Chester Borrows is 53 years of age and has enjoyed success after three attempts to win the Whanganui Electorate from previous incumbent Jill Pettis. Chester says the challenge now is to “…turn it on for the people of the Whanganui Electorate and make the seat safe for National.” Chester has offices in Wanganui and in Hawera. With a history in policing and the law, Chester’s policy interests are around Law and Order and Welfare.

Chester was raised in Nelson and attended Nayland College before entering the Police in 1975 as a 17-year-old Cadet. 24 years later he left the Police to stand for Parliament and then attended Victoria University obtaining an LLB between elections and campaign again in 2002. Chester then started work with Till Henderson King as a staff solicitor with a general practice but concentrating on Criminal law. Chester finished work in March 2005 to campaign again, this time successfully, he draws on this experience in his work in parliament and the electorate.

Between the 2006 and 2008 Election Chester was appointed National Party Police spokesman and as part of the Law and Order Team worked on those policies dealing with police, corrections and justice, which formed a substantive part of the 100 Day Action Plan. In Government, Chester is the Chair of the Justice and Electoral Select Committee and a member of the Social Services Committee.

Interests in tramping, canoeing and landscape painting see Chester in the bush or on local rivers and lakes given the opportunity and Chester is also involved as a Lay Preacher and Funeral Celebrant in his community.

Married to Ella for over 30 years Chester has three children aged between 22 and 28 and spending time with the family is a priority for him

Chester has taken a 3155 deficit in 1999 to a 6333 majority in 2008 and looks forward to extending that in the next election.

Top 5 Issues

1. Building a stronger economy
   • Balance the books sooner.
   • Borrow less so we can have lower interest rates for longer.
   • Keep personal taxes lower to encourage hard work.
   • Make New Zealand more competitive so our exporters can sell more overseas and create more real jobs.
   • Encourage savings and investments.
   • Use the mixed-Ownership model to fund infrastructure to help us grow faster.
   • Invest in skills training and tertiary education that gets results.
   
2. Building world-class infrastructure
   • Ultra-fast broadband for greater innovation.
   • More, and better, roads to ease congestion.
   • Investing in more rail and public transport.
   
3. Building a safer New Zealand
   • Staying strong on crime – tougher sentencing, stronger bail laws, and a focus on victims.
   • Keep working to lower the crime rate further so our families are safer.
   • Making our roads safer, so we can keep the road toll lower.
   
4. Rebuilding Christchurch
   • $5.5 billion recovery fund
   • Re-establishing essential infrastructure
   • More construction-related training
   
5. Building better public services
   • Better Schools – identifying and helping children falling behind, school reports in plain English.
   • World-class healthcare –more doctors and nurses, more operations, shorter waiting times.
   • Effective welfare- more people back into work, more incentives to work, payment cards for teens on benefits.
   

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