After a couple of postponements, South Wairarapa Rebus Club said was a pleasure to welcome guest speaker, Mike Butterick MP, to the November meeting of the club.
Since election in 2023 he says he has become somewhat used to being treated like a goldfish, constantly on view, having to consider that every word might be recorded or monitored and brought up at a later date to embarrass him or the party.
Having grown up on a mid-Canterbury finishing farm, on leaving school he went mustering for
a year. Then he was employed as a horse and dogs shepherd at Wairere Station, a major Romney stud breeder in Wairarapa, where he met his wife, Rachel.
They bought their first farm in 1995 and, in 2015, a “town block” near Masterton.
Mike initially became involved in politics in 2020 as spokesman for a rural lobby group, Fifty
Shades of Green, concerned with the planting of trees for carbon credits on high quality sheep and beef country. After winning the electorate at his second attempt in 2023 he found the fairly heavy five days induction for new members to parliament was just the start of a career of information overload and time poverty.
Parliament meets Tuesday to Thursday 30 weeks a year. Mike is a member of the Environment (deputy chair) and the Education and Workforce select committees.
He outlined his coming week’s diary to illustrate his workload as an MP.
After Friday’s Rebus meeting, he was off to Wellington and flying to Napier for an awards meeting. On Saturday he had two functions in Christchurch and an 11:00 a.m. meeting on Sunday in Dannevirke before heading for home.
Monday evening he drives to Wellington; Tuesday he is in Hamilton; Wednesday with constituents in Masterton and at a business function; Thursday he is in Te Kaha and then flies to Wellington to meet a delegation from United Arabic Emirates; Friday he is in Christchurch; Saturday in Balclutha; Sunday back to Wellington and off to Mauriceville for a local meeting before heading home.
Wife Rachel sees precious little of him. He drives himself in his own car about 3,000 km/month. “I’m fortunate to have lived my dream, lived my passion — not everyone can say that. I’ve got an opportunity to give back to the community I’ve spent my life in. I’m a product of it. I’ve been shaped by those that are in it.”
Rebus Club next meeting: end-of-year luncheon at Club Carterton on Friday 6 December.
South Wairarapa Rebus Club: https://southwairaraparebus.com> meets in the South Wairarapa Working Men’s Club at 9:45 a.m. on the fourth Friday of each month. Anyone in the retired age group who may be interested in SW Rebus Club is welcome to attend as a visitor. Please introduce yourself at the door from the West Street carpark or contact John Reeve 021 560 461.
