Party Blog
Maiden Speech - Stuart Nash
Patrick Leyland | 17th December 2008 | 5:15 pm
First and foremost, I offer my congratulations Mr Speaker on your election to a most esteemed position within this house.
I decided very early on not to raise the ghost of a past Nash, long buried in memory and time, but whose footsteps still haunt this place, for even though he wandered these halls for 40 years, that was, after all, 40 years ago. However, as I make my way around the corridors of this wonderful old building, I cannot help but notice that the giants of past eras have never been laid to rest, as their photos are there to inspire and encourage and to remind us of the proud legacy we carry as a Labour party team dedicated to always asking, as Harry Holland, the first leader of the Labour party did, “Is it right?”
Harry Holland realised that if it was right for the New Zealand people, it would be right for the Labour party. This underlying principle of whether it is right for the New Zealand people has guided all our prime ministers from Joe Savage to Helen Clark, and, I hope in less than three years, Phil Goff.
It is with a sense of honour and pride, but also, I must admit, a degree of nervousness and trepidation, that I start my parliamentary career, and I hope that I can live up to the memory and expectation of past members, for the privilege of being a Labour Party MP is one that has a very proud history.
There are numerous paths leading to this chamber, but none of us would be here without the patronage of those who support and encourage and mentor us to this position. First and foremost I must convey my thanks to the Hon Dr Michael Cullen, for without his support I would not be here. I acknowledge this and I hope he knows that it is greatly appreciated.
But behind every successful man there is a surprised woman, and Michael’s partner, Anne Collins would I am sure, agree with this statement.
Anne, Raewyn Barry, Tom Wilson, Geoff Braybrooke and all those who have supported and encouraged me; I salute you and thank you with all my heart; especially as my arrival in Napier around 18 months ago reminds me of a Winston Churchill quote. When the great man was asked “Doesn’t it thrill you to know that every time you make a political speech the hall is packed to overflowing?” “Its quite flattering”, he replied, “but whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big”.
Napier is also where my story begins. A little longer than a little while ago – and so it’s nice to come here and be called a young, fresh face. And who said the media was all bad… My family history in the Bay begins around 1865.
My daughter is actually the 5th generation to attend Napier Central School right back to its founding over 130 years ago. Napier is, without a doubt, the best city in New Zealand. It has the climate, the fruit, the wine, the architecture in Art Deco, the beaches, a rugby team that has beaten Waikato the last four times they have played…the only thing it doesn’t have is a Labour constituent MP, but we will work on that.
My father, Hal Nash is a wonderful man, who practised the principles of social democracy during his long legal career better than anyone I have met.
My mother, Jenny Nash, had four children under the age of five at one time and it’s a testament to her strength of character and fortitude that she is still completely sound of mind. A wonderful upbringing I had where the summers were always hot, sunny and long, and school days at Central school, Napier Intermediate and Napier Boys High, fun.
They say politics is in the blood, but I don’t believe that. It’s in the heart and in the soul, and in our family, it was around the dinner table. But perhaps the one person who first shaped my political leaning was that great social democrat Elvis Presley. And it wasn’t to do with his unique solutions to prison reform or his yearning for social justice and equity in the ghetto, or animal rights for bad dogs.
No, unfortunately for me, he died on the same day that the Rt Hon Sir Robert Muldoon delivered his budget and the day I had to present a news item in front of the class.
Five nine year olds spoke about Elvis, and one poor kid about the government’s fiscal plans. Thanks mum. I have bad memories of Muldoon for a whole lot more reasons than most in my party.
But the advice my father gave me when I showed an interest in politics was get educated and get some experience that you can take into parliament. So a few universities later and a little experience in a couple of industries finds me today living my passion and dream.
However, just recently when my father was asked if he was proud of me he just smiled and said that it was a dreadful job that I had chosen. But I did not come here looking for a job but because of a calling.
I liked my fellow newbie Phil Twyford’s line when he said that some of us will be remembered, but most of us won’t. But to be remembered is not what motivates us.
If I can leave this house for the final time in the knowledge that our party’s legacy has made a positive difference to the lives of all who call New Zealand home, then I will have accomplished my goals and ambitions.
