- By Simeon Brown, Member of Parliament for Pakuranga
Last Thursday, New Zealanders across the country commemorated Anzac Day by attending dawn and civic services in droves to honour our fallen heroes.
April 25 is one of the most important dates in our nation’s calendar, as we remember those who fought and continue to fight for our freedoms and thank them for their service and sacrifice.
As I do every year, I joined thousands of locals at our dawn and civic services at Stockade Hill in Howick and was privileged to lay a wreath at the memorial on behalf of our community.
I want to thank our local Howick RSA for their organisation of what are always wonderful commemorative services for our community, as well as everyone involved in supporting them.
I also want to thank everyone who donated to this years Poppy Day Appeal.
I enjoyed getting out prior to Anzac Day to collect as a volunteer and was heartened by the generosity of our community.
It is so important that we never lose sight of our history, and I am always particularly encouraged by the number of young people who attend our services, as we pass on to them the responsibility to remember.
I wanted to wrap up my column this week by congratulating the team at the Howick and Pakuranga Times on the news that they will continue serving east Auckland, thanks to local community stalwart Bo Burns.
Bo has purchased the Times’ digital assets in an effort to secure our local news source for the future, and I was grateful when she asked me to continue writing a column for you every fortnight.
I also wanted to note the incredible contributions of Reay Neben, the co-founder of the Times who announced earlier in the year her intention to sell the paper after 52 years of ownership.
The truth is simply this: without Reay, there is no H&P Times, and without the Times and its commitment to local news and advocacy, our east Auckland community would be greatly diminished.
Thank you, Reay and the entire Times team.
I look forward to supporting the Times for hopefully many years to come!
