Prior to the 22nd of February 2011, when a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, Gerry Brownlee was Minister for Economic Development, Minister of Energy and Resources, Leader of the House and Associate Minister for the Rugby World Cup. Such is the scale of the rebuilding task that faces Canterbury, Gerry has temporarily relinquished those portfolios and taken on the delegation of Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery.

Gerry was born and educated in Christchurch and has lived in the Ilam electorate all his life. After leaving St Bede’s College, Gerry began his career in the family timber business. He trained as a carpenter, gained several trade qualifications and operated his own business. In 1980 Gerry trained as a secondary school teacher and he taught until 1995.

Following a long involvement in the National Party he won the constituency of Ilam in 1996, with a majority of 10,090. He has held the seat comfortably since. During his political career he has served as Junior Whip and Deputy Leader of the National Party. He is currently a senior Minister ranked third in the Cabinet.

Gerry has always been involved in the local community and served on the Riccarton Bush Trust. He is a strong advocate for sport and cultural activity for all New Zealanders.

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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