Barbara was a List Member of Parliament from 2002 – 2008 and was the Party Spokesperson for Health, Social Services, Family and Industry Training.
Barbara has had a career in both Primary and secondary teaching in the Waikato and Auckland areas. With her parents, she has owned and operated small businesses in Cambridge.   In the corporate world, she has been involved in Management and Training and Development. 
For Barbara, being an integral part of the team that secured free health care in most PHO’s for the under 6’s again was exciting.  “All children deserve the best possible start in life and ideally access to medical treatment should not be restricted by family finances, “ she said.  “This is a huge step towards the New Zealand First goal of free health care for all under sixes”.
Barbara’s role on the Health Select Committee gave her an understanding of the challenges involved in running a complex public health system with ever-increasing demands.  Maternity care, Medical care for the over 65’s, hospital waiting times and Dental Care were among the many issues that Barbara kept a watchful eye upon.

Barbara shares New Zealand First’s vision of a peaceful and prosperous nation in which all New Zealanders take an active part.  “We need a thriving economy that is able to train and offer jobs to our young people and offer them a future here in New Zealand rather than lose them overseas.  New Zealand First is the only voice that will ensure New Zealanders can be confident and proud to be a part of this country’s future.

Top 5 Issues

1. We’ll have ONE LAW FOR ALL.
   
   Which means:
   
   • We all own our foreshore and seabed
   • We fly one flag
   • We have one court system
   • We follow one set of laws
   • We have one social welfare system
   • A NZ health system
   • A NZ education system
2. We will rebuild our failing economy with
   
   • Export plans to treble returns
   • Savings plans for economic freedom
   • NZ currency for NZ not Wall ST
   • Tax breaks for real wealth creators
   • Real research and development incentives
   • Rewards for the nation’s builders
3. We stand for a fair tax system, where everyone pays a fair share.
   
   So we are going to rewrite and simplify NZ’s mangle of tax laws so that they are understandable, unavoidable, and fair.
   
   Everyone will pay their fair taxes.
   
   That means:
   • Less personal tax
   • Less company tax
   • Less GST at 12.5 not 15%
   • Removing double tax on savings
   • Removing GST on rates
   • Removing secondary tax
4. Exporters create our real wealth. We have a plan to help them.
   
   New Zealand First will keep our currency pegged to that of our main trading partners.
   
   That way the exporters will be able to expand, increase exports and create new jobs, new wealth for the Family New Zealand
   
   We will stop the sale of state owned assets, and the control of our power stations and the lakes and rivers that feed them.
   Will stop the sale of our prime farmland to foreign interests.
5. We need to support our young people to stay, live and work in New Zealand. Here are just some of our policies:
   
   1) More trade training for our young people
   
   2) We will help pay the wages for apprentices using dole money and an employer top up
   
   3) We will help students pay their loans as long as they qualify and stay here
   
   4) And we’ll throw out fictitious national standards in early education opposed by 90% of the teachers

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