Dad was a sailor, and after that he drove everything but the police car and the firetruck. Mum said she went to school to eat her lunch. She was my economic yardstick, because as a cleaner, stocker and kitchenhand, she would be the person whose work security was always threatened.

They didn’t have careers. They had jobs. To keep me and us all warm, fed and safe. My parents did everything they possibly could for me and I'm incredibly grateful for every sacrifice they made.

Some days were harder than others. Sometimes Dad (and mum also) was without work and needed income support. My mum would eventually need a state house to provide a safe space for us. When I broke my arm they didn’t have to haggle with the hospital on the cost for a cast.

No matter how much my parents did, it was because of people I will never meet that I was provided the means to succeed. That's the Kiwi promise: the collective support and shared investment each of us puts in each other. Without it, someone like me might not have imagined much beyond, let alone gone to university, built a career helping people, or saved for our first home.

We could have had an Aotearoa where you never cared about your neighbour, or the person on the other side of town. We chose something different.

On our best days, it has been Labour governments that have provided and enhanced that opportunity to thrive. It meant that you could strive to have a fair go in life and at work. To feel like you belonged, no matter what your walk of life, no matter who your parents were, no matter how you looked or who you loved.

My commitment to the Labour Party has always been based on that Kiwi promise, or put another way: "You look after me, and I’ll look after you."

That Kiwi promise of a fair go, of belonging, of opportunity, is vital everywhere, but especially here in Porirua. My mahi is about honouring that promise every day.

In the last three years, I’ve worked to make sure:

• Council meetings are more open to scrutiny;
• Wetlands in Bothamley Park are being restored;
• Grants and new waste sites are backing local solutions to reduce how much rubbish ends up at the landfill;
• A proper new library is underway in eastern Porirua;
• Sewage discharges are being reduced through upgrades across Onepoto;
• And we now have a Water Charter to protect everyone to access water from the tap to the drain and beyond.

I can’t say I’ve won every battle so far but I know that no matter what, I never leave that room without providing a voice for those who don’t get to be heard: your hopes, your challenges and the consequences of our decisions.

It motivates me to get back in there and build the support around the council, even with people who don’t always agree with, to get things done. 

So there’s still more work to do:

• Make sure that the water charter is being honoured;
• Ease the pressure on long-term ratepayers;
• Fix recycling and rubbish collection at your whare so it works;
• Have a city and council that reflects who we are in the 21st century;
• Improve our rules to lead in training local and hiring local;
• And fight for decent, healthy social housing.