It is why Helen Clark and Michael Cullen and those who served in the fifth Labour-led government will be talked about fondly by future scholars, historians and New Zealanders alike at night around the dinner tables and bbqs.
Because my beautiful daughter Sophia and my wonderful son Charles are growing up in a better world due to the tireless work and energy and legacy of this wonderful party I am proud to be a member of.
And this place is not called a house for nothing – we spend an inordinate amount of time here – and there is a bed in my office and a kitchen outside my door, and the father of the house is in the room adjacent.
I wondered if our senior whip Darren Hughes was trying to tell me something when he allocated such an office to me, but then realised the message wasn’t that subtle when the two weeks of being here, including tonight, we are obliged to stay until midnight most nights.
But the Labour caucus is a family; and not just because we live and work and eat in the same house under one roof for long hours but because our differences unite us in a common belief and philosophy that forces us to always ask “is it right?’, and then do ‘what is right’.
In the previous life I travelled overseas for business, and whilst I enjoyed the job, I found that international travel was actually a tonic for the soul. I say this because when I used to fly back into Auckland airport I realised just how lucky we are to be living in this wonderful country.
Our beaches are pristine, our skyline visible our fields green, our different coloured children playing together in our many parks, and our families, interacting, side-by-side, regardless of socio-economic status, enjoying a champagne lifestyle no matter what is in the chilly bin or on the barbie.
I see myself as first and foremost a public servant, employed by the people of New Zealand to represent this country and its citizens. I am available to help all those for whom my help is either requested or required, regardless of sex, race, age, and political affiliation.
I am also a proud social democrat who will work hard to help develop a regulatory environment that encourages sustainable economic development and growth through increasing our international competitiveness.
By developing trade partnerships and models that not only promote but encourage our companies to seek further opportunities off-shore and that allows New Zealand’s international competitiveness to be clearly articulated and understood by all whom we seek trade alliances with.
Nice political speak, but what it actually means in plain English is that the No 8 wire mentality and the ‘she’ll be right’ attitude that we have prided ourselves on to date, is no longer good enough in the 21st century.
To reach the top these days we need to be very smart, exceptionally well prepared, intensely focussed and willing to stand up and fight for what we believe in with all our energy. Handing out replica All Black jerseys is no longer good enough to clinch the deal.
I also know that unrestrained and unregulated growth can have a negative effect on a country’s well-being. This can occur when, for example, those in the workforce are oppressed or have diminished rights – as we have seen in the very first week of this government – when investors and markets are being deliberately or negligently misled or manipulated and when scarce resources are exploited.
It is the philosophical mandate and governance role of any social democratic party to ensure that the negative social and moral effects of economic growth are mitigated through information communication, sound policy, justifiable regulation and wise legislation.
But for Pat McGill, a community hero who spends his days advocating for prison reform and helping and supporting those that need his help and support at the Napier court house, he just wants to know that we are still asking ourselves Harry’s question “is it right?”
A friend of mine said to me recently that the time is now to adopt a new economic model. However, it’s not the time for simple adoption, but time for invention and development of a new economic paradigm that takes into account the expectations of 21st century New Zealanders.
Friedman is dead. The economic philosophies of the Laissez-faire practitioners have finally been laid to rest and cremated in the ashes of the current financial crisis. This is why I was so disappointed with the Speech from the throne because it talks about aspiration, there was nothing substantive to deliver it; it mentioned productivity and yet there was nothing concrete to drive it.
It was not visionary at a time when we are beginning to develop our global identity; and struggling to a certain extent to understand our place on this earth.
History has proven that the only party to really deliver significant gains for the people of New Zealand is the New Zealand Labour party. We are, and always have been, the party of social evolution if not revolution. We work to build, to empower, to create and practise fiscal accountability as well as social responsibility.
We work as a collective; more powerful as one than we ever can be as individuals, quite simply because we always ask “is it right”?
I’m very optimistic about the long-term future of our party, because when I look around our caucus room I see an awesome array of experience mixing, helping and mentoring the new.
But quite simply, we are 43 New Zealanders full of energy, competence and a belief in the principles and philosophies of social democracy and a willingness to work hard to create a better New Zealand. It’s the most aspirational team I have ever had the humble pