Today I have been out on the streets celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Day. 

This is a celebration of the good in people as well as the first day of spring.

This year I took a basket of Cadbury chocolates (thanks for the kind donations Cadbury), around the main streets of Hastings and Havelock North giving away chocolates.

Mission accomplished as almost everyone gave a smile and thought about how they could do a Random Act of Kindness.

Today my work experience took me on site with GEMCO:

Great

Experience

Meeting

Chippies

Outside the office.


I helped the team with Nimon’s new multi-million dollar building in Whakatu. I’m becoming quiet the chippie myself!
 

Over the weekend the tiny town of Murchison population about 1,000 had the Parliament rugby team arrive. With half of the team arriving early afternoon on the Saturday allowing some to experience the beauty of this large region and its outdoor environment.

Festivities proper kicked off with the wild foods dinner at the superb local rugby club with about 150 locals. The facilities for such a small town are amazing and some of the best we have played at in the country. Dinner with wild venison and pork and the auction went well after one MP (well me) got lost on the way to the clubrooms and got fleeced of some $s as a result. A rolling standup of MPs followed with a great turnout of 10 MPs turning up to help raise money for the local St Johns with the help of the local fire brigade.

The games proper started on the Sunday with the Parliamentary netball team coming a distant second, the game notable for one Minister's performance and one Parliamentary male staffer playing in a skirt... The rugby looked good with a warm west coast day as we were the warm up game to the Seddon Shield match - which is NZs second oldest rugby trophy. The opposition for the Parliament team were a grizzled bunch - think Cam Calder, but shorter, and on steroids.

The game was great as 5 minutes in Jnr Tonu'u managed to set up a try for both teams... One was planned with a rollocking bust up the middle by the forwards (but as the team hooker I would say that) and then Nick Smith holding on to a pass over the line to score - the other saw an intercept by the local giant Mt man run 20 metres to dot down.

The game flowed well with 5 MPs (Gilmore, King - who also played with his son, N Smith, O'Connor, Calder) playing, Nick as the right wing benefiting from the driving pick and go forward play of the other MPs legendary play and staffers ended up with three tries. A few injuries arose but nothing permanent.

Final score 30-5. Next game Wanganui.
 

India is a huge multi-faceted continent and the home of well over one billion people, with different languages, different cultures, and different food.

When you first visit you are almost overwhelmed by the energy, the excitement, the bustle and most of all the magnificent colours of India!

This week, without even having to leave Christchurch, we can get a glimpse of all the arts, the crafts, the costumes, the culture and history of India. We can enjoy live dance and music, films/documentaries, and even have a go ourselves in through the workshops and demonstrations. What an opportunity!

The Colours of India, is celebrating the 63rd anniversary of the independence of India. And what an exciting, and passionate and inspirational journey India has taken over those 63 years.

And it is also celebrating the Indians that live in New Zealand and what they contribute to our country. Indians have been helping to shape New Zealand life for over a century. We find Indians in all walks of life, in science of course, in IT , in medicine, in business, everywhere and always they contribute with the same energy, enthusiasm and hard work that we see in their homeland.

It's great to see the Colours of India exhibition adding real excitement and colour to our inner city in the middle of a cold, grey, and rather drab New Zealand winter!

Ronald McDonald House in Central Christchurch is a wonderful warm, welcoming home.

In the last seven years over 2000 families who have been in the city for hospital care have spent time over 62,000 nights under its roof. It is a stressful time to be sick and in a strange city. But everyone at Ronald McDonald house, its staff and the families that stay there, are supportive of each other which helps make tough times just that little bit easier.
 
To increase capacity Ronald McDonald House opened nine new rooms this weekend to bring the total to twenty-six rooms. The  Minster of Health, Hon Tony Ryall and I, had a tour of the new building. It has been seamlessly added to the original and is as warm and comfortable as all the rest.
 
The opening was a real celebration! It was a time to thank all the fabulous sponsors, the architect, builders and everyone else who was involved in the extension. We also had the opportunity to hear from Tania Shepherd who is only nine but has spent many weeks at Ronald McDonald House over the years since she was born. She says that she loves coming to stay from the West Coast and that it has made all the difference to her and her family. She is doing her bit in return by organising mufti-days at her school to raise funds so others can get the chance to stay as well.
 
Ronald McDonald house is great example of community, helping community and I would like to thank everyone who is involved with the house for a job very well done. Everyone of you has made a real difference! 

 
 
Tara Shepherd talking to the crowd at the opening of the extension of Ronald MacDonald House - 21st August 2010.
 

The Christchurch City Council Staff are in the process of moving into their new home- Te Hononga- Christchurch Civic Centre.

The building is in the centre of the Cultural Precinct right opposite of the Art Gallery.

The Kitchen Cafe which is in the foyer will be a great place for the public to mix and mingle with everyone who visits or works in the building. 

I was lucky enough to be walking past early on Friday morning, when their brand new staff opened the doors for the first time. I got to be first person to sample the coffee. Very good it was too....

I'm still getting many e-mails about the future of neurosurgery services, and one thing is very clear.

People have serious concerns that those with acute head injury or stroke patients will have to travel to Christchurch instead of accessing services in Dunedin.

I have many people including my friends who have contacted me with their own stories and experiences with living with a brain tumour, or stroke or head injury.

I’ll continue to advocate for the people who live in my far-flung and sometimes isolated electorate of Waitaki who want services retained in Dunedin.

The Christchurch Civic Building Te Hononga is complete and it’s wonderful!

I went to the Karakia Whakaroa Dawn Blessing yesterday and marvelled at smart recycling, reusing and regeneration of Christchurch’s old Postal Centre.

The building is a joint venture between Ngai Tahu and the Christchurch City Council, and a new model of ownership. 50% is owned by the people of Christchurch and 50% is owned by the 46,000 members of the Ngai Tahu iwi, so thousands of New Zealanders have a stake in this building.

Today I joined the team at Cottages New Zealand in Hastings.

They are currently building two police stations, that will soon be transported to their new locations. 

I was briefly in charge of the nail gun to put up a sheet of gib, and also managed to put up the "signage" straight and square. One of the stations is destined for Nuhaka, in northern Hawke's Bay.

I continued my “Work Experience” on Tuesday morning 10.8.10 by experiencing what it means to be a local copper.

I was honoured to see first-hand what those who stand up for and defend our community do in their day to day jobs. No two days are the same and each day brings a whole new set of challenges.

It is a demanding job; one that I have the highest regard for and I congratulate our Police force for a hard job that’s done well.

Who would have thought all those Wellington latte drinkers could help one of our local junior schools with their learning!

Today, Monday 9th August, I dropped off what seemed like hundreds of milk bottle caps to the junior school at Frimley  Primary School.

It’s all about Wheels, their learning project, and I say what goes round comes round!
 

In about 48 hours time the Otago rugby team will meet Southland in what will be an epic Ranfurly Shield challenge in front of a sell-out crowd in Invercargill.  Otago hasn’t won the Log o’ Wood for more than 50 years and on the strength of their performance against Counties Manukau last Saturday, they are obviously underdogs in this challenge.

However, Shield challenges throw up some upsets.  There’s no doubt that Otago couldn’t play any worse than last week and will be well steeled for the challenge on Saturday.  Not only is the Shield up for grabs but probably Highlanders positions in the 2011 squad so it’s likely to be a case of no love lost between the two sides.

My good friend in Invercargill MP Eric Roy has for the last 10 months displayed a replica Ranfurly Shield on his lapel.  That little badge also goes on the line this weekend and I look forward to being the proud recipient of that badge when the House resumes on Tuesday week.

Good luck to the guys and do us proud!
 

There’s nothing like the threat of changes to health services to galvanise a community, and that certainly is the case in Otago and Southland with a review of neurosurgical services in the South Island.

All South Island DHBs agree that the neurosurgical service should be a regional one.  What they can't agree on is whether all six South Island neurosurgeons should be domiciled in Christchurch or whether the status quo should continue – four surgeons in Christchurch and two at Dunedin Hospital.

The CEOs asked the Director-General of Health to convene an expert panel to consider all of the issues and make a recommendation to him.

I'm very keen for this process to be followed.  I also want the views of the community to be heard and I've been overwhelmed by the level of correspondence coming to me, my southern colleagues and the Minister expressing support for neurosurgery at Dunedin Hospital.

On the information I have I'm not convinced that patient care will be improved, nor will the financial viability of any of the DHBs be helped by locating all surgeons at Christchurch Hospital.  It is also the view of my Southern colleagues that the needs of the people of Otago and Southland are best served by the provision of a clinically robust and sustainable neurosurgical service based in Christchurch and Dunedin.

It was therefore pleasing that the response to an oral question in the House today “Does he think that neurosurgery services should be retained at Dunedin Hospital?” was responded to thus: “I would take a lot of convincing that there shouldn’t be neurosurgical services in Dunedin.”

Promising stuff but its important to let the process the Ministry has put in place be completed.  In the meantime I expect lots more correspondence coming through my office.
 

Last Friday (30th July) I was thrilled to open the Early Childhood Centre at Tirohanga. 

The centre was opened after a year of community fundraising efforts. 

The students were very helpful in cutting the ribbon.

I am very impressed by the commitment of the local community in ensuring that their young children have access to early childhood education. 

The community created the centre as a Charitable Trust and the centre will cater for children from Tirohanga, Mokai, Marotiri, Whakamaru and Mangakino areas. 

The site was previously the Tirohanga school and it is fantastic to see the land and buildings once again filled with children.

With the backing and support of these communities this centre will no doubt enjoy success in its set up years and beyond. 

I know with my own children how important early childhood education is in building a strong foundation for a child’s ongoing education, learning and development. 

Early childhood education gives children the opportunity to learn new skills, building on those they learn at home from their families and whānau.
 

“Be yourself because everyone else is taken” – Oscar Wilde.

I recently attended NZ Poetry Day celebrations at Tawa Library. The theme of individuality resonated as I walked into the room.

I remember when I was a child having to get up in front of my school to recite The Little Elf by John Kendrick Bangs.

It was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life.

I’ve never forgotten that poem. It also illustrated to me the power of poetry as a form of expression and as a way to connect with people.

At Tawa Library poets from all walks of life read, acted, and even sang their poems to the crowd – and it was great.

Some poems inspired me, some made me laugh, some touched my heart, but all of them offered a window into the soul of their author.

Thank you to all who helped organise the event. It was a great way to celebrate poetry!
 

Dot Wilson of Opotiki has created the fabulous “fibre and fleece’ event which showcases textile and fashion designers from across the country.

It’s a great entertainment. A fast-paced well presented evening of colour, texture and creative innovation.

Fibre and Fleece 2010 is the 13th showing of a well attended, well supported and obviously well loved event.

There were so many spectacular garments, my favourites were “Out of Africa” a merino knitted coat embellished with felted pieces, with a dress, petticoat, gloves and accessories by Laurel Judd of Napier, “Blue Harakeke” a dress with päua embellishment by Bev Vellenoweth of Maraenui, and “Oak Man” a wooden trench coat of oak timber veneer and possum skin by Mark Bruce of Opotiki

Congratulations to everyone in Opotiki involve in the event, it is a show to be proud of.

I was rapt to be asked to be the ‘official ribbon cutter’ at Argyll East School on Monday 26th July.

This occasion celebrated the official opening of a new building at the school.

