Hon Judith Collins, MP for Papakura

Collins Comments

Hello everyone,

Real Progress with Housing in Papakura

It was fantastic to attend the announcement of another new greenfield Special Housing Area (SHA) in the Papakura Electorate last week. Building and Housing Minister Hon Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Len Brown were there for the announcement of up to 1000 new homes in Drury within two or three years. The Oranga Bay development on Bremner Road by Karaka and Drury Limited will help to address Auckland’s issues of housing supply and affordability. The new site will give access to existing amenities such as local halls, reserves and education centres. Dr Smith said he was confident the new homes will be well-serviced by existing or planned water, waste and roading infrastructure.

The undertaking from the developers is to build at least 150 affordable homes at Bremner Road, which is really marvellous as this is above the 10 per cent affordable housing provision required in the Special Housing Area by the council.

The developers want to maximise the character of the peninsula and make the development a great place for families by creating a real community. I fully support this initiative that is another step in the positive expansion of Papakura as a thriving part of Auckland City.

Super Gold Card travel review results

The Government has announced new measures as a result of its review of the SuperGold Card of which there are now over 650,000 holders. Holders are eligible for free off-peak travel on a wide range of services and records show ever increasing use of the scheme.

The review of the SuperGold Card’s sustainability will permit new services including regional ones to enter the scheme from 1 September 2015. To take advantage of this, card holders will purchase smartcards, such as the AT HOP card in Auckland. Smartcard ticketing systems will become available across New Zealand and provide the best way to access new and existing services.

Travel will remain free as the Government will fund the scheme at $28.129 million per year for the next five years, with annual Consumer Price Index adjustments to account for inflation.

The use of smartcards will ensure accurate data is collected about when and where SuperGold Card holders use public transport services and this will help with planning for the future.

Greater Safeguards for Borrowers under Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act

I am really pleased with the changes to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act that will see the introduction of lender responsibility principles. The new rules will require lenders such as banks, car dealers, pawn brokers and pay day lenders, to check carefully that borrowers receive the credit that will meet their needs and also that they have the ability to repay the loan and any charges without suffering substantial hardship. All loan documents have to be clear and easily interpreted by the borrower and lenders will be required to make fees and interest rates public.

The laws around repossession will state that necessary furniture like fridges, heaters and beds cannot be taken as security, and agents will need to be licensed. Penalties for breaches by lenders have been increased too. Click here for more information.

Progress of the Prime Minister’s 2012 Better Public Service Targets

I am proud to be part of the National Government that is delivering on these targets in a very positive way. Since the targets were introduced three years ago figures last week showed nationally:

43,000 fewer children living in a benefit dependent household. In Papakura that translates to more than 300 fewer people on job seekers benefits and 200 fewer young people on sole parent support benefits as they have found reliable employment.
the proportion of immunised 8-month olds has increased from 84 per cent to 92.9 per cent and there has been a 14 per cent decrease in people being hospitalised for the first time with rheumatic fever. Anecdotally, several primary schools in Papakura report a real improvement in children’s health and school attendance since the School Nurse numbers were increased and rheumatic fever screening began in 2013.
the participation of children under four years old in Early Childhood Education has increased from 94.7 per cent to 96.1 per cent. In Papakura the levels of Maori and Pacific children attending ECE is improving with about 50 centres available and offering more than 4000 places many of which are at capacity
the proportion of 18-year olds who achieve a NCEA Level 2 qualification has increased from 74.3 per cent to about 81.1 per cent. At our local secondary (public) schools in Papakura the average attainment was up at 71.4 per cent
total crime, violent crime and youth crime have dropped 17.6 per cent, 9.1 per cent and 37.3 per cent respectively and the country is on target to meet the target of a 25 percent reduction by 2017
the rate of reoffending has dropped 9.6% meaning there are over 7000 fewer victims of this source of crime. The investment of a further$ 6.5million in programmes like “Out the Gate” should see this drop continue in Counties Manukau.
In Auckland, the introduction of the Special Housing Accord between the Government and the Auckland Council has been one of the ways that Better Public Service targets are being met. This initiative has had the effect of reducing business effort when dealing with local government in gaining consents and plan changes for housing developments.

The progress occurring in Papakura is positive and encouraging on many levels and I acknowledge everyone in the Electorate who is working to make their own lives and the community’s better every day.

Keep up the good work!

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