Letter To Manukau

Contact me: lettertomanukau@manukau.govt.nz
Friday, 29 May 2009 - Issue 71

In this update:

Pacific Music Awards | Manurewa Pacific Crime Patrol Launch | Manurewa Intermediate | Mayor on the Chair | Community Hero | Super City – Select Committee submissions

Pacific Music Awards

It has been an extraordinary year for New Zealand Pacific music and this was reflected with the talent on show at the recent Pacific Music Awards. It was a brilliant evening with some of the biggest names of Kiwi music on show, including Savage, Scribe and Nesian Mystic.

We had a special cameo appearance from Scribe and two of the newer names on the scene – Vince Harder and Jae Williams - gave outstanding stage performances.  This year has celebrated international successes for Savage who has enjoyed fantastic success in the United States. It's a wonderful tribute to a young man raised in our local community of Manurewa. 

What I found particularly most interesting is the shift into recognising gospel music in these awards.  This has brought a much stronger presence at the ceremony by churches and opened up the awards to a broader audience.

Telstra's proving to be a great venue. The Genesis theatre, with a capacity of 800 was packed out on Saturday night and it was awesome.  A great night's entertainment!

Manurewa Pacific Crime Patrol Launch

We have some outstanding contributors to our community life and the rise of crime patrol under the leadership of Dick Marshall has been great to see.

This week I attended the launch of the new Manurewa Pacific Island crime patrol and Dick and his Manukau crime patrol team welcomed on board 47 new crime patrol volunteers. Reverend Amosa has done fantastic work in bringing together volunteers from across the many different churches across Manurewa and around the region.  These volunteers are adding to our community safety networks across the city and are proving a great support to the work of our police.

Manurewa Intermediate 

I also spent time this week talking about the state of our community with the councillors at Manurewa Intermediate.  What an awesome bunch of young people, who showed tremendous leadership.  It was a great opportunity to touch base and hear from the young people and the staff of the school and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Mayor on the Chair

I had my first Mayor on the Chair day at Westfield shopping centre in Manukau last week and it turned out brilliantly. I have to acknowledge Westfield who went out of their way to accommodate me. They went above the call of duty and set up a centre court area for me.  It was great fun and we had a steady stream that came through to see me over the hour I was there. It was great to see people from our community. 

Community Hero

My community hero this week is a lady who turned 89 recently. Her name is Eileen Reid.  Eileen, who originally hailed from Scotland, has been teaching year ones all her life and came here 35 years ago.  She is a part time teacher at Owairoa primary school.  I received an invitation to attend a special birthday celebration for her as it seems likely that Eileen may well retire this year. It was a great occasion.  She loves the work she does and it was obvious that she was highly respected and loved by staff and students alike. Her passion in teaching was obvious and I'm sure those who know her will take a lot from the values she's passed on.

Super City – Select Committee submissions
And finally, I encourage you to have your say on some of the decisions made by the government on Auckland governance. 'Have your say' day on Wednesday 10 June is when a number of 'how to make a submission' workshops, organised by the council, will be held across the city. This provides you a chance to learn how you can put your thoughts into writing on the government's proposed model for the new Auckland Council. Your contribution is vital. Don't miss the opportunity to make a submission on this important legislation. For more information about when the workshops will be held, go to the council website: www.manukau.govt.nz

Enjoy the long weekend!

Len Brown

Mayor of Manukau

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