Tamati Coffey Labour MP

I want to thank everyone who has contacted me in support of my Improving Arrangements for Surrogacy Bill.

With my partner Tim and I having experienced New Zealand's outdated surrogacy laws first-hand, it became obvious that my first Member's Bill would lay the wero down and challenge this legislation which dates back to the 60s, to an update.

This is about giving modern Kiwi families an easier road to realising their own whakapapa aspirations and being fairly acknowledged as the parents of their child.

The proposed changes include; granting intending parents automatic legal status once gaining custody of the child, creating a register of surrogates and donors and changing birth certificates to acknowledge all of the key contributors involved.

Watch this space.

This Government is investing $693 per student ($50K min, $400K max) into almost every state school and kura. This fantastic one-off landmark investment will catch up on those infrastructure repair waiting lists that were left to grow under the previous lot, and create healthier, modernised learning environments for our kids.

This includes support for wharekura and kura Maori, so they can continue to use tikanga and matauranga Maori to ready our tamariki for tomorrow.

From Te Wharekura o Mauao getting $168,399, Gate Pa School $221,067, to Tauranga Boys', Girls' and Intermediate receiving $400,000 each. In the Waiariki, 158 eligible schools will share in over $31 million. This will help 53,945 local young people to reach their full potential. I'm proud of that.

Happy holidays whanau and take care on those roads.