Judith Collins is thrilled that she was returned as the Member of Parliament for Papakura with a clear majority after the election held on September 20, 2014.
“I am proud to represent the people of the Papakura electorate. They are a strong community and I truly value their support,” Judith said.
“I’m looking forward to continuing the fantastic work we are doing in the Papakura electorate to improve the lives of everyday New Zealanders.”
Constituent Clinics
Judith will resume constituent clinics on Mondays from February 2, 2015.
Constituents can make appointments by phoning (09) 2997426.
Judith won the electorate with 14,001 votes, a majority of more than 5000, after the special votes were counted, over second place candidate, Labour’s Jerome Mika.
“All of the Papakura candidates have put a lot of hard work into this campaign and it has been a privilege to run against them,” Judith said.
She thanks her campaign team, family, friends and her many supporters in the electorate and around the country for their determination, their votes and their continued support.
Government Inquiry
Following the Election, Judith took part in the Government Inquiry report into allegations regarding herself and former Director of the Serious Fraud Office, Adam Feeley.
The enquiry cleared Judith of any wrongdoing and she said, “I am very pleased to have been cleared of all allegations of inappropriate actions.”
Throughout the inquiry, Judith was buoyed by the support of her family, friends and members of the public during what was a very difficult time.
Exciting Agenda
One of the projects on Judith’s agenda following the election is to ensure that every child in the electorate receives fantastic education.
This is why she is so excited about new schools and redevelopment of existing ones like the Gardens School in the Papakura electorate.
“The Gardens School will undergo one of the largest redevelopments of a school in New Zealand, with up to $22 million set to be spent, addressing weather tightness and structural issues. In effect, the School is being rebuilt, taking into account the population growth that we are experiencing as well as fitting into the government’s plan to create modern learning environments,” Judith said.
“We all want our children to receive the best education and ensuring our local schools have facilities that are up to standard is a major part of providing top quality education,” she added.
The government is investing approximately $300 million in major redevelopments at schools across the country with the most complex structural issues.
New schools are also planned with proposals being put forward for a new school in Walters Road recently.
RMA Reform
The reform of the Resource Management Act (RMA) is another area of interest as Papakura is a region with a high need to accommodate the growing population.
The need for affordable housing and the release of land in order to build it is one of the most pressing concerns of constituents at the moment.
Simplified Process
Simplified and cheaper consent processes are necessary and in addition, it is important to remember that as our population grows and we build more housing, we have to update infrastructure too.
This is not just roads and trains – it is also the infrastructure that is underground – sewerage, electricity, gas and water services.
The RMA reform will consolidate the rules around local councils.
“At the moment, we have different rules across the 164 regional and district plans – for example, there are 50 different definitions for measuring the height of a building in New Zealand!
“The changes would also aim to simplify and modernise the public notification processes so information for all submitters is available online rather than sending out numerous copies to all the interested parties.
“We all hope that housing development will be speeded up and the costs of compliance reduced in order to make more homes available and affordable for you and your families.
I hope this year is a very happy and successful one for you and your families at school, at work, at home and in the community,” Judith said.
