Priorities for another term

MP for Taupō Louise Upston says she is still committed to upgrading state highway 1 between Taupō and Tūrangi and reviving the Toi Ohomai Polytech campus in Taupō. 

By Dan Hutchinson 

In the last of three profiles on the candidates for the Taupō Electorate, Upston admits both projects are not where they need to be. 

She says early discussions have been held with forestry block owners along the proposed route for a new section of SH1. 

Planning in 2017 favours a route that deviates around Hatepe Hill and emerges just north of Tūrangi however no detailed plans have ever been drawn up. 

Funding pressures and higher-ranking ‘roads of national significance’ have pushed the project further down the road with no firm timeline.  

"It doesn't mean that the advocacy for those projects is any less. We still need to keep it on the radar." 

On the positive side, the Waikato Expressway is creeping ever closer to Taupō, with work underway to extend the four-lane section to Piarere, benefitting Taupō commuters heading for Hamilton and Auckland. 

The Taupō Polytech campus is another key infrastructure project that is a long way from reaching its potential. 

A mega-merger of New Zealand’s 16 polytech’s by the previous government, into one organisation called Te Pūkenga, ultimately resulted in potential closure of Taupō’s ageing facilities and an uncertain future for the new campus in Tokoroa. 

There are now few courses being held in Taupō and most of the buildings in the campus are being used by Taupō-nui-a-Tia College students displaced by a fire that destroyed its main classroom block. 

"What I don't think people realise is how close we came to having no campus at all." 

She called an emergency meeting with council, businesses and Te Pūkenga to push back against the closure.  

With Te Pūkenga now wound back and Toi Ohomai re-engaging with local employers, the focus has shifted to aligning training with the district's workforce needs across tourism, forestry, farming and the growing geothermal sector. 

On health, she highlights the establishment of on-call pharmacy services in Tūrangi, additional cancer treatment support at Taupō Hospital and the development of an urgent and after-hours care model for rural communities.  

She also points to the third New Zealand medical school — based at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, with a focus on training rural GPs — which she has advocated for, for almost 10 years. 

Geothermal energy is another area Upston sees as central to the district's economic future.  

Government investment in supercritical geothermal technology is drawing international attention and creating opportunities for workforce development, Upston says. 

"When we think about where our future workforce will be and economic activity, that is absolutely an area that we need to be thinking about." 

She also sees part of her role as connecting incoming businesses with the right local contacts. 

Tourism remains a concern. Strong summer numbers have softened since April, with rising fuel prices reducing domestic travel to the region. 

Upston has a large electorate, spanning the Taupō District, South Waikato and north to Cambridge, taking in part of the Waipa District. 

She holds large portfolios in government; Minister of Social Development and Employment, Tourism and Hospitality, Community and Voluntary Sector, Disability Issues and Child Poverty Reduction. She is also Leader of the House, managing Government business in the House of Representatives. 

Based in Cambridge, she has offices in that town and Taupō but says her first job is as the local MP, and Fridays are always her electorate day.