My Account
Firstly, can I take the opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you for the incredible support I received during the recent election. It was deeply humbling to have you stand with me as strongly and decisively as you did.
I would like to restate my commitment to serve you with integrity, compassion and a relentless determination to advance and protect the interests of our electorate, community and individuals.
Could I also please acknowledge the retirement of my electoral agent Rita Maud. Rita has provided outstanding support for three MPs over 21 years. Myself, Sir Lockwood Smith and Nikki Kaye.
In that time she has dealt with thousands of constituent cases, always with empathy and a desire to have a positive result. Many of you will have had contact with her over the years and any retirement messages would be warmly received at the office. She is going to enjoy her much deserved retirement in beautiful Fairway Bay, Gulf Harbour.
So things will be a little different for me during this next term of Parliament as I make the transition from Defence Minister to Opposition defence spokesman. It has been an enormous privilege and honour to have served our defence forces as minister, and I now remain focused on ensuring that the required investment into our defence personnel, property and equipment remains firmly on the new government’s radar. I will work with the new minister where I can to ensure our forces continue to have the support they require at a time when we as a nation are asking them to do more and more. I will act quickly if I see signs of the government weakening or losing resolve in relation to that support and investment.
The election also delivered three government list MPs, either living in or near Rodney. One Labour and two NZ First MPs. I believe our communities expect their elected representatives, either at local or central government level, to work collaboratively together to advance local issues, and I remain committed to this approach.
Post-election my focus has turned to ensuring that the commitments and promises made during the election are now converted into new assets and opportunities for the electorate. This includes continued support and investment into the Hill Street redesign and rebuild; delivery of a four-lane Penlink; and new local medical services, delivered through the Rodney Surgical Centre, to name a few.
I will work with government and help with locally developed solutions to ensure that these important commitments and promises are delivered for us.
Something that has always set us apart in Rodney is the way we organise ourselves into highly effective, active and focused groups, whether it be residents’ groups, business associations or single issue groups. This is a real strength for us in the way we engage with local and central government officials and will be important in the coming years with our projected growth. I would encourage groups to look for commonality and opportunities to engage so as to keep building strong cohesion. I will be continuing to ensure I am helping to build and support the strong networks that we have.
Mark Mitchell, National MP for Rodney
www.markmitchell.co.nz
Whangaparaoa MP
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