I joined staff, students and a very supportive school community for the morning.

The balloons (blue and yellow are the school colours), were an awesome finale to an awesome occasion.

Central Hawke's Bay put on an awesome day, again.

The Kurow Rugby Club hosts an annual rugby day for ripper rugby and junior players from throughout North Otago and the Waitaki Valley.

Some of the ripper rugby kids are really, really small, and I saw one who looked for all the world like a striped bumblebee in his striped jersey and matching striped socks. I didn't know that you could get such tiny rugby boots!

The day is also hosted by the North Otago Rugby Union, which incidentally gave Southland a fright in Invercargill a couple of weeks ago when they nearly lifted the Ranfurly Shield. Well, they gave it a good try!

Sponsor for the day was Meridian Energy, which presented each rugby player with a gift pack that was very well received by the many kids who played on the day.

After lunch it was the senior rugby players turn when Kurow took on Valley, but I couldn't stay to watch as I had to head off to a speaking engagement in Cromwell.

North Otago rugby continues to be very strong, and days like these are real family affairs.

Last week I attended the launch of the new Waterways Centre – for Freshwater Management. 

The Hon Dr Nick Smith, Minister for the Environment and Minister for Climate Change Issues acknowledged the importance of this joint initiative between Canterbury and Lincoln Universities which creates a centre for excellence in water resource education and research.

As someone who has been involved in water management and knows how difficult it is, I see this centre as hugely valuable. Everyone in Canterbury is keen to see the better management of water quality and water allocation. To get it right we require better regulation, stronger institutions and improved knowledge and skills and this initiative will underpin future work. Its strength is its collaborative cross discipline approach. The new centre will bring together the engineering, agricultural, geology, environmental and geography disciplines of the Universities to help provide the necessary research and skills base to help New Zealand better manage water.

To help kick start the project the Government is contributing $1 million to the Centre and is particularly pleased that both Lincoln and Canterbury Universities are involved- there are real synergies between the Universities that can be exploited in the centre.

The Waterways Centre is a great step forward for the management of water in Canterbury and it needs to be seen alongside the Land and Water Forum process, the Government’s decisions to appoint commissioners at Environment Canterbury, the mandatory requirement for irrigators to install water meters, the development of stronger national standards with a new Environmental Protection Authority and tougher penalties and enforcement of water quality standards.

Professor Jenny Webster- Brown is the new Director of the Centre and I liked her comment that it was time to roll up the sleeves and get on with the job.
 

We have the go ahead for a cycleway in Hawke’s Bay as part of The New Zealand Cycle Trail project, and Government investment of $1.88 million, is great news for Hawke’s Bay.

Funding was today approved for the Heretaunga Ararua “Landscapes” trail, under our iconic Te Mata Peak.  The trail loops around the Tukituki Valley, Te Mata Peak, Havelock North and includes a section along the coast between Haumoana and Te Awanga.

The Heretaunga trail is one of eight new cycle tracks to have its funding confirmed ahead of schedule. Funding is going towards more than 1000 kilometres of track across the country.

Our community put in an enormous effort to complete the feasibility study. My personal thanks to Venture Hawke’s Bay and the Regional Council for all their hard work.

We hope to see construction on the first Hawke’s Bay trail well underway this summer.

This means jobs for locals during the construction phase and more importantly long-term jobs through accommodation and other support services.  It’s all a part of confirming Hawke’s Bay as the cycling capital of New Zealand.

 

Developing new markets for our wine is a top priority, and China is a significant market for us.  It’s one of our fastest growing trading partners and holds enormous market potential for us.

In 2009 New Zealand wine exports to China were worth $14.2 million.  We know China is a challenging market to break into, there’s distribution, logistic and regulatory issues.  But I believe that with support, our chances of success are greatly enhanced, and there is massive room for growth.

The Government is allocating up to $200,000 to support detailed analysis of the market and its consumer preferences.  There will also be development of a New Zealand wine strategy for this market.  This support will help our wine industry to better understand the the market and provide the potential for us to greatly boost our exports to China.

I was rapt to be asked to join the students of Mangateretere School on Friday 16 June to help out with their restoration and beautification native tree planting programme.  Natives are a favourite of mine and I love seeing community projects being embraced.

Mangateretere School is one of 3 new schools that have recently joined the Shade House Project, and will be growing for the Te Karamu Enhancement Project. Friday’s planting was at the school grounds. The plan, however, is that all natives the children grow in their new shade house over the coming years will be planted into a significant site at the Te Karamu Stream.

They are a great bunch of kids, it was an awesome chance to get down and do something positive with them. I loved the experience. 

Fantastic; we the Government will support the Hawke’s Bay Regional Museum project: http://www.forus.org.nz/.  Chris and I have worked with Minister of Arts and Culture, Chris Finlayson, to ensure that this dream is now very much a reality.

The Hawke’s Bay regional museum has one of the most significant collections in New Zealand. The Minister has recognised this and seen fit to ensure the development of the museum is prioritised.

The build will provide another boost to the Bay’s economy just as we’re starting to lift out of the recession.  It will provide more jobs and tourism opportunities.

Mayor Barbara and her councilors are to be congratulated for achieving such a milestone.

I want to acknowledge contributions by the Hastings District Council and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.

Once again we see the power of the whole province pulling together to Back The Bay.
 

After 4 years of work it’s fantastic to be celebrating the approval of extensions to Hawke’s Bay's airport runway. 

A huge amount of work has been put in over the 4 years.  Together with the Region’s Mayors, the Airport Board, and local iwi, Chris and I have worked hard and now we can share an awesome result. This is great news!  

This really has been a regional effort and shows what can be achieved when all of us across the region set our minds to the same goal.

I've had a lot to do with the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) and their members, particularly in my time as CEO of Mercy Hospital and President of the NZ Private Hospitals Association.  I also employed a number of experienced enrolled nurses in the ward and theatre area and know how valuable they are as part of the nursing team.  

Nevertheless the relationship between NZNO and the National Party has been cool at best, so I expected the NZNO Enrolled Nurses conference in Dunedin yesterday where Health Minister Tony Ryall was the opening speaker to be a perfunctory affair.  We have been very supportive of expanding enrolled nurses roles after years of being marginalised so Tony's attendance was never going to be hostile, but we were amazed at the warmth of the reception.   Spontaneous applause when we arrived and a virtual standing ovation when we left.  Tony was empathetic throughout and answered some tough questions honestly and directly.

Why the warm reception?  Because they were treated with respect.  Because we said to enrolled nurses "you are valued, you play an important role in patient care."  It's a simple message and one I don't think they had heard for a while.  There is a lesson in that. 

When we talk about bringing clinicians back into the decision-making loop, we don't just mean doctors.  Nursing staff and health professional involvement is vital if we are to push resources to the front line and get more value from our investment in public health.  The Minister understands this and I saw first hand yesterday tangible evidence that so too do the enrolled nurses.

Chris and I will continue to Back The Bay’s push for a velodrome centre of excellence.

We believe that the plans to build centres of sporting  excellence throughout NZ creates a huge opportunity for The Bay. Hawke’s Bay is already the capital of New Zealand cycling. Having a velodrome here is a natural fit.

We will do all that we can to make our bid successful. Hawke’s Bay is a natural choice for the velodrome, so we must produce an absolutely compelling case to show how New Zealand cycling gold medals can be born from Hawke’s Bay.
 

I have just met the people from the Canterbury White-flippered Penguin Trust.  Canterbury has its own special breed of penguin, Eudyptula albosignata, it is the one and only indigenous creature unique to Canterbury.  It is part of the genus Eudyptula and very similar to the Blue Penguin but with a lighter colouring and whitish flippers.  There are about 500,000 Blue penguins in New Zealand but only 4,000 white flippered Penguins.

They breed only on Motunau Island (1800 pairs) and Banks Peninsula (2,200 pairs)

The White Flippered Penguins are considered endangered by the IUCN (The International Union for the Conservation and Natural Resource)   Birdlife International and ‘acutely threatened and nationally vulnerable’ by DOC in New Zealand

The White-Flippered Penguin Trust is monitoring the colonies and has established a chick transfer from predator free Motunau Island to the Harris bay Colony near Lyttelton harbour.   They are also keen to establish a new self-sustaining colony at Boulder bay.

Penguins are fascinating birds and the Trust hopes that in the long term they can involve the public in their conservation.

Well, what a wonderful weekend we have just had raising $30,000 for the new Porirua Youth Grants Fund. We started with a fun debate at Pataka in front of a packed house of over 200 people. It was a stormy, wet night, with the ABs playing, and still the people came!

Chris Finlayson, the Attorney General led off our team arguing that Youth is Wasted on the Young, followed by local girl, Liz Tanielu who purred panther-like through her presentation, and wrapped up by yours truly. The young opposition team was led by Nikki Kaye, MP for Auckland Central, who was shaken but not stirred by her lurching flight into Wellington, our own Mayoral candidate, Nick Leggett who gave the audience Value Porirua, and a final long but very funny joke by Tauranga MP, Simon Bridges. Councillor Euon Murrell tried to maintain order and time; but by crowd acclamation and judicial determination, the older, wiser, funnier and better looking team won - yeeha! Ernie Winkel ran a snappy, smart and successful auction, and very generous bidders contributed almost $8,000 to the funds raised.

Sunday, we launched the new Porirua international sports representatives’ photo gallery at Te Rauparaha Arena, celebrating all 35 achievers with a special acknowledgement of Leilani Read – our only Silver Fern so far. With the proposal of her parents, Titahi Bay residents, Dave and Loloma Read, my advocacy and support, and the Council’s positive response, we now have an additional place of celebration in the Arena to which I am sure many more photos will be added.

The Parliamentary Trust netball games followed in the wonderful, dry and warm indoor Arena court. We were treated to an energetic Leilani Read honour match between two under-13 teams from the northern and Tokelauan communities, before the Parliamentary Team took the court to face the formidable local Porirua Invitational team. Despite the strong pairing of Labour MPs Nanaia Mahuta and Carmel Sepuloni in the goal circle, tremendous attacking efforts by my fellow centre court players, and outstanding defence efforts by Winnie Laban, and National MPs Katrina Shanks and Louise Upston, we were eventually despatched 25-19 by the awesome locals – Belinda Wotton, Gerardine Clifford, Jane Moananu, June Slade, Litea Ah Hoi, Michelle Robinson, Maureen Tukaroa-Betham, Pania Mitchell, Shannon Fugle, and organiser extraordinaire from my office, Awhina Buchanan.

Then it was up to Porirua Park, in the continuing miserable conditions that kept all but the hardiest supporters away, to watch the even hardier blokes who gamely took to the field. Co-Captains Chris Tremain (National) and Damien O’Connor (Labour) led from the front, with Chester Borrows, Aaron Gilmore, Te Ururoa Flavell MPs slogging their way round the paddock, Paul Quinn as sideline umpire, and Michael Woodhouse, MP refusing to show any bias as the unflappably fair referee. The Norths Presidential team organised by Frank Rees, while under threat occasionally, were in control to the end, with a score of 46-28 when the final whistle went.

There were many contributors to the success of the weekend, and to our fundraising effort, including significant sponsorships from Telecom and NZ Post, the Porirua City Council, and support from local business and community people. A huge thank you to you all! Vodafone texts “Mana” to 4449 will make a $3 donation – still – so feel free to text.

