Katherine O’Regan a great servant of Waipa¯
Iwas filled with great sadness when I heard of the passing of Hon Katherine O’Regan QSO.
Katherine served as a Member of Parliament for the National Party for 15 years, representing the Waipa¯ electorate for 13 of these, holding ministerial roles during her tenure.
Her commitment and dedication to the Waipa¯ community continued on after her retirement as an MP and she was instrumental in more recent times as a founding member of the Te Awamutu Community Health Transport Service and other roles.
It was a privilege to attend Katherine’s funeral along with my colleagues Rt Hon David Carter and Hon Tim Macindoe and listen to the achievements throughout Katherine’s life and the deep love and respect both Katherine’s family and wider community had for her. She will be very much missed.
My Te Awamutu Electorate office at 53 Mutu Street was officially opened by Mayor Jim Mylchreest. It was a wonderful afternoon and I would like to thank all those that came along to celebrate the occasion with me and my staff. The new office is an ideal space with easier available parking.
It was lovely to host the students of Ko¯ rakonui School when they recently visited Parliament as part of their school trip. I am always deeply impressed by the thought provoking questions our young people ask and the enthusiasm they show during these visits. I look forward to catching up with the staff and students in their own environment as part of my school visit tour soon.
I had an extremely insightful visit when I recently met with Kay Higgins, support coordinator for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in Te Ku¯ iti. As Grannie to my five grandchildren I naturally offer my love and support to them knowing that after visiting time they go back to their parents. However, there are far more grandparents out in the community who have had to take over the full time custody and care of their grandchildren, providing shelter, love and support but also having the daily challenges of raising children that they never expected they would have to do. These grandparents are remarkable people and have nothing but my upmost admiration.
I was flabbergasted with the announcement that Hon Damien O’Connor had declined the Rural Health Alliance of Aotearoa New Zealand’s government funding request for $600,000. The Rural Health Alliance is an essential service for our rural communities and their work around rural mental health has been invaluable. Hon Damien O’Connor is basically telling us that people in rural provincial New Zealand are not worth $1 a day. Shame on you minister — your current decision making has a lot to be desired. You are neglecting our rural communities and it is unacceptable.