Back in Full Swing

I hope you’ve been able to enjoy the (mostly) stunning weather on the Tāmaki waterfront lately. Parliament is now back in full swing and I wanted to let you know how I’ve been representing you in the Beehive, in Parliament, and here at home in our community.

Back here in Tāmaki, it was wonderful to speak to locals at the St Heliers Probus Club. We are fortunate to have older members of our society who are often wise from long years in impressive careers, and the feedback I got from speaking at Probus was useful and appreciated.

Turua Gallery is a local gem, and I was honoured to be invited to celebrate the 5th anniversary. We should all try something new every now and then, so here’s me trying bowls at the Kohimarama Bowling Club.

The Police have appointed a new Senior Sergeant for Tāmaki, Bronwyn Matthews. Bronwyn spoke at our Community Meeting on local crime and safety which was well attended by over 100 locals.

I want to acknowledge the disruption that occurred there. People with an agenda to disrupt also attended. We cannot let a noisy minority, exercised by a completely different cause from the meeting, prevent us from holding community meetings in Tāmaki. Therefore, I’ll be taking several steps to make sure people are free to attend peaceful meetings in our community.

I have formally notified Police of the matter and wish to reiterate that we are a wonderfully welcoming community. I will be ensuring further security measures to keep you and I safe at future events.

Outside of our Electorate, I’ve been in the Beehive and in Parliament in my roles as the Minister for Workplace Relations and Internal Affairs.

As Minister for Internal Affairs, responsible for Fire and Emergency NZ, this month I visited the firefighters at Port Hills near Christchurch battling the largest blaze in 10 years. I witnessed an extremely well-coordinated response from FENZ, other partner services and councils which saw lives protected and returned to normal as quickly as possible.

I returned the following week to thank the brave firefighters for their response at the fire ground, travelling with Prime Minister Chris Luxon. We marked the 13th anniversary of the Canterbury Earthquake and remembered those we lost and those left behind. There will be members of our community here in Tamaki who are still feeling this loss and our thoughts are with them.

In Parliament, I officially signed the Minimum Wage Order 2024. The minimum wage will change on 1 April to $23.15, a 2% increase. This approach strikes the right balance to protect the wages of the lowest paid Kiwis and provide a labour market for employment.

Lastly, this Sunday is Round the Bays where all of Auckland descent on our beautiful waterfront. If you would like to join our ACT/ Tamaki team to walk the race, and wear a bit of pink, you are more than welcome. please register for our group here.

See you around the community!

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