As soon as details for the Porirua Youth Grants Fund have been settled between Partners Porirua, The Porirua Foundation and my office we will publicise the detail at www.hekiaparata.co.nz. .

In the meantime if you would like to catch some of the coverage of the netball and rugby, tune in to the sports programme Hyundai CODE on Maori TV, 8.30pm this Thursday.

Thank you!

 

Over 50 people turned out to my office last Friday for the Volunteers Awareness Morning Tea I hosted. It was a great opportunity for me to thank those wonderful people living in Ohariu who volunteer in the Community.

Volunteering has always been an integral part of New Zealand culture. Even as families become busier with double incomes many still find time to coach kid’s sports and support school activities. Older New Zealanders also play an extremely important role in supporting community organisations, providing essential services.

“Raising people not money”, was Volunteer New Zealand’s theme for their annual awareness week.

Estimates show that over 1.2 million New Zealanders volunteer each year. The time that people are willing to give for a cause is inspiring and ensures our communities run smoothly.

Although many of the people I honoured at the morning tea had never met before they shared a common aspiration, to muck in. It was communities supporting communities.

A big thank you to all the volunteers in Ohariu. Your time is invaluable and is appreciated by all.

I visited Barton Rural Primary School last Friday, as the keynote speaker in their first leadership conference.

They were a great bunch of year 7 & 8 kids, who listened carefully to what I had to say, and asked me some great questions about my life as their representative in Parliament.

After my opening address, they had break-out sessions covering personal safety and bullying, and finance.

They then went on to other leadership activities for the rest of the day. The kids each had a conference pack, and the school ran the day really well.

I am sure the kids went home exhausted with their heads spinning with new ideas and experiences.

It is always such an honour to be invited to speak to young students, and I always find the experience really rewarding.

Before I became a MP, I held talks and seminars with Asian communities and in particular Asian Youth about identity issues. I have continued these talks in my role as a Member of Parliament.

On the weekend, I had the privilege to visit Hamilton’s Waikato Korea NZ Friendship Group’s event as their guest speaker and my topic was about having a mixed identity (a Kiwi who is also Korean).

For those who don’t know, I left Korea more than 30 years ago and have become quite Westernised and very Kiwi now but the lingering urge and need for things Korean (especially food) is one I’ve become quite accustomed to and have struggled with in the past.  And like all new migrants who grapple with their identity, I've had to work through it and now believe I’ve become more aware of my Kiwiness through my Koreaness - if that makes sense.

It was pleasing to see the Waikato Korea NZ Friendship group sharing fun activities to promote getting to know not only the language and food but each other as people and friends. Long may it last and I hope more of these groups start up in our communities to promote better understanding of each other’s culture and promote and foster our identity as New Zealanders of all races.

I had a call from Ella Borrie who is my youth Parliamentarian. She wanted to ask me some questions about the Waitaki Electorate and my job as an MP before representing me in Wellington at Youth Parliament. Smart girl. I picked her up from Cromwell College, and we had lunch at a local cafe, where she gave me a good grilling about parliamentary process and what is important to me as the MP. I have to say that i am most impressed at her work ethic and degree of preparation Ella is doing before coming to Wellington. She will represent the Waitaki Electorate very well.

This is what the road from Palmerston to Ranfurly looked like last Friday. Its a stretch of road called the Pig Root, and can get a bit dicey in winter, although on this day the road was clear of ice. You have to be really careful from now until about September, with frost and ice making the road slippery. I tend to wait till light before setting off to Central Otago from my home in Oamaru so I can see the road conditions, and try to get back over again before nightfall. Having a large old 4wd helps. It gets dirty though.

Steam punk is about imagining the modern world powered by steam, and the 'Victorian League of Imagineers" are the Steampunk tribe of Oamaru. They have just won the Trustpower Community Supreme award at Oamaru last evening, in a strong competition against other volunteer community groups.

They build fantastic steam powered creations which are quirky works of art, a bit like the Mad Max movies if you can remember back that far, and dress in a Victorian/punk fashion which is fantastic. They've held fashion shows and a steam punk ball, which has caught the imagination of many of us in North Otago. TV personality Jim Mora is coming to town to film them for a documentary as part of their prize for winning the competition. They provide yet another reason to celebrate creativity. Good on them.
 

For the last six months I have been a member of a steering group led by the Otago Chamber of Commerce and whose members include local MPs, city councillors, Hillside staff and representatives of the nearly 70 organisations that support carriage construction at the Hillside Engineering workshops in Dunedin.

The Government has advanced $500 million to KiwiRail for the construction of electric trains for Auckland and there was a very strong push for KiwiRail’s Dunedin-based engineering workshop to undertake at least some of that construction work.

While KiwiRail has ruled out Hillside being a lead tenderer in the tendering process, I’m neither surprised nor disappointed by this.  The best advice the group received was that holding the head tender would not be in Hillside’s best interests, but that it still had a chance of doing at least some of the construction work under a subcontract with the head tenderer.  The tender documents do encourage prospective tenderers to use kiwi companies where possible and Hillside is well positioned to market their skills to those organisations.  The New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Industry Capability Network is also active in identifying potential tenderers and letting them know what’s able to be done in New Zealand. 

The work of promoting Hillside and its associated Dunedin-based businesses continues and I’m optimistic that at least some of that work will come Dunedin’s way.
 

I have said before, and I am sure I will say again, that one of the greatest things about being a MP is the rich variety of people you meet. Last week was no exception when I had the privilege of meeting for the second time (the first time was at her last birthday) Mrs Florence Harvey as she prepared to celebrate her 104th birthday in a retirement village in Tauranga.

Born in 1906 Mrs Harvey has lived through multiple wars, a great depression and many global milestones. In talking to her for just over an hour, what struck me most was Mrs Harvey's recipe for longevity. In essence, it consists of an exceptionally strong sense of humour and an unrelenting positivity. Indeed on the first ingredient, when I asked Mrs Harvey how she was doing her answer was the same as it was to me at her last birthday, "a box of fluffy ducks." On the second ingredient, positivity, throughout the hour Mrs Harvey poured nothing but praise on staff at her village. I came away with a strong sense that it would be difficult to get Mrs Harvey to ever say a negative thing about anything.

Upon leaving Mrs Harvey I told her I was looking forward to seeing her again at her 105th. Mrs Harvey was not so sure saying that with her strong faith in God she was looking forward to "going home" to see her late husband again. With her health and mental agility firmly intact I feel confident I will see Mrs Harvey next year, and maybe for a few after that.

I was delighted to be at Dunedin Hospital last week when the Minister of Health announced funding had been approved for the $24 million upgrade of the paediatric inpatient ward, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the acute psychiatric ward.

In February this year I made strong representations to the Minister of Health Tony Ryall seeking approval for this project.  While the doctors and nurses at Dunedin Hospital provide a fantastic level of care to our most vulnerable children, the ward is in a very old and dilapidated state and the cramped conditions in the NICU make it almost impossible to function well when the unit is full.

My own daughter spent a few days in the NICU after her birth in 2006 and it gave me an excellent insight into both the tremendous work being done by the staff in the NICU, but also the incredibly cramped conditions they have to endure.  I really commend them for the good grace with which they’ve put up with those conditions and I am delighted the Minister has approved the capital funding which will enable the upgrade to go ahead.

This week I launched the group Parliamentarians for Arthritis.

There are a number of Parliamentary groups; most of them are friendship groups between New Zealand and other countries. The Parliamentarians for Arthritis group is just the second health-related group. The other is a diabetes group.

The purpose of the group is to raise awareness and understanding of arthritis amongst all Members of Parliament. There will be two or three forums per year between Arthritis New Zealand and other groups interested in this disease – for example The New Zealand Orthopaedics Association, Osteoporosis New Zealand, the New Zealand Rheumatology Association and the Bone and Joint Decade.

Half a million New Zealanders have arthritis and this is expected to grow to over 750,000 by 2020. It is expected that this will significantly add to the burden of musculoskeletal disease which is increasing with the ageing of the population.

We are in an increasingly dynamic policy environment for arthritis. Advances in drug therapies and other exciting developments will challenge policy makers and politicians. This group will help contribute to meeting that challenge.

On Friday I witnessed Taupo receiving accreditation by the World Health Organisation as an International Safe District.  The Taupo District Council, led by Mayor Rick Cooper, Lakes District Health Board, ACC and the Taupo Police have worked on making Taupo safer and have been rewarded for their efforts.  From setting up learn to swim classes, teaching children road safety, installing CCTV cameras around town and Police on Segways.  This has been a community effort - both paid and voluntary work has gone into achieving this accreditation.  In my Maiden Speech I talked about law and order and the need to create safer communities.  Taupo has taken a huge step forward in being a safer community for locals and visitors.  Congratulations!

Part of the pleasure of serving as a MP is the sheer variety of life. In addition to working in my office in Parliament, I had an interesting 24 hours before Parliament sat on Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday morning I joined with pupils of St Mary’s School, Thorndon  to celebrate New Zealand Music Month. Pupils from Thorndon Primary were also there and over 600 voices sang “Made In New Zealand” a catchy little number written by three Gisborne Girls’ High pupils. I hope we hear a lot more of it.

Each year, on the last Monday in May, the United States honours all American service personnel who have died in time of war. From St Mary’s I went to Old St Paul’s for a Memorial Day service of remembrance. Senior serving officers from our armed forces and the Hon Dr Wayne Mapp, Minister of Defence attended. It was a poignant ceremony as Americans who had lost family members or friends in war time, joined with Kiwis in acknowledging their sacrifice.

The following morning I was off to a Fathers Breakfast at Wellington Town Hall. The venue was packed and those attending heard personal testaments of what it meant to be a dad from such luminaries as Pio Terei, Prim Minster John Key, Reuben Wiki and Parents Inc founder Ian Grant. Families come in all shapes and sizes but, having lost my own dad at the age of 6, I believe the more families that include a loving father the better.

In my maiden speech, one of the subjects I touched on was Men’s Health. Just before Parliament sat in the afternoon I was privileged to attend a meeting of representatives from a number of organisations in the field.

I was particularly interested in hearing of some New Zealand based, ground breaking research in the early detection of prostate cancer. 2000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in New Zealand every year. Each year 600 men die of prostate cancer, an estimated 300 of those deaths are avoidable. Men need to take responsibility for their prostate health. A simple reliable test to detect prostate cancer would have huge implications for men’s health globally. 
 

When Senior Sergeant Mark Buttar (aka Peanut) from the Johnsonville Community Policing Centre told me he’d pick me up at midnight, because “town doesn’t really pick up till after then” I knew I was going to be in for a big night.

The plan was to take a look at Wellington’s so called “binge drinking culture” and to experience first-hand some of the social issues the Law Commission report, Alcohol in our Lives, addresses. Making an effective contribution to the debate on the alcohol review means getting out there and seeing what is happening in our city.

So in the wee hours of the morning Peanut and I hit the town, under cover, to check out the scene. Courtney Place, Vivian Street, Cuba and Manners Malls, A & E, and finally the police cells were where our adventure would take us.
Throughout the night I saw both the city and people transform. Only copious quantities of alcohol could have numbed the night’s patrons from the cold and wet, and as it quickly became obvious, alcohol was not in short supply.
As we cruised Courtney Place and Vivian Street, I was struck with how young the girls were and how little clothing they wore. While I considered it to be relatively busy, for Peanut the night was quiet.

