Our guest speaker for the evening was Simeon Brown MP for the electorate of Pakuranga and, as he explained representing the National Party in Botany until the next election.
Simeon has been a friend of Howick Rotary, attending last year’s Changeover and on our Keyway distribution list. Simeon often pops up when we have a Rotary event or project in Howick. He was there to help with the recent annual planting at Mangemangeroa and was delighted to let us know that he has planted more trees than Shane Jones. Never let a chance go by to get one in on an opponent!
Simeon was elected to replace Maurice Williamson at our last general election. He has been very active with local issues and spoke briefly about protecting the views from Stockade Hill and the changes to traffic flow on Pakuranga Highway. One of his highlights was having a his members bill on synthetic cannabis drawn in the ballot. In the end the government voted against his bill but he takes satisfaction because they have introduced a bill that addresses most of the issues that he raised. He was approached by Nick Smith, who has been in Parliament for 23 years including time as a minister, and has never had a members bill drawn in the ballot. Simeon is a first time dad and has to juggle his electorate and parliamentary duties with broken nights.
