Hon Judith Collins
MP for Papakura

Collins Comments - 28 November 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ENDS

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