National Party Southland MP Joseph Mooney out for a walk with a dog. In New Zealand’s first lockdown, electorate MPs were swamped with work as anxious constituents brought them a huge range of concerns, mostly public health-related. As the local MP, Mr Mooney has had to be counsellor as much as advocate as many constituents are wondering if their best endeavours to survive financially will be worth it. ‘‘In the meantime, we just need to look after ourselves and each other.’’Further south, in Invercargill, Penny Simmonds, like Mr Mooney, was a first-time lockdown electorate MP. Ms Simmonds also detected a rural/urban divide in handling some of her country constituents’ concerns, notably about access to coal.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 10, 2021 16:30 UTC