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This is my final column for 2003 and I thought I would give a general round up of what I have been doing within the electorate over the past year.
This year was another traumatic one for Wairarapa with the violent death of Coral Burrows. This little girl's plight touched all of New Zealand but most of all the people of Featherston. Again I say thanks to everyone who played a part in the search and subsequent services for Coral and for the support for her family during this very sad time.
As we head towards Christmas it is timely to remember that our nation's children are precious and we must do all we can to protect them.
The first year of my second term as Wairarapa MP has been just as busy as previous years, with my first day back from the Christmas break spent dealing with suggested staffing cuts to Ambulance Services within Central Hawke's Bay.
Then it was straight into the Dannevirke and Districts School Review Process. There was an intense process of lobbying the Minister and Ministry Officials on behalf of constituents and I was pleased with the Minister's final decision.
The sense of relief from the larger majority of the community was very satisfying for me as the local MP. It is good to note that Principals and staff are feeling positive about the future for the merged schools.
I held a series of meetings within the electorate to give the public an opportunity to express their concerns and opinions on the foreshore and seabed issue.
Since the beginning of the year I have also been involved with several major issues in the southern part of the electorate, including the Masterton schools review.
Many constituents and community groups have also wanted meetings with Ministers or officials, both within the electorate and in Wellington, and I have managed to secure these on every occasion. There is no small amount of work that goes into setting these up but, in the main, there have been very positive outcomes.
Together with the Dannevirke schools review, the Masterton review has taken up a fair amount of my time. I forwarded every submission, email and letter I received to the Minister, as well as attending meetings with principals, staff and parents concerned about the future of their schools.
Where I couldn't attend, Jo took my place and I was able to forward a full report to the Minister. He was left in no doubt where the wider Masterton community stood.
Generally the result has been positive and I am happy that Trevor took the concerns of Wairarapa into consideration when he made his final decision.
Another big issue has been the replacement for the very elderly Waiohine Bridge. Over the past year I have liaised with concerned residents, the district councils and officials to get the bridge back on track. This is a very important replacement and I am pleased that it looks like the job is now going ahead.
Although farmers made a news media splash over the gas emissions levy, only two individuals directly contacted my offices to have their say.
I did manage to set up a meeting, which was fronted by Climate Change Minister Pete Hodgson, and was pleased with the turnout on the night.
Subsequently agreement has been reached over funding the research, which is good news.
The Rise Above It campaign has had its first anniversary and later in the year we were again faced with the murder of a child. Violence can be a generational problem and is not something that can be changed overnight. I really believe that we are heading in the right direction and the community's commitment to address these dark issues is to be admired.
Added to this I dealt with the usual constituent concerns, mainly about ACC, benefits, tax and child support, as well as some unusual ones. I would say the success rate is about 90 percent, which is not too bad.
Earlier this year I joined Internal Affairs Minister George Hawkins on the southern leg of his trip around rural fire stations and was lucky enough to accompany him to Eketahuna, Masterton, Carterton, Greytown, Martinborough and Featherston fire stations.
The fall in the number of unemployed in Wairarapa has been heartening. I visited several Masterton businesses as part of Smart Growth Day on May 6 and it was very interesting to see government funding being put to such good use.
I have attended and spoken at conferences, performed openings and visited schools and businesses.
Several Ministers have visited Wairarapa this year, including Jim Anderton, George Hawkins, Damien O'Connor, Rick Barker, Pete Hodgson, Trevor Mallard, Paul Swain, Lianne Dalziel and Annette King and MPs Darren Hughes and Moana Mackey.
Other interesting events include the wonderful news that Telecom mobile coverage will be extended to Castlepoint so holidaymakers will be within range over the summer break.
The Mt Bruce reserve adopt a hectare scheme has been a tremendous success, Trust Power is going ahead with its Tararua Wind farm extensions and the pilot scheme for internet connections in regional New Zealand is on track in Wairarapa.
Masterton has been granted an additional full-time equivalent social worker in schools position and we are still working on getting one for South Wairarapa along with other needed services for this area of the electorate.
The Masterton Trust Lands Trust Bill and Masterton District Council Montfort Trimble Bill made its passage through Parliament, the latter of which was enacted last week.
I wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and New Year and look forward to representing Wairarapa in 2004.
Happy holidays.
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