1976: that was the year we moved into our first home in Christchurch. I remember it well.
It was a small brick house, a solid walk from my new High School, Burnside High. And walk I did: every day till we moved across town in 1978. But by then I had become so committed to Burnside High I determined to stay. I caught the bus each day from St Albans to get to ‘my’ school.
A lot has changed in 40 years. The streets, the school, the city: all have moved on.
But one thing hasn’t changed: how my heart skips when I stand outside Sledmere Street - or at the gates of Burnside High - and remember: this is where I was given my first opportunity to make something of my life.
Whatever success I have had could not have happened without the start I got here, in Waimairi. That’s why I’ve come back, to stand for this part of the city. It’s my home, it’s in my blood. I owe it to the ward – to Burnside High, to Sledmere Street, and to so many other places around here – to make a difference, to give something back.
That’s why I’m standing for Waimairi.
That’s why I’m standing for you.