The boys in blue were everywhere – just as I thought they should be – real community policing. But as the night got busier the police became less visible as they broke up disputes and moved the drunk and disorderly to the cells.

On every block young people were made to empty their bottles, as police enforced the public liquor ban. Police were authoritative but respectful. In my eyes it took courage to move into a circle of guys and tell them to empty their bottles.

As we wandered around I asked the police what the major issues they faced were. They spoke of intoxicated victims walking home alone in the suburbs and being abused by groups of drunken youths. Without a doubt, the biggest difference for police had been the liquor ban in certain public places. There was an overwhelming consensus in the force that the liquor ban should be expanded to the whole city.

The night was young for the girls and guys going from bar to bar. I had no idea that at 4am there would still be queues at the bars. I remember my father asking me when I was a teenager what I was going to do at 1am that I couldn’t do by midnight. My question to these young people is the same – what are you doing at 4am that you can’t do at 12am?
Even on this quiet night I saw girls falling over while crossing the road and guys holding up girls who could barely walk.

Peanut took me to A & E. Emergency staff also said it was a quiet night for them. There were people in the waiting room that had been waiting over an hour to be seen. However, the previous week had been A & E’s biggest week for alcohol related incidents.

Next it was off to visit the cells at 3am. Certainly not a place I would want to hang – yet police had the most incredible attitude. They treated their clients with respect, even though it was 3am and those in the cells were significantly intoxicated.

During a final 4am drive down Courtney Place it was incredible to still see queues at the pubs and clubs. Drunken friends laughed as girls stumbled along footpaths, yet the night was obviously still continuing for many.
For me, after four hours on the beat I was shattered.

My experience that night cemented the fact that we do have a problem with how we drink and in particular the acceptance of being drunk. I saw an emerging problem with young girls applying the mantra that girls can do everything that boys can, to include drinking as much as boys. They can’t. Alcohol was also a common theme with offending.

The alcohol ban in certain parts of the city has helped police manage the problem.

With so many young people unable to look after themselves and drink responsibly we must now look at what the Government can do to reduce demand and control the supply of alcohol.

But most importantly we must ask, how can society, as a whole, change our drinking culture, our attitudes, our acceptance, and our binging?

These are the issues we must discuss. This is the culture we must change.

On Friday His Excellency the Hon Sir Anand Satyanand presented a Silver Medal for Bravery to Tony Holt.  It was a very special occasion with the two people whose lives Tony saved from a fiery car crash there to help honour his courage.  Emma Kerr and her 4 year old daughter were involved in a car crash near Kinloch last year and Tony dragged them both from their burning car.   The local police knew that Tony's actions saved their lives.  I am proud to have been at the medal ceremony with Mayor Rick Cooper, councillors, representatives from the Taupo Police and Tony's friends and families.  With only three Silver medals presented this year, it felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity witnessing recognition for a man who displayed true courage and bravery.  Well done Tony!

It was a pleasure to attend a special viewing of Linwood College’s rendition of the song Made in New Zealand on Monday 31 May. Linwood College joined nearly 3000 other high schools around New Zealand in a simultaneous midday performance of the song, which was composed by Gisborne Girls’ High School to mark New Zealand Music Month.

Their performance showcased the talents of a selection of the school’s music students currently preparing for a tour of Europe in April 2011. The college is busy fundraising for the 19-day tour, which takes in Italy, France, Austria and England.

What a fantastic experience for these students. Music teacher and pianist for the Made in NZ performance Andrew Murphy, says the tour is to include over 60 students from all levels across the school. 

I’ll be looking forward to hearing how they get on and I wish them all the very best in their endeavours!

PHOTO From left   Alister Winter (double bass), Nicky Wagner MP, David Hyde, Ben Freeth (both vocals) Mitchell Thomas (drums), Alfa Thenu, Joe Davies, (both vocals) and Michael Knewstubb (guitar)

Just one day after I farewelled the Prime Minister after a very successful Southern Region Conference, the heavens opened and North Otago got its first decent rain in several years. Unfortunately we got several years worth of rain all at once. Being a local, I could see that the omens weren't good, so I took an early flight up to Wellington so I wouldn’t be caught out by any road closures. I didn't fancy coming upon surface flooding at 5am on my way to Timaru. Good call as it turned out, as State Highway 1 was closed to both the north and to the south of Oamaru. Good on the Met service for giving farmers plenty of warning to shift stock from low lying areas, and make sure they had plenty of feed handy.

I was busy in Wellington at Parliament, but the rain kept falling back home, and I got increasingly worried about what was happening in my patch. Thankfully I got leave to return home early, and arrived back in Oamaru on the Thursday morning.

The rain kept falling in North Otago as I drove home from Timaru Airport. There was surface flooding in many places, and it was particularly bad along seven mile road which was the alternative route to State Highway 1 which remained closed.

I called in at home for a quick hello to my family then headed to the Civil Defence HQ. Waitaki District CEO Mike Ross was the Civil Defence Controller, and had the incident well under control, with the assistance of Council and CD staff, and many volunteers. They had up to 25 people in the headquarters at the height of the rains, all who had dropped everything, and whom were working long hours. Hats off to them that they didn’t have to declare a state of emergency, which meant that they were handling the situation and didn't need any assistance from outside agencies.

Outside help was welcome though, in the form of several Army Unimogs with their drivers and crew. They spent several days on humanitarian runs around the district, delivering food supplies and medicines to families cut off by the rains. I was fortunate to be invited to go along for a ride, and could see for myself the relief for families with young children when the army people brought fresh food.

We came across a group of Chinese tourists who had ended up in a flooded ditch, and who were very cold and hungry. The welfare team loaded them into the back of the Unimog, and took them back to base for hot food and drink. They did more than that, and gave them a lift up to Christchurch Airport so they could catch their flight home. Thanks must go to the NZ army for all their help.

Yesterday I attended two exciting events at Lake Karapiro with the Govenor General and Kiingi Tuheitia.  The entrance to Mighty River Domain was unveiled by Kiingi Tuheitia and Joan Withers, Chair of Mighty River Power. 

Mighty River Power are a significant partner and supporter of the domain and the entrance way will be the gateway for approximately 80,000 athletes, supporters, spectators and media for the World Rowing Champs in October this year. 

The second function was the formal opening of the Events & Community Centre which is located on the very edge of Lake Karapiro.  Perry Foundation are the principal supporter and have decided to name the centre the Don Rowlands Centre after the great rowing legend.  Don Rowlands was at the event and it is a proud moment for him.  Two more milestones achieved for the preparation towards the 2010 World Rowing Championships.

The winners for the 2010 Hospitality Awards were announced at a fantastic ceremony at the Hawke’s Bay Opera House last Monday night. Over three hundred people came out to show their support.

I congratulate everybody that has been involved with the 2010 Awards, and especially those who took out the winning titles on the night.

Over the last two months industry workers, owners, chefs, waiters, bartenders, baristas suppliers and sales rep’s have nominated, and then voted for, who they think is the most outstanding in the 14 award categories. The initiative of “for the industry by the industry” means that these awards are more pertinent to the winners.

This great Hawke’s Bay event recognizes and celebrates our strong hospitality industry. Hawke's Bay people are delivering excellence, creating and adding value.

Yesterday I was thrilled to celebrate the launch of the Cambridge Commections' Health and Social Services community directory. 

The directory is the brainchild of Hannah Cleland, who, as part of research todards her clinical psychology degree found there was a lack of mental health services information for health service providers. 

Having a directory that opens communication and improves networking between support providers and the community will mean faster and more efficient care for those who need it.

 

I have just completed a 5 day NZ Business & Parliamentary Trust Study Attachment with Deloitte. Experts in the Auckland and Wellington offices presented on Public Sector topics including Global Trends, Sustainability, Technology Enablers, Process Improvements, Change Management, Human Capital and Performance Management. 

I also spent time with their team on NZTE initiatives including Better by Design and sat in on a real life 'Dragons Den'. Deloitte have provided a number of materials to read (like I need more reading!) and the best is a book entitled "If We Can Put a Man on the Moon: Getting Big Things Done in Government".

A big thank you to Murray Jack and Grant Frear for putting together such a comprehensive and valuable study programme.
 

Peka Peka swamp is being returned to its former beauty.  As part of the restoration project an outdoor education centre is also being built.

I took the opportunity to go and see firsthand how the project was progressing.  The work that has already been done is very impressive. The expertise of the Regional Council and the generosity of community groups and individuals is turning Peka Peka into a champion site for other projects. This is a fantastic example of what a difference can be made by turning a dumping site and swamp, into a thriving wetlands.

Ten years ago the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council began the Peka Peka restoration project. Helicopter and ground spraying targeted the willows in particular. Community and school groups have put in many volunteer hours at the swamp. The Council’s clearing programme has improved the flow of water through the wetland, and controlled animal and plant pests.  The contrast now between the ugly demolition material and the beautiful new wetlands is stunning.

The official opening is scheduled for October.

A busy week. I spent a lot of time in Manurewa talking to business owners and residents and visiting a number of sporting clubs. Manurewa Rugby Prems were on track for a good win but the Marlins Senior league team were making hard work of their game when I dropped by.

 I was gratified by the interest in our next public meeting - Hon Judith Collins will be speaking on Law and Order 7.00pm Wed 9 June, Manurewa Methodist Church, Alfriston Rd., Rewa.

The recess afforded me the opportunity to make a number of visits with a couple of my caucus committees. Along with colleagues on the SME/Economic Development caucus committee I was privileged to visit Nelson and companies King Salmon, Nutrizeal, and the Cawthron Institute.

As the Prime Minister stated recently " Our objective is a high -performing public science system which supports economic growth and a wider innovation system that encourages firms to increase their investment in take-up, and application of research " For an export-led economic recovery we need to aim for our exports to  have a high value added component.

The Nelson firms and institute have cooperated to make cutting-edge scientific research work to achieve that end.

King Salmon have capitalised on 5 hectares of marine farm to employ 400 people and create a turnover of $100 million. Nutrizeal add value of about 15 times to the products it makes and exports from base materials sourced from the dairy, pastoral farming, horticulture, bee-keeping and marine sectors.

The Cawthron Institute has been contributing to New Zealand's competitiveness since 1921. The government has recently announced funding of $1.8 million to further enhance world leading aquaculture research there.

Finally I wish to express my sympathy to the family of Jason Palmer the Spring Hills Corrections Officer injured in the course of his duties and who later died.  I visited Spring Hills a few days ago and was impressed by the professionalism and passion for rehabilitation and prisoner education of the staff there. I offer my deepest condolences to them for the loss of a friend and team member.
 

Turns out getting rocked to sleep in rough seas is kind of nice. Was an odd sensation though, feeling the ship surge up a wave, hit the crest then hurtle back down. You'd be lying there anticipating the moment you hit the bottom of the cycle before it all began again.

This morning though I woke to the sort of morning navy recruiters probably describe to young hopefuls. A beautiful sunrise off the East Coast, gentle seas and the sounds of a harmonious ship's company (the collective term for its crew) getting into their daily routines.

I do have do mention though that even in gently rocking open seas, showering was a bit of a skill. Washing shampoo from my hair without falling over involved deploying a three point bracing system of two feet and a shoulder in various parts of the stall, ungainly certainly but managed to complete the mission.

