Happy New Year!

It’s great to be back in the Electorate after the summer break. I hope you all got the chance to spend some quality time with family and friends.

The New Year is a great time to take stock. We can look back over the past twelve months, acknowledge the challenges we have faced, celebrate our achievements and set goals for the busy year ahead.


Last year the Canterbury earthquakes, a difficult economy, and the Rena disaster off Tauranga have tested us not just on a personal level but as a country. From these challenges, however, comes great opportunity to lay the foundations for a brighter and more prosperous 2012.

I'm delighted to be returned to Cabinet this term with the portfolios of Justice, ACC and Ethnic Affairs. Justice and ACC have many challenges and I am already enjoying working in them.
 
I’d like to congratulate Ardmore man Tony Herlihy who has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours list.

Tony is New Zealand’s most-successful harness racing driver and trainer. He created harness racing history at Alexandra Park in February last year when he drove his 3000th winner - a milestone no driver or jockey has reached before.

Congratulations Tony on this outstanding achievement!
 
As Minister for Ethnic Affairs, I enjoyed attending the ASB LunarFest recently to welcome in the Chinese New Year.

2012 is The Year of the Dragon. The traits associated with this year encourage us to be innovative, enterprising, flexible, self-assured, brave, and passionate.

These are the very qualities that we all need to build a brighter and more prosperous future for all New Zealanders.

We can embrace the New Year, and all that it brings, by letting our past, our experiences and traditions provide us with strength and confidence to move forward.
 
I look forward to seeing you in and around the Electorate during 2012.

 

Information from Papakura MP Judith Collins.

Click on the image below to download the pdf.

As Minister of Police I was privileged to join our district's Police recently to open the new Manurewa Police Station.

The $6 million station will be the base for 173 Police staff – including 50 of the 300 new frontline officers deployed by this Government in Counties-Manukau.

It’s a big, modern and well -equipped facility that will enable our officers and support staff to perform at their best.

Our Police are working tirelessly in the fight against crime and deserve plenty of support, good tools and good working conditions to continue making a positive difference in our communities.

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As Minister of Veterans’ Affairs I was honoured to attend the unveiling of the Armed Services plaques at Papakura’s High Wire Trust centre on Armistice Day.

It was great to see so many people turn out to celebrate the extraordinary courage of special forces veterans and members of New Zealand’s current armed forces. 

It was a special privilege to acknowledge veterans, friends and descendents of the Royal Marines Association of New Zealand, NZ Forest Rangers, King Empire Veterans Inc, NZ Long Range Patrol, Long Range Desert Group, Special Operations Executive, United States Marine Corps, Special Operations Australia & “Z” Special Unit, Compulsory Military Training & National Service, New Zealand Air Service and the 1st Battalion NZ Regiment Malaya.

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I also attended Papakura RSA’s special Armistice Day ceremony at the Cenotaph to honour those men who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our nation during the First World War.

The legacy of our soldiers has had a lasting impact on our generation, and will continue to inspire future generations.

On behalf of the community I’d like to thank the RSA– particularly our local Papakura, Pukekohe, Manurewa and Waiuku RSAs – for their commitment to keeping the memory of our veterans alive.

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I’m delighted that South Auckland will receive funding for more Early Childhood Education (ECE) places.

Kids Count and Learning Houses Ltd will receive $1.09 million to build two new ECE services in Papakura North and in neighbouring Weymouth West.

You and Me Ltd will receive $181,000 to extend its two existing ECE services in Drury and Weymouth West.

This is great news for our district and means more of our children will get the best possible start to their learning.

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I’d finally like to thank you all for your support and encouragement during my time as MP for Papakura over the past three years.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working alongside our local Police, board members, school communities and volunteer groups to make Papakura a safer place to live and raise our families. 

It’s a real privilege to be re-elected to be your voice in Parliament for another term and I look forward to serving the interests of this fantastic community.

Community Probation Services (CPS) has doubled community work compliance rates since 2009. Compliance levels for community work have doubled from 43 per cent in 2009 to a consistent 80 per cent during the last six months – this is great news.

CPS manages 45,000 offenders on parole or serving community-based sentences.

It’s important we manage these offenders well, and keep the public safe. That’s why National invested $256 million into CPS. This funding has seen probation officers across the country increase by 246.

The CPS is well supported by justice sector partners, social agencies, and service providers. Their hard work is contributing to National’s vision of building a safer New Zealand.

More information: http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?ArticleID=36564