New satellite classrooms for Rosehill School
Hon Erica Stanford minister for Education visited the electorate last week to formally announce that two new satellite classrooms for the Rosehill School would be built on a site within the Papakura Normal School on Walters Road.
It is wonderful news for Gill Hedley who is the principal of the Rosehill School which currently has 14 satellite classrooms across the Electorate.
Across New Zealand, Budget 2025 has $30million set aside for 18 new satellite classrooms for high needs students.
”This investment will give parents greater choice and confidence, knowing their children can learn in an environment built to support their individual needs. We know that mainstream settings aren’t the right fit for every child,” said Erica.
Currently Rosehill School is a sizeable organisation led by a team of eight deputy Principals who work with their own teams of teachers and classroom assistants, therapists, enrichment leaders physiotherapists and others, all under the skilful, knowledgeable and experienced eye of Gill Hedley and backed by a very committed Board of Trustees.
Gill is excited to have the new funding and very pleased that construction is expected to begin within the next 12 months using faster and more efficient building methods, so students can benefit sooner.
I know that the two new satellite classrooms will help to ease pressure on Rosehill School which had a waitlist of over 100 students as at 1 June this year. The extra satellite spaces will ensure more students can access the support they need, right here in our community which is fantastic. It is an important goal of this Government that every child gets an education and attends school.
Real Consequences for Crime and laying down the Law to judges
I am sure many of you were pleased to read about the passing of the new Sentencing (Reform) Amendment Act 2025 which will restore real consequences for crime and take more account of the suffering of victims in sentencing by our Courts.
Restoring the ability to give suitable prison sentences that address the alarming increase in violent crime, ram raids and aggravated robberies we have seen over the past few years, will help reduce the number of victims significantly and will also reduce repeat serious offending by youth by an estimated 15 per cent.
Our Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith said the culture of crime that undue leniency in sentencing has promoted, has also resulted in a loss of public confidence in sentencing, and our justice system as a whole. The new law helps end this and signals to victims that they deserve justice and they are our priority.
The sentencing reforms will strengthen the Justice System by:
- Capping the sentence discounts that judges can apply at 40 per cent;
- Preventing repeat discounts for youth and remorse;
- Introducing a new aggravating factor in serious retail crime when it is an attack on a solo worker or a family business;
- Supporting the use of cumulative sentencing for offences committed while on bail, in custody, or on parole into one longer sentence;
- Implementing a sliding scale for early guilty pleas but with a maximum sentence discount of 25 per cent;
- Amending the principles of sentencing to include information provided to the court that prioritise the interests of the victims;
- Adding two new aggravating factors which are aiding or abetting young people or children to offend and posting and glorifying criminal activities online.
- Serious harm offences and convictions will not be eligible for home detention through discounting and “mitigating circumstances”.
I support absolutely the idea that communities and hardworking New Zealanders should not live in fear of criminals who clearly have a flagrant disregard for the law, for corrections officers and for the public.
Our Government is committed to ensuring there are 20,000 fewer victims of violent crime by 2029, alongside a 15 per cent reduction in serious repeat youth offending.
Happy Matariki at Opaheke Park
Papakura’s new 40-hectare park at 165 Opaheke Road was opened on Tuesday this week. It is a unique natural space for families, active sports people, active kids, nature lovers, dog lovers and everyone else to enjoy.
What started as boggy ground next to the Opaheke Sports Park has become a recreational park with 2 kilometres of walking tracks surrounded by 50,000 trees, a BMX pump track and open spaces for games like touch rugby and frisbee, picnic areas and much more. It has been supported by Sedar Properties and the Papakura Local Board.
All the best for the longer weekend,