With no fishing vessels to be found the morning was filled with a series of drills, mostly focused on equipment failures. At one point that meant the engines & stabilizers went down and I was stunned at the amount the ship tossed about even in light seas. Thank heavens we had those stabilizers working yesterday!

Highlight of the drills for me though was when, unexpectedly, up went the shout "man overboard!".  I was on the bridge at the time and of course I rushed outside to watch what would happen next. What I wasn't expecting was to see one of the crew immediately grab and load a semi automatic rifle and point it towards where the dummy was floating. Hell, I thought, that's a little harsh as a way to deal with the situation, clearly there are few second chances in this Navy.

When I nervously asked what the gun was for I got the simple response "sharks". Not sure if that was good or bad news for the poor man overboard.

I have to make special mention here of the training that the senior members of the Pukaki crew were giving the younger guys (& girls). All the way through I saw trainees being given opportunities to take on leadership roles under the watchful eyes of their superiors and after each event there would be a quick but clear discussion reviewing how all the parts worked, what was good and what needed to improve.  Pukaki's officers and senior ratings modeled some of the best on job training I have ever seen.

All too soon we were in Gisborne and I was rather reluctantly giving back my uniform and putting back on the realities of my civilian life.

I started on this initiative because I had no real understanding of the work done by our defence force or it's impact on ordinary New Zealanders.  Of the 3 services that make up the defence force, our Navy was far and away the most foreign to me.

I'd read the briefings of course but reading in a vacuum of understanding doesn't take you far.  As a Member of Parliament, and therefore potentially in a position to be part of some pretty major decisions that affect the defence force, that worried me.

So off I charged down the path that has led to me completing this week in the Royal NZ Navy. How do I sum up what I've learned? The principle memory I'll have is of a well trained, incredibly skilled and dedicated workforce. They are innovative, professional and make huge personal sacrifices in time away from friends and families to protect our borders.

A couple of weeks ago I would have thought that if one of my kids came home and announced they wanted to join the Navy I would have been horrified. Now in the same situation I honestly think I would feel tremendous pride.

 

I have just returned from representing Finance Minister Bill English at the East Asian Summit Finance Ministers and the Asian Development Bank annual meeting. The meetings were held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

I was honoured to be able to argue / present New Zealand's case at various fora. Global financial issues were at the forefront of discussions. It is important that any proposals from G20 and other similar forum take into account the New Zealand experience and the fact that our banking & financial system survived the crisis and that perhaps a one size solution will not fit all. For example, the situation in some countries where banking systems are virtually nationalised is markedly different from ours.

Bringing crown debt under control as in the 2009 budget, and a focus for 2010 budget was a topic of conversation. The forecast improvement in many NZ macro statistics, such as debt, will over time place our country in a very strong position relative to some of our traditional trading partners.

I particularly enjoyed the bilateral discussions. That is where we sat down and discussed issues with Finance Ministers or their representatives. The benefits of NZ's free trade agreement with China, and the potential of the TPP with in the context of a  regional / global recovery was a key discussion point.

Craig Foss presenting New Zealand's statement to the Asian Development Bank

Today was all about going to sea. At last!  I mean you can't be in the navy and not go to sea, right?

So having already cleared the fitness test and done at least a small part of what is called the "sea qual." course (that was yesterday's firefighting and leak stopping programme), I was definitely feeling up to the task.

That however lasted until about 6.30am this morning while we were on route to Tauranga. The plan had been that from Tauranga an RHIB (inflatable) would transport me out to the Inshore Patrol Vessel, the HMNZS Pukaki. However I was then informed that as the seas were so rough in the Bay of Plenty the ship had been forced to come into port herself for the night. Hmmm, a bit worrying me thinks.  Worse still, rough seas were expected to continue during the next 24 hours.  Not good for your fearless correspondent who is cursed with the weakest of stomachs.

On arrival though, Tauranga was a picture, sun shining, children playing, a mill pond harbour. Good, I think, weather has clearly improved. I was welcomed aboard, given a quick tour and we were away.

Within minutes I was asking the medic for sea sickness pills, more in anticipation than anything else, but I can promise you that by the time the pilot vehicle left I was wondering if there was anything stronger to be had.

The ships captain Lt McQueen explained that the bridge was the best place to be if I felt a bit dodgy but feeling over confident and keen  to be involved in everything I followed the crew down to a briefing below decks - not a good move. Halfway through the briefing I excused myself and returned like a lamb to the bridge.

Even the promise of the fantastic food the ships' chefs turn out couldn't tempt me to lunch. By then I had taken over the Captain's chair and wasn't keen to move far at all. The wonderfully kind crew took pity on me a bit later and brought me an ice block which, oddly enough, was just the thing. Perked me up no end (maybe the second pill helped too).

After lunch I watched, deeply impressed from my new-found knowledge base, as the crew carried out full fire drills complete with fake fires and thick, blinding smoke (thanks to a smoke machine). Even more amazing was the speed with which all smoke was able to be cleared from the below decks areas once the 'fire' was out. In seconds you could see well and in a few minutes it was all gone.

Then out on deck for weaponry practice and yours truly crossed another item of her bucket list by getting to fire a machine gun. Yeeha! Just because it's work for the real sailors doesn't mean I can't enjoy the opportunity. Let's face it, probably won't get another chance.

Pukaki's real job on this trip though is random fishing vessel inspections and Fisheries Officers are on board for that reason. So once a commercial fisher was spotted, everything started to happen leading to a team being loaded onto one of the RHIBs and lowered via hydraulic arm into the sea. Remember, the sea isn't exactly playing nice and watching the process was daunting enough. I hate to think how it was for those on board.

The RHIB speeds off, the team board the fishing vessel, all the necessary checks are made and then another hairy mid-air ride to get the whole lot back on Pukaki's decks once more. These guys are slick.

Am feeling well enough this evening to have scoffed an excellent meal and am now contemplating how best to strap myself into my bunk in an effort to spend more time in bed than on the floor this evening.

Another exhausting but amazing day in the Navy but tonight while I'm reflecting on all I've seen & done, I'll be sleeping miles off the coast of New Zealand in a warship.


 

The irresistible blend of lifestyle and stunning landscape at the top of the South Island is Nelson. Sun-ripened at the perfect latitude under New Zealand's highest sunshine hours, it is a tourist’s paradise, offering a unique kiwi made experience.

Yesterday I led a delegation of National MP’s from the SME/Tourism/Energy Caucus Committee, which I am the Chair of, to experience the culture and industry first hand.

The day was a great opportunity for us to get to know the local businesses, experience their vibrancy, creativity and see the community’s vision for the region.

We visited places including King Salmon which recently underwent a $12 million expansion; Nutrizeal in Appleby - an innovator and manufacturer of quality natural health products; local water storage project Waimea Water Augmentation; and the Cawthron Institute who were recently granted $1.69 million to develop a shared research facility for seafood and aquaculture innovation.

A sip of sun-kissed cider at McCashins Brewery emphasised the world class quality of Kiwi produce.
However issues including water management, economic sustainability and growth in science and technology weighed heavily in discussions with the businesses we visited.

A combination of economic investment and a taskforce approach has been commended as a good start to further improving sustainability and growth within the industry.

The government has recently announced that science and technology will be one of the major recipients of new funding in Budget 2010, with $321 million for new initiatives over the next four years.

Discussion points in mind and suitably refreshed after such a great day, our Caucus Committee meets back in Parliament next week. I look forward to hearing fresh new ideas from the Caucus, and can’t wait for our next field trip!

A couple of weeks ago I took the opportunity to drop into the Hastings RSPCA and see firsthand what a great job the team is doing there.  I am totally impressed by the work this group of keen staff and volunteers do to help our more vulnerable friends.

The Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals exists to advance the welfare of all animals in New Zealand by preventing cruelty, alleviating suffering and promoting the RSPCA policies through education and advocacy.

This voluntary organisation provides help to animals and owners 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

The Society receives 2% of its funding from the New Zealand government, which means it relies almost entirely on the generosity of the public for donations to carry out its life-saving work.

Some of the stories that were shared would bring a tear to any normal person. This is a great sanctuary for animals and I congratulate the team for the wonderful job that they do. I encourage people to help out where ever they can, whether it’s donating that tin of cat food at the supermarket, or dropping in old sweaters or blankets that become a luxury bed for our fury friends.

Becoming a mother was the best experience in my life. It probably beats becoming a National MP.
Motherhood is a privilege and a Godsent gift that can't be matched.

Mother's Day for me has always been about my doing something for my mother but this year, my son nearly made me cry.

He woke me up at 7.30am with a tray of breakfast. On the tray he had eggs - sunny side up, a cup of espresso coffee just the way I like it and a tub of yoghurt.
And to top it all off, I got red roses as well. I was nearly in tears and I was proud.
 
To be so thoughtful at 11. I feel, I've done a pretty good job of being a mum.
 
I hope everyone got as spoilt as I did.

I used to think I had a pretty fast paced, varied and unusual job until I came here. I guess I do compared to lots of jobs but you know that TV ad that invited you to "get better work stories"?  That could have been written for the Navy.

"What did you do today dear?". "Oh well, just extinguished 4 or 5 gas and diesel fires, donned emergency escape breathing gear and made my way up and through a ship's hull in total darkness to locate and extinguish a few more fires.  Then after lunch blocked off a couple of holes in the hull in the midst of a storm in waist deep water while more water was gushing in. You know, just the usual."

In this case however all in purpose built  training facilities and very well supervised of course but I can promise you the fires, smoke and floods are real - very real.

All week here people have been asking me if I was doing the damage control training with that look on their faces that leaves you not sure if you should be excited or terrified. Truth is, during the day today I have been both, several times over.

There is simply no substitute for doing the real thing when it comes to learning and when you think about the, literally, life or death consequences for these guys of not knowing what to do in emergencies, you start to respect defence personnel in a whole new way. Hundreds of miles at sea if there is a fire, the hull is breached or a crucial bit of equipment breaks, you can't rely on anyone but you & your team to sort it and their skills and commitment are incredibly impressive.

As an aside, I wonder how many of you are like me and have fire extinguishers and fire blankets at home but wouldn't really know the first thing about how and when to use them.  Well I'm still no expert, but now I've been shown how to use C02, AFFF and dry powder extinguishers, and I've done it on real fires of different types.  I've used a fire blanket to smother a cooking fire too. It's a good feeling to know I can.

Later in the day I had the chance to visit the Naval dive team and the mine detection & containment team. Again, not something I'd ever really thought about but mines are a very real threat at sea in many parts of the world. These guys have the job of keeping us safe from that. In addition they have some fantastic capabilities for sea bed mapping and underwater search & rescue.

Next time someone starts talking about workplace risks though I can guarantee I'll be thinking back to the scale of the risks naval personnel train and prepare for every day.  In this organization you learn what you need to do and you follow protocols or there is a very good chance you don't survive. Sobering thought isn't it.
 

The Mt Everest item of business for today was always going to be sitting the multi stage fitness test which has been on my mind since the programme was first designed. This test has to be completed by all naval personnel every 6 months to stay qualified for promotion or deployment to sea. Avoiding embarrassment was, however, my chief focus.

