I see Pink!

Wow, what a fabulous turn-out for our Pink Ribbon Breakfast, to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Foundation. Over 100 locals bought tickets and donated a total of $5,000 to this good cause; supporting Kiwis and their families dealing with breast cancer and contributing to research so fewer women need invasive tests and treatments in the future. A big thank you to all who attended, and my wonderful team in the Tāmaki office who went above and beyond coordinating the morning.

Our guest speaker, Fay Sowerby from Breast Cancer Cure, discussed new innovations in science, advancements in genomics and how AI can be used to analyse data and help reduce breast cancer risk. Breast Cancer Foundation CEO Ah-Leen Rayner was also in attendance taking questions from the floor. I love these events; it’s real community spirit in action. Kiwis helping kiwis!

A huge congratulations to Tāmaki locals recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours list. The recipients should all be very proud, as we are of their great work, service, and contributions to the country. As MP for Tāmaki, I congratulate and thank the following eight members of our community for the work they do and have done:

  • Caroline Crowther CNZM (services to maternal and perinatal health)
  • Douglas Alderslade ONZM (services to the racing industry)
  • Trevor Janes ONZM (services to business and public sector governance)
  • Garry Macdonald ONZM (services to wastewater engineering)
  • Murray Thom ONZM (services to arts and philosophy)
  • Elizabeth Anne Lee MNZM (services to refugees, migrants, and education)
  • John Sparling MNZM (services to cricket)
  • Jan Tonkin MNZM (services to the business events sector)

It’s been a month of honours, as I also had the privilege as Minister of Internal Affairs to attend the Royal Luncheon for Kiwis recognised for their services to community from decades of volunteer service at Fire and Emergency. We thank these local heroes for putting community first and answering the call to help neighbours in their time of need time and time again.

Speaking of community service, I had the great pleasure of attending the Youth of Ōrākei Community Brunch where I heard about the ideas local youth had for engaging their peers in community through tree plantings, movie nights, clothing donation drives, raising voting awareness, leadership workshops, quiz nights and a sports day. I was impressed with the confidence of the students and their ideas. The future is in good hands.

Many of the students that made up the Youth of Ōrākei were students at Selwyn College. I popped in this week to catch up with Principal Sheryll Ofner and congratulated her on providing a school environment that encouraged community participation and public speaking. (Sheryll also recently received a Royal Honour for her services to education).

I also caught up with residents at The Helier and Grace Joel Retirement Village and could feel the excitement of another election year bubbling! I had my regular catch-up with Chair of the Ōrākei Local Board Sarah Powrie to discuss what I’d been hearing in the area. We’ve had confirmation the new bus stop shelter outside Grace Joel retirement village is up and active! Thanks to Grace Joel residents for advocating through my office for this to get off the ground. Locals continue to raise concern about development outside the Meadowbank Pony Club and when the Plan Change 120 for local development will be back open for consultation. My office will continue to keep people updated when we hear information on these issues.

This month, I popped into Dingle Dell Reserve with the Friends of Dingle Dell, Ōrākei Board Members Amanda Lockyer, Angus McPhee and Margaret Voyce, and local ACT candidate James Christmas to see the continuous issues with infrastructure. It’s useful to get out of the office and see it directly. We need infrastructure to keep up with housing development. Dingle Dell is a clear example of what occurs when that doesn’t happen.

Of course, it wouldn’t be right to end this month’s addition without also acknowledging that I announced this month that my partner and I are expecting a baby. This is a very exciting time, and I have fingers and toes crossed all will go smoothly over these next few months. I will continue to do both my work as a Minister and local MP up until the election, but I do thank all the locals who’ve come up and congratulated me after reading the news, it’s been heart-warming. If you haven’t seen the news, you can read the Herald article here.

If you have any issue you’d like to discuss with me or the office, or simply wish to pop along and say hi, my next Coffee-Catch Up is at Honey Café at Glendowie Park, 3 Roberta Ave, Glendowie from 10 to 11am. Feel free to buy a coffee, chat to others, and let me know what’s on your mind! See you there.

As always, it’s a pleasure to serve as your local MP, see you around the community!