getting involved at school. The kids are great, and I see a lot of promise in them.

I now have a new Facebook page. Click on the Facebook image above to have a look. You can click the ‘Like’ button when on my new page (to the right of the screen) to follow my posts and news.