Unlike fitness tests in the other services, the naval test makes no allowance for age or gender so everyone has to reach level 7.1 in the dreaded "beep" test and then complete 10 proper press-ups (no girlie ones allowed here).  Despite a shocking nights sleep and having tweaked my back somehow yesterday, I'm delighted to say I passed. The reputation of MPs everywhere is preserved for another day. To be fair, press up #10 wasn't the prettiest thing you've ever seen and I was heaving like a cart horse after the run but a pass is a pass - hooray! Definitely a case of sheer bloody mindedness winning out over a lack of actual fitness.

Having been safely certified as fit to go to sea I heaved a huge sigh of relief and headed off to see the spectacular feat of engineering which is the new fuel installation built inside the Devonport hills. The amount of fuel consumed across the fleet every year is mind blowing and the on site storage facility will provide much better self reliance & internal control than before AND I got to see it before Minister Mapp does the official ribbon cutting next month.

After a briefing on fleet support operations, I toured HMNZS Te Mana while she was in dry-dock having some major R&M done. As one of our 2 warships, she is an impressive sight and speaking with her commander and some of the ship's company, it's clear our ANZAC class frigates Te Mana and Te Kaha have been fundamental to our international operations.

Afternoon was navy band, the new museum project and naval reserve & cadet forces all of which were impressive, particularly in what they achieve with the resources available. I could easily have spent more time at any of them.

One thing's for sure, if I don't get more sleep tonight than last night, tomorrow's drowning simulation might be closer to real than anyone had planned but hey, I'm officially naval fit so bring it on.
 

What a day.

One of the first things you realize on base is that they speak a different dialect in the Navy, thick with acronyms and expressions totally foreign to me which immediately explains the need for an escort officer, whose job is clearly to interpret as well as keep me to time and answer all my dumb questions. Luckily I have an excellent escort in LT (Lieutenant) Malcolm Wallace who appears, so far, to have endless patience and a very easy manner. 

So after getting kitted out in GWD (general working dress) we were off to TTMM (Te Taua Moana Marae) for a very moving powhiri and then to off to meet the CO of the FPTO (commanding officer of the Fleet Personnel Training office....  you get the idea).

As the Navy stands or falls on the caliber of its people, much of the morning was focused on the obtain, train & retain section of Navy which led into a fascinating look into the wonders of simulation training.

I am honestly astounded at how advanced and realistic the various simulators were (bridge, warfare systems and engineering).  I'm not too proud in fact to admit to getting quite queasy when the 240 degrees bridge simulation controllers threw in some rough weather. They assure me the floor didn't move but convincing my mind (and stomach) of that was a different matter entirely.  Heaven help me when I get to a real ship!

Later on we took a RHIB (still don't know what that stands for but think big inflatable jet boat) across the harbour to Kauri Point which acts as the munitions store and armery for the Navy.  Kind of mind-blowing to see all that fire power on one place. Despite my initial qualms they clearly have excellent safety protocols in place so rest easy Aucklanders.

First order of business tomorrow is the fitness test and I've warned all that I don't take well to being laughed at so we'll see how that goes ... I'm realistic about my fitness (or lack of) I just don't want to embarrass myself. Fingers crossed. 
 

I travelled to the Teviot Valley yesterday, to Millers Flat, to be part of the opening ceremony for the community's new water scheme.

We heard speeches on the grass on the village green beside the Clutha River, where they have sunk a bore, which now supply 80 households with potable water.

I drink a lot of water, and I reckon I can recognize a good drop when I taste it, so after 2 glasses of the stuff, toasting the success of the project, I can report that it rivals the water from the speights tap people line up for in Dunedin for purity and taste.

The organizing committee can be proud of completing this project in only 5 years, and even with the help of the Governments drinking water assistance fund providing an 80% subsidy its still a big financial committment for a small community. Cheers to them.

Well, its Sunday evening and I'm firmly ensconced in the Royal New Zealand naval base in Devonport ready to begin my placement week as the guinea pig for the new NZDF Parliamentarian scheme.

I'm staying in the Philomel Wardroom while on base which gives me not only the opportunity to be on base 24/7 but also allows me to mix and mingle with a variety of naval personnel.  From our brief drive through the base tonight I'm already I'm very much aware that there is a whole world going on behind base gates that us ordinary civilians never really stop to think much about. Boy have I got a lot to learn this week, which is, after all, the whole idea.

Early start for me tomorrow - up dressed and ready to go by 7 then off to be kitted out in naval uniform. Am hoping that will help me blend in but the reality is that despite the dress, my total lack of defence force background is bound to mark me pretty clearly as an outsider. Luckily everyone so far seems very willing show me the ropes for which I'm very grateful.

Big day tomorrow - can't wait to get into it.

I was interested to hear Sir Geoffrey Palmer speak on Thursday 29 April. He briefed MPs on the Law Commission’s review Alcohol in our Lives: Curbing the Harm. With 81 per cent of New Zealanders between the ages of 12 and 65 years reported as consumers of alcohol, it is clear that this report, and any pending changes to the Sale of Liquor Act, impacts on a huge proportion of society.

During the discussion, Sir Geoffrey emphasized that the current “one shoe fits all” strategy isn’t working. There has been a dramatic increase in alcohol related abuse since the alcohol purchasing age was dropped in 1999 with more than 20 per cent of police resources being taken up by alcohol related issues.

Reading through the 513 page report, which considered more than 3000 public submissions, it is evident that an increasing number of New Zealanders are frustrated with the current approach to liquor trading.

Sir Geoffrey also explained how communities feel powerless to affect change and that the law is not effectively dealing with growing community frustrations. One of the major problems identified in the report was that local people don’t currently have a say in licensing decisions in their communities. This is an issue I feel very strongly about.

I embrace public discussion and before the release of the report I began consultation with groups in the Ohariu electorate. I have met with some club presidents in our area who expressed their concerns around changes in club liquor licensing and how it will impact on gaming licences. This information is valuable and I have passed it on to the Justice Minister for his consideration.

I am also holding a youth forum with students from our three local colleges who will come and debate these issues.

It’s great to see so many people getting involved in the legislative process and I look forward to reading more of your emails and letters with your views around the Law Commission’s report.
 

On Saturday, I attended the 4th "My Dream Is" Speech competition held by the Korean School of New Zealand.

Children who won heats in their local Korean language schools travelled from all over New Zealand to battle it out at the St Mary's School in Northcote, Auckland. They were given 4 minutes to deliver their scripted speech and they were marked 50% for the content, 30% for delivery and 20% for wowing the crowd.

The competition is open to children attending Korean language schools on weekends and they must be born between January 1992 - December 2000, and mustn't have attended more than 2 years of schooling in Korea. This is to promote Korean language proficiency and what better motivation than to win the grand prize which is a trip to the USA to compete at the World Competition to be held on 23rd July, where Korean children from around the world will battle it out to see who is the best.

This year, our representative to the World competition is Sujin JEON (11) from Wellington who took out the New Zealand title. Sujin's dream is to become a teacher. Not just to teach a subject but to provide the warmth that encourages motivation in her students. I was touched by the innocence in her speech which was also very well planned and it had a wow factor. I wish her well at the World competition and no doubt she'll do New Zealand proud.

Last Sunday was the 18th anniversary of my fathers death. He was one of our Magpie rugby heroes from the famous 1960’s Shield era. He was and is still considered one of New Zealand’s greatest flankers. With 136 first class tries to his name (winger BG Williams scored 137) and 9 test tries you start to get a picture of how good a player he really was.

I love it when people come up to me in the street and remind me of the times they went to McLean Park for the Shield games, or when they saw him score that famous try in the wind against the French in 1961. I love it when farmers tell me about Kel the ‘W&K” stock agent who used to visit their farm. Or just the people who stop me in the street to share a story about the way he helped with this or that.

My dad, Kelvin Tremain, died at just 54. He would be 72 today. He was a smoker...a heavy smoker. And cancer was the cause of my dads death.

Some of you may have seen the family photo published in the paper a few weeks ago. There are 17 of us now here in Napier. My dad missed my brothers' 21st. He missed my wedding, and my two brothers weddings. He missed the birth of his first grandson. He missed the birth of his first grand-daughter. And he missed the birth of eight further grandchildren. He missed his grandsons first rugby game and his grand-daughters first netball game. He’s missed my brothers grow up to be fine men and he’s never known their two amazing wives. My dad has missed one hell of a lot.

This week I was proud to be involved in passing legislation to increase the excise tax on tobacco to reduce smoking, to dissuade young people from starting to smoke, and to improve the health of New Zealanders. Smoking is a leading cause of preventable death in New Zealand.

 If you’re a smoker and you don’t want to miss out on what my dad has missed out on stop the habit. And stop it now. I can tell you it’s just not worth it.
 

The Anzac service at Clyde is always a moving experience, with most of the town turning out, including many Veterans and their families.

The Anzac services are a very personal affair in small towns, with many people having the names of family members who served in WW1 recorded on the cenotaph.

So those at the gathering may have grandparents, great uncles and Aunts being honored and remembered.

At the huge service in Alexandra, it was lovely to see very senior veterans being proudly supported by family members.

I was honored to speak at both services, and then to share a cuppa with them at the RSA.

They serve soup and cheerios at Clyde which are fantastic when youve been in the cold for an hour.

\Something really really huge was launched last week.

TVNZ in conjunction with Sony PS3 have teamed up and made available TVNZ on demand through your PS3 console, which means you can connect up and watch any TV and video content - all without any digital decoder on your TV -  for free.

For some ISP's even the data stream downloading is free!

This is only a short step towards unlimited free digital content online, a future that a number of people only dreamed about a few years ago.
 

On the way to the Browns Road courts, home of Manurewa Netball, I drop in at the Clendon Park Primary School gala day. The school is looking in great shape. Principal Sue Dawson is excited that Clendon Park will be welcoming a new Early Childhood Education Centre soon. I purchase some Anzac biscuits from the food stall and after tasting one put them in the boot of the car. They are so good, I doubt there would be any left by the time I got home if I could reach them  whilst driving.

Netball is almost over for the day by the time I get to the courts. Thankfully there are no food stalls! Vice - President Lillian enthusiastically describes the planned improvements for the facility and invites me to return in a couple of weeks for the first big tournament of the season.

A brief foray back to North Shore Rugby Club - “The Pride of the Union” - and a catch up with many of the team who assisted me in Manurewa during the 2008 campaign. The club is heaving as the Prems had beaten Marist for the first time in years!

Final visit for the day was to the first anniversary celebrations of Indian Weekender Media group. Started in the midst of a recession, they already number readership in many thousands for both their printed and online editions. An exceptional effort.

Driving home I listen to the last minutes of the Super 14 game. A day out and about in Rewa.    

One of the pleasures of being the National MP based in Manurewa is the sheer variety of any day spent in and around the electorate. Saturday was no exception.

First up was a visit to ISSO-SEVA temple in neighbouring Papatoetoe, the occasion a Community Health promotional event  with Manukau City, ACC, Counties – Manukau Health and East Tämaki Healthcare. The temple is beautiful, built by the greater Hindu community and plays a huge role locally, at many levels.

On this occasion , those attending could have their blood pressure and blood glucose levels checked and receive information on the importance of exercise and healthy eating and how to take responsibility for their on–going health.                                                                                                                                   
Such community focused, preventive efforts as these are crucial if we are to make headway in combating New Zealand’s burgeoning obesity related disease levels.

