I have announced I will put my name forward to stand in the Papakura seat at next year’s general election.

Under the final boundary changes Wattle Downs, parts of Manurewa east of the southern motorway including The Gardens, Clarks Beach and Kingseat will join a Papakura electorate which also includes Alfriston, Ardmore, Takanini , Karaka and Drury. Clevedon, Kawakawa Bay, Orere Point, Beachlands, Maraetai and Whitford will join a Hunua electorate.

I have chosen to put my name forward to stand in Papakura. The new Papakura electorate covers more of the current Clevedon electorate than the other new electorates, it is where my current electorate office is situated, I’ve made a lot of friends in Papakura in the last 5 years and I have been overwhelmed by the support that I have received from constituents. In the meantime, I remain the MP for Clevedon.

My colleague Paul Hutchison, MP for Port Waikato will put his name forward for the new Hunua seat which encompasses most of his current electorate as well as much of the rural area of the Clevedon electorate.

Friday 12 October is Pink Ribbon Day, the nationwide street appeal for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.

Breast cancer is one of our nation’s biggest killers. One-in-ten New Zealand women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and almost every Kiwi family is touched in some way by this terrible disease. My colleague, Dr Jackie Blue MP, who was a breast physician before entering Parliament in 2005, has done sterling work helping to raise awareness of the need for 21st century treatments like Herceptin.

The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation is the country’s foremost breast cancer education and awareness organisation. It receives no direct Government funding and its great work is reliant on volunteers and fundraising initiatives such as this.

I urge you to support this good cause and, on 12 October, wear the pink ribbon with pride.

Keep an eye out for Pink Ribbon collectors in your area. Alternatively you can phone 0900 PINK RIBBON to donate $20, or text the word Pink to 336 to make an automatic $3 donation.

If you would like to find out more on how you can support the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation check out their website www.nzbcf.org.nz

National Party Leader, John Key, has launched our Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Discussion Paper entitled “Focusing on Our Core Strengths and Capabilities”.

National believes that the foreign policy debates of the future will not be about where we are going as a country, but about the best way to get there.

You can download the full discussion paper from www.national.org.nz or contact my office for a copy, and send us your comments.

Your input will help us develop policies that ensure New Zealand’s future success in the Pacific and around the globe.