Wednesday 12 May

Opening Hutt Service Centre

Greetings to you all and especially to:. Area Manager Gill Hood; Service Manager Jane Hurdle; Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy; Orongomai Marae and invited representatives from community groups that assist Upper Hutt Community Probation Service.

Thank you for the opportunity of having me here today to mark this special occasion.

The staff of the Community Probation Service have an essential role to play in our community. Probation officers protect the community safety by managing the needs of people on community-based sentences. They work on an individual level with each offender to try and reduce their risk of further convictions.

This may mean dealing with people's offending needs through specific rehabilitation programmes and also dealing with any reintegrative needs. A conviction can have an impact on people's relationships, their employment opportunities, their relationship with their whanau and iwi, and even their education. That's where the Service develops close partnerships with iwi, community groups and Government agencies.

The Service works alongside many social organisations to provide rehabilitative and specialist services to people. The team here work closely with the Salvation Army, Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society (PARS), STOP, alcohol and drug services, local Maori providers and numerous other community based organisations. The Service also works closely with Government agencies such as Child Youth and Family, Work and Income New Zealand, Housing New Zealand, Rimutaka Prison, the Department for Courts and the Police. I'm pleased to see so many of you represented today.

The team here at Upper Hutt make a contribution to the community through the management of people sentenced to Community Work. Supervised groups maintain parks and reserves, do regular maintenance work for many schools and kindergartens throughout the area, and assist community groups to perform work that would otherwise not get done. I haven't the time to mention all of the local projects but here are just a few: Wellington Vintage Machinery Club, Forest and Bird Society, Kiwi Ranch, Upper Hutt BMX Club and local Plunket branches.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to visit this new Centre, and particularly a new co-located Centre. Congratulations. I'm sure it will assist you all to help offenders turn their lives around.

Without further ado, then, I would now like to declare the Upper Hutt Service Centre officially open.

ENDS

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