Katrina was the National candidate for Ohariu (formerly Ohariu-Belmont) in the 2005 and 2008 election. She entered parliament as a list MP in February 2007 and over the past four years has been working hard for the people of Ohariu.

Katrina believes that people and businesses deserve a strong voice in Parliament and she is passionate about building a community based on strong families, hardworking individuals, and innovative businesses. She understands the frustrations and triumphs of juggling parenthood with a career. For nine years she worked part-time, at home and in the office, so that she could spend as much time as possible with her three young children before they went to school.

Her combination of a successful career as a chartered accountant, a manager and as a mother provides a balanced mix of experience, an understanding of the real world and a love of working with people.

Born in 1969, Katrina was raised and educated in Dannevirke and Masterton. She graduated from Massey University with a Bachelor in Business Studies, and became a chartered accountant. She worked for Audit New Zealand, Newton Fund Management in the UK, and WestpacTrust before becoming a sole-practitioner.

Katrina specialised in business advisory services, assessing and managing the impact that regulatory conditions have on companies. She knows what it’s like to be self-employed, and understands the frustrations and triumphs of running a small business.

Katrina entered politics to protect the things she treasured when she grew up, and to help make them available for all New Zealanders – a good education, strong families, great opportunities, safe and supportive communities, personal freedom, a healthy environment, and the Kiwi way of life.

Katrina has been reselected as the National candidate to stand in Ohariu for the 2011 general 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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