KEY POINTS:
Manukau City Mayor Len Brown will go head to head with Prime Minister John Key today to discuss moves to improve South Auckland.
Policing, a crackdown on drugs and early childhood education are on the Mayor's agenda, to be heard by the country's leader this afternoon in a 45-minute meeting Mr Brown called for.
"Me as the leader of the city and he as the leader of the country - he's shown a significant interest in our community and I'd like to create a good working relationship between us - I'll be looking to confirm [that]," Mr Brown said.
A string of serious crime this year prompted the Manukau City Council to look for ways to boost security and improve quality of life.
Liquor store owner Navtej Singh was shot and killed while working in his Manurewa shop in June.
A week later 80-year-old Yan Ping Yang was attacked in a home invasion and died later in hospital, and a few days later Joanne Wang was killed as she tried to stop her bag being snatched in a shopping centre carpark.
In July, a proposal was made to use up to $3 million of ratepayers' money on private security guards.
Residents are being asked whether they support the idea. During the October election campaign, Mr Key announced National's plan - if elected - to introduce 300 police officers to cover the South Auckland beat.
Mr Brown yesterday told the Herald the new Prime Minister had been genuine with his wish to improve security in South Auckland.
Knowing where to allocate police was the key to making the move successful, the Mayor said.
"We are looking to get quite a clear indication that we'll be getting 300 police into the city.
"I'm particularly wanting to direct those police into target areas.
"We want them on the streets. We want police dealing to the P labs and tinnie houses - we've got to knock them over."
After the murder of Mr Singh many residents called for the closure of liquor outlets in the wider South Auckland area. The Manukau City Mayor acknowledged that there was a need to take control of the number of outlets in any one area.
Mr Brown said he would be pushing for Labour's legislation to give local councils control of new liquor licences and outlets.
"We want that to come to law as soon as possible. We really want to ... make our community a safer place."
Early childhood education would also be a top priority at today's meeting Mr Brown said.
"We are about 20 to 30 early childhood centres short. Only 40 per cent of our children go to preschool - that's a major under-representation - and we want to get that right up to the national average of 80 per cent."
He acknowledged Mr Key's strong focus on young people.
"A lot of our community don't have access to computers and the internet too. I'll be asking the Prime Minister about introducing broadband into our community."
PRIORITIES
What South Auckland wants:
* More police.
* Clampdown on drugs.
* Control over the number of liquor outlets.
* More early childhood centres.
