Melissa is born and bred in Palmerston North where she currently lives and manages a family business manufacturing pharmaceutical medicine for farm animals. She entered the family business almost a decade ago after spending 13 years in the pet-industry running her own company retailing pet food and other products, dog grooming & walking and pet feeding.

Melissa is a strong proponent of advancing businesses in New Zealand. She admires people who choose to take an entrepreneurial path. It’s not an easy one and she admires the determination of people to create exciting and energising futures. Becoming a business owner and being self-employed was key for Melissa even from a young age, and it helped her realise her goals of being financially secure, independent and forging her own way in life.

Politics has always interested Melissa but she has been disappointed at its evolution. The political parties in the current Parliament have led to a slow downfall of our country and all New Zealanders are paying the price. She has been with New Nation since the beginning because it was clear our country is in deep trouble. She agrees that politics has become all about power and is keen to remove that dynamic by getting real people back behind the wheel, driving New Zealand to a place of common sense, once again.

Like a large and growing number of Kiwis, Melissa believes there is little in the way of choice of who to vote for in the next election. There are no politicians who align with her values and belief because they all seem to have forgotten who they represent. It’s not enough to say they want a vibrant economy and still sign up to international regulations that stifle that goal. Politics is now a path for those to push through their party agendas rather than focus on the good of New Zealand.

Melissa believes New Zealand can be a great country. She remembers the time of her parents and grandparents, who expected little from others, were extremely skilled and determined to live their lives free of government intervention. They built a great Kiwi society that worked and had strong values and standards – things that are lacking today.