The next stop was at Telstra–Clear Events Centre at Manukau City for the NZ Multicultural Festival 2010 . A cornucopia of song, dance, music - both traditional and cutting edge - of outstanding virtuosity, overlaid with the chance to sample culinary delights from all over South East Asia.

From there, off to Mountford  Park, the home of Manurewa Rugby Club. Most of the teams were playing away at Waiuku but I was able to catch the President’s team on their way to  carving out a win before making the short hop to Leabank Park, the base of Manurewa Rugby League, and watching the Marlins prepare to take on the Buccaneers - always a tough encounter with no quarter given.

Grateful to the fund raising Juniors Ladies committee for some superb barbecued sausages and onions, served beside the ground.

It was a pleasure and privilege last Friday to formally open a couple of wonderful exhibitions now running at the Tauranga Art Gallery.

Before I come to the exhibitions it is worth mentioning what a first class piece of cultural infrastructure the Tauranga Art Gallery is for the people of the city. Some may have a picture of infrastructure as only roads, rail, and the like, but if you think of infrastructure as literally being the building blocks that go to make a place what it is, galleries are very important. Arts and culture give a city a soul. Opened only recently in 2007 we’re lucky to have this locally-funded gallery and now we couldn’t do without it.

The first exhibition is called ‘Kathleen’s Collection’ and is a selection of works of art accumulated over art lover Kathleen Kirby’s lifetime in Tauranga. The works include paintings by household names such as Goldie and Frances Hodgkins and what impressed me, other than the individual pieces, was how a person can over a period of years build such a canon of works.

The second exhibition, ‘The Farmer’ by John Mclean, is a series of paintings which follow on from his ‘The Farmer’s Wife’ collection.  At the end of the first paintings the wife leaves the farmer, while this latest series explores what happens to him when he contemplates taking in his housekeeper. The art and the story in combination have a powerful effect.

Both exhibitions run until mid June and are definitely worth seeing.

 

Rangitikei MP Simon Power has today expressed sorrow and sadness over the deaths of three RNZAF personnel killed on route to Wellington to perform their Anzac Day duties.

Last week I attended the Taupo Her Business Network Businesswoman of the Year awards.  It was a fantastic night with a large turnout of Taupo business people.  Well done to Network Coordinator Lyn Young for coordinating the awards and the awards night.

I would like to congratulate all entrants, finalists and of course the category winners.  I have trained as a Business Excellence Evaluator and I know that entering awards is a useful way to reflect on your business.  I understand it takes both time and effort to put in an entry and the commitment to improve and develop your business.  You then open your business up to scrutiny by judges and this is an opportunity to learn about what you do well and what you can improve on. 

Well done to Jane Williams of The Property Shop who is 2010 Businesswoman of the Year for Taupo.  Not only did she start a business in challenging economic times, she has excelled when judged against peers. 

It was inspiring to hear Dame Susan Devoy give the keynote address as she shared her experience as a top international athlete and life as a working mother of 4 boys and the juggle that goes with that.  I know many of us in the audience could relate well to her stories.

I look forward to Taupo women achieving in the New Zealand Her Business Awards later this year.

Education is my top priority and strong leadership of schools will ensure that our young people reach their potential. 

School Trustees play an important role in our schools and elections are only held every three years. 

Nominations close this Friday and I encourage you to either consider standing for your local school board or think about people you know that would make a contribution to your school. 

Help make a difference in your community.

It is great to see young people standing up and being counted. Molly Adams is only a 14-year old but she’s doing her bit to help make her community safer.

Molly Adams learned first hand what happens to families of victims of crime.  Her friend’s dad was an Afghani taxi driver who had come to Christchurch to start a new better life but was stabbed to death in our city. She saw how Mr Ikhtiari's death affected his family and his friends. But she also realised that our whole society was worse off because Mr Ikhtiari was very active in his community and as an ex-teacher contributed to learning and the school community around Hagley High School.

Molly is keen to stand up for young people and demand a safer society. She is now working with the Sensible Sentencing Trust to make Christchurch and New Zealand a much safer place to live and work.

When you are a teenager it is easy to sit back and let others control your world. It takes energy, commitment and courage to take a leadership role and to make things happen and Molly has stepped up to the task.  
 

Police Minister Judith Collins was in Oamaru last Friday to speak at a business breakfast about her portfolio.
Around 80 people turned up and were impressed to hear the Minister strongly back the work of Police, both nationally and also locally.

Judith Collins has a good knowledge of local policing issues, particularly of the recent murder of a 16 year old in the town, and the bashing of a sole Constable by some local lowlife.

The Minister was most impressed that once the beating was over and the offenders were retreating back to their car, the Constable climbed out of the gutter where they left him and gave chase.

The Minister shook him by the hand.

We also viewed a DVD which is shown to people charged with drink driving offences just before they face the Magistrate.

It shows pictures from the family albums of several Oamaru young people - from baby pictures, family snaps, school mates having fun, through to the pictures of their car wrecks and funerals.

The DVD is a very powerful message about the concequences of drink driving, and had me in tears.

I hope it works.

I went out to dinner on Saturday night as the guest of the North Otago St John Ambulance, as part of St John's 125th birthday celebrations.

In my address I thanked them all for the tremendous service they have done for us over the years and the work they continue to do to support our community.

Apparantly, 125 years ago St John volunteers would tear about the town pushing a hand cart containing sulphur and dressings.

They graduated to horse drawn ambulances and then on to the ambulances we know today.

A major announcement was made by Oamaru Hospital Manager Robert Gonzales when he announced the formation of St John Friends of Oamru Hospital, where volunteers will provide support to in-patients.

We have a number of patients who spend time in our hospital, some of whom have no family or friends to visit with them, so Robert Gonzales announcement is very good news.

The evening was rounded off with the presentation of long service medals and awards to St John Officers, and a serving of an excellent celebration fruit cake.

Its such an honour to be part of an evening that celebrates the work of volunteers.
 

Do you know what a skink or a skinkery is? Have you ever seen the The Grand or The Otago Skink?

Thanks to Diana Lady Isaac and The Isaac Wildlife Trust, New Zealanders will have a much better chance of seeing these endangered species.

The Trust has just built a skinkery – that is a home and habitat for rare Grand and the Otago Skink- and the first skinks have just been transferred into their new home at Peacock Springs just outside Christchurch.

The Grand and the Otago Skinks are from the Hawea-Lindis area in Otago and are now part of a captive breeding programme.

The skinkery replicates the skinks natural habitat by including huge rocks and native plants in the cages. The skinks will be kept warm by “under-rock” floor heating.

I was lucky enough to be able to hold one as we helped them out of their plastic boxes and set them free to explore their new home.

The Isaac Wildlife Trust has been working with the Department of Conservation and has been successfully breeding endangered birds at Peacock Springs for many years.  But now they have a new challenge- the Grand and the Otago Skink!

A day that I always get a real kick out of is the “Helping Hands Day” run by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

All across the country thousands of volunteers team up to do community work for a day.

In Christchurch the event is run by that “powerhouse” organizer Melanie Riwai-Couch and she has a fabulously hardworking team. Everyone is involved across the generations and everyone has a job.

This year, working at the Glenelg Children's Health Camp, there was even a great-grandmother and all her whanau.

Glenelg is a centre for kids so it makes sense that the biggest job we did was work on the playground to make the surface safer. But groups also tidied up the extensive gardens and cleaned, polished and painted inside the heritage house.

Many hands make light work and a fun experience, but the most rewarding thing about the day is the huge amount of work that gets done.

Thanks to everyone involved- you are all real stars!   

 

Yesterday I tried my hand at mail sorting and working behind the counter in a NZ Post Shop.

Stortford Lodge Post shop in Hastings is very, very busy. They host about 700 PO boxes. I was given a box of mail that had been computer sorted to the first two of the four digits of the post box number and had to then allocate them into the correct box using the last two digits! Also a further check needed to be made to ensure the recipient matched the actual PO Box owner. Sounds easy? The value of experience came through in spades. The layout of the boxes was not all as I expected, yet the team could almost sort the mail blindfolded!

Next I went behind the counter to serve customers. Transactions included Trade Me payments, power pre-pay top ups, car re-licencing, Western Union transfers, deposits, retail and of course postal items. I was pretty good on the key board but I kept getting whacked by the cash drawer that sprung out as I hit enter. Once again, the vast knowledge of the team over the correct forms, customs requirements and their welcoming and friendly attitude made for pleasant and quick transaction experiences for the customers.

The team at the shop were as one, jumping from one task to another spreading the load and concentrating on getting the job done well. It was an absolute pleasure for them to share their time and knowledge with me.

Steam Junk is the brainchild of the Waitaki District Council, and is a way of encouraging all members of the community to look at ways they could help reduce the amount of waste going to landfills. 

It was a great honour to give the graduation address last Friday at the biggest graduation ceremony ever held by the University of Waikato in Tauranga. About 130 students graduated in a number of academic disciplines. Many graduated in Education and in Management Studies.

Following a parade up Devonport Road, central Tauranga, the ceremony was held at Holy Trinity Auditorium, and I would estimate a total of about 800 people were present. At a broad level, the ceremony represents the real efforts that have been made over a number of years now by the Waikato University to have a greater presence in the Bay of Plenty, as well as an understanding by Tauranga how important having a quality research university at work in a city is. I have no doubt the connection established here will only strengthen in years to come.

My speech was aimed squarely at the students and life for them post-university. It can be read in full on my website www.simonbridges.co.nz at the speeches link.

Last week we hosted our monthly friendly forum with Whanganui MP Chester Borrows as our guest speaker. With a background in the police and as a lawyer, Chester shared his views on Law and Order and Welfare in an engaging and emotionally driven presentation.

We kicked off the morning with a special breakfast attended by local church leaders and Johnsonville policemen Senior Sergeant Mark Buttar and Sergeant Vaughn Meed. This was an opportunity for Chester and I to meet those on the frontline in the Ohariu electorate, listen to what they have to say, and better understand what is happening in our community.

It always pulls on my heart strings listening to stories about families caught up in the cycle of crime: Drugs, alcohol, depression - no money, no education, no job.

Common threads of broken homes, drug and alcohol abuse, and mental health issues were acknowledged by all at the meeting.

Since the election we have launched major initiatives to get tough on crime, improve law and order, and tackle the drivers of crime.

Listening to the concerns and suggestions of those who attended the breakfast was interesting and insightful, but it proved there are no hard and fast solutions to the challenge ahead. The Whanau Ora initiative was praised by some attendees who agreed that one of the most important ways of creating change is to consider an entire family, rather than just an individual, and empowering that family to step up.

The morning was a huge success and gave Chester and I a lot to think about. I embrace public opinion and would love to hear your opinion. Please don’t hesitate to email me at katrinashanks.mp@parliament.govt.nz  with your thoughts.

 

Yesterday I went apple picking with a contracting gang in Hastings. We were bringing in Braeburn. Apple growing is a $300m+ industry in Hawke's Bay. Many, many families are dependent on a good season for their incomes.

I was given instructions as to which apples to pick, which to leave and why, size, colour, damage. This was the first pick of this orchard, the remaining apples will be picked in about 10 days. It is not simply a matter of pulling in any and every apple. In fact I found the hardest part was deciding which apples to leave behind as intuitively I wanted to pick them all!

My co-picker, George was very patient with me as I got to grips with the task. Watching him in action was legendary. He seemed to float between trees, up the ladder, arms moving all the time but never wasting any energy or time rapidly filling his extra large picking container.

Co-incidentally this was the day after news of the interim report into NZ apple access to Australia. It seems ages ago when Chris Tremain and I dressed in our NZ and Aussie cricket gear re-enacting that infamous moment in cricketing relations between NZ and our friends across the ditch. It is great that we have finally made progress, but we need to keep the champagne in the fridge until the final report is released, mid year, and is accepted by all parties to the WTO action.

This morning I visited Patton Engineering in Whakatu, Hastings. They provided the structural solutions and steel for large projects such as the Hawke's Bay Opera House, supermarkets, warehouse distribution centres, Grandstands, On-Track bridges and much more.

From the team on the factory floor to the top management they are a great team. I had no idea as to the size and weight of the hardware they turn from raw lengths of steel to functional structures. I had a lesson in welding from one of the team, who was constructing the hand rails for our Regional Sports Park Grandstand. From what I saw, the Grandstand will be rock solid.

Patton has suffered the recession like everybody else, with a few larger commercial projects being put on hold. They, as all of us, are looking forward to a return to business growth.

On Sunday night I attended the opening of the Anne Frank travelling exhibition in Auckland at the Auckland Hebrew Congregation.

Chris Finlayson opened the exhibition and spoke sadly of the struggle and persecution that still exists for the Jewish people today.

Being reminded that 1.5 million children died in the Holocaust and of Anne’s story was upsetting.

As a result of the hard work of the congregation and others this exhibition has been brought to New Zealand. Many Auckland school children will be able to view the
exhibition which will help ensure that the next generation of New Zealanders will not forget what happened.

The evening made me remember her diaries and the extraordinary wisdom and courage that came through in her writing from someone so young. Below are two of my favourite quotes from Anne Frank:

“I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart”

 “The final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.”
 

We have a number of workers from Vanuatu over the picking season, working on orchards throughout Central Otago.

I caught up with several employers of the Ni Vanuatu men while in Roxburgh on Friday.

Many of the men are now in their 4th or 5th year visiting New Zealand, and have built good relationships with their orchard employers.

The benefits to the orchards are easy to see, all fruit is being picked, and with a stable and reliable workforce there is a growing confidence in the orcharding sector.

The benefits to the workers are also easy to see. After a few months in New Zealand, most go home to their villages with money - even after they have sent a lot of goods home in containers.

In fact, there is a price list on the kitchen wall in one of the dorms showing that each piece of corrugated iron costs $10 to ship to Vanuatu.

The men also ship home clothing, whitewear and furniture.

We had a look through several houses used for worker housing and I was happy with the standard of accomodation and support provided to the Ni Vanuatu by Seasonal Solutions, who are the RSE brokers for Central Otago.

 

While it must be different if you’re an MP that has been around a while, as a newbie I am constantly learning and doing things for the first time.

Very recently I learned that MPs are members of a smallish group that can perform citizenship ceremonies, and I did my first one for Leela Devi this week. Leela is originally from India but now lives in Greerton, Tauranga.

Normally these ceremonies are done by the Mayor or Deputy Mayor in Tauranga but as I know some extended family of Leela's I was asked if I would do the honours.

Actually it was a great privilege for me, and allowed me the opportunity to reflect on how special it is to have New Zealand citizenship with all of the freedoms and first class services that go with it.

Kiwis born here can of course take all this for granted. Leela certainly doesn't.

After I said a few words and administered the oath for Leela we sang the National anthem and ate some Kiwi and Indian cuisine.

A small ceremony for a significant moment.

Easter has come and gone and with it the chance to escape for a few days with your family and play with all your toys.

For me that has been to our place at Lake Ohau and experiencing the oh too common problems in isolated beautiful spots of poor cell coverage.

Though some days it is a welcome relief!

Well the great news is that there are a couple of products I have found that can fix it with a cell booster that you attach to your house.

So for a couple of hundred dollars from your local electronics store you can fix it for good!

How’s your family coping with your life as an MP?

It’s a question I’m often asked by people who look at the public life that one leads as a Member of Parliament and wonder how family’s cope when their Mum or Dad are often away from home. It’s a fair question and one that I’m particularly conscious about.

I recall one of the first valedictory speeches I heard in Parliament. It was delivered by Jim Sutton, who pointed to the fact that when one leaves parliament you become yesterdays fish and chip paper. Brings to mind that phrase – “There’s nothing so Ex as an Ex MP. Anyway Jim lamented that few people, with the exception of one’s family, would continue to be there for you. He then went on to say that he had focused too much on his Parliamentary career and had lost his family in the process. There were few dry eyes in the Parliament on that afternoon.

It was a good lesson and one that I hope a new generation of politicians has taken to heart! I certainly have. As the Senior Whip for the National party I give a high priority for granting leave for important family occasions.

The fact remains that being an MP is busy and there are demands to be in all manner of places 7 days a week. But this isn’t a hell of a lot different from the position many employees and self employed business people find themselves. I recall working in my businesses. When you run your own business there is always something to do. Fact is you could be there 24 hours a day 7 days week. There is always one more thing to tick off, one more goal to reach, one more thing to get done…

So, one has to make choices. Putting family first is the key to this in my opinion. Fact is that there are only a few dates on the Parliamentary calendar which are cast in stone. National and regional conferences can be booked in and then breaks with the family or partner can be booked around these.

As a result Ange and I blocked out a few weeks this year where we are away with the kids. It’s amazing how when you treat an appointment with your family as just as important as a meeting with a constituent how you are able to make the date! Many MP’s don’t!

This week we are off up the Whanganui River. We’re driving up through Jerusalem (residence of JK Baxter) to Pipiriki, home of the “Bridge to nowhere”. We’ll be taking a jet boat into the National Park for a few days tramping and then canoeing out. Should be a heap of fun!

Regardless of your job I recommend taking time out with your partner and kids. Not only will it refresh you for the next few months, but more importantly it will ensure your family lasts the distance with you!

 

I was a judge at the Otago Southland Brass Competition at the Oamaru Operahouse on Sunday afternoon.

I was to judge entertainment value, and how the programme hung together. Its a bit like judging babies, they are all gorgeous and all winners.

Oh well, armed with no brass band knowledge whatsoever, I sat back in my seat with my clipboard and a coffee to enjoy the offerings.

In no particular order, I thought that the Roxburgh Brass Band were wonderful because their music was so moving they made me cry, St Kilda Brass were breathtakingly good, and the Invercargill Auxillary Band were amazing, being mostly really young players.

I normally only get to see brass bands in parades and at Anzac Day, where they play very traditional music.

This competition gave the bands the opportunity to display all their skills with some great contempory music. Winners on the day for me were Roxburgh Brass Band who played from the heart. 

Totara Estate is an historic farm owned and operated by the Historic Places Trust.

It's situated just south of Oamaru, and was the farm that sent the first shipment of frozen New Zealand lamb on the ship Otago off to mother England. We in North Otago are quite proud that our export earning meat industry has its home at Totara Estate.

Every year that history is celebrated with the Harvest Home festival, a day of rural activities, great food and traditional crafts and farming practices.

People tend to dress up in historic costume and the kids especially get into the spirit of the day. I had the pleasure of giving out several awards in the "Steam Junk" competition, an initiative of the Waitaki District Council, encouraging reuse of old stuff.

The winner used old farm equipment and bits and pieces he pulled out from under the implement sheds.

Did I mention the food? We had lamb shanks and steak pies. Same as we have every year.

Can't be beaten.
 
 

It is a sad day in scarfieville, with the news that iconic University of Otago pub the Gardens Tavern has been sold to the University and will soon close as a pub.   The sale took place in the face of a student and Mark Ellis-led bid to raise community cash to purchase the Tavern and continue to run it.

I'm not surprised that the Gardies was put up for sale, or for that matter that the University bought it.    The Gardies is in the middle of a dense residential area and has been unsuccessful in attempts to have its liquor licence extended past midnight at the weekend and 11p.m. on weeknights.   This combined with the changing drinking habits of students who pre-load at home prior to going out means that the market window for the Gardies was very small.  Even if the Gardies was retained, the new owners would have had to think long and hard about the business model used and the products available to draw punters in.

The University will probably use the land for accommodation in a similar way to the post-grad accommodation at the former Abbey Lodge across the road.   Further signs of confidence in the Unit’s growth prospects.  With the Bowler and Gardies now gone I hope there are sufficient watering holes for the increased numbers to go!

I look forward to the final party.  Might have to go in disguise.....

With us moving into the second half of the Super 14, it is worth commenting how great it is to see the mighty Crusaders doing so well. 

Tomorrow is a big match versus the Hurricanes. 

So far, in www.virtualrugby.co.nz I am going pretty well with my picks. 

With 241 points I am in the top 3% of players out of 107,000!  With only 23 points (or picking three games right!) between me and the top 40 so it is close. 

Interested to know how you’re all going.

 

If necessity is the mother of invention, then I have just seen some interesting progeny.

Last week I went with Minister of Conservation to the launch of a new solar electrical panel which is contained in the roof cladding.  This product was launched at Dumpling Hut on the Milford track, where lighting has been by gas or candle and the radio has had to rely on replaceable dry cell batteries.

Solar panels have been around for some time, but are generally separate items that need their own support structure.  Calder Stewart has come up with a nifty roof where the solar panels are included into the roof proper.  No complicated attachments, water proof, and also Kea proof, very important in Fiordland locations.  The number of roof panels is optional each one producing twelve volts. 

A modem is available that will covert the DC current to AC so that it’s compatible with appliances or can be linked to the national grids in a co-gen arrangement.


 
 

The year was 1967.  I was heading to New Hebrides, now known as Vanuatu to do Volunteer Service.  To say it was something of a culture shock is an understatement. 

I was eighteen years old and more or less straight off the Swedes of Southland.  I was to be involved with developing a beef and coconut farm that supported a College on the island of Santo.

Lots of things were strange.  Learning to speak Bislama, (pigeon English), eating unusual food, malaria and other tropical challenges faced.  Some high points too, like immersing oneself in another culture, skin diving in an untouched environment and making some good friends.

One of the most bizarre experiences was learning about Cargo Cults.

Throughout Melanesia there are a variety of these phenomena. 

Cargo Cults had their origin when a basically untouched people were suddenly exposed to a culture shock of white man arriving in force, mostly through the Pacific campaign of the Second World War.  Imagine a tropical paradise suddenly confronted with ships, aeroplanes bulldozers. Juke boxes, ice cream and a host of white man’s ‘cargo’.  Why, should these new people have all the goodies, was an unanswered question? What do we have to do to get this cargo? These conversations were fertile ground for exploitation. 

One of the more unusual Cargo Cults from the island of Tanna started when the village was visited by a man, calling himself John Frum, (shortened version of John From America), in a colourful uniform. He told the people there were some new rules and rituals they had to adhere to if they wanted ‘cargo’.  They had to worship him, John Frum.  Give him their money and he would return with cargo like you wouldn’t believe.  He made some gates. Well really some posts in the ground which the villagers needed to walk through every day and some other rituals. 

It was twenty two years after the war when I was there, and many of the good folk on Tanna were still worshipping John Frum.  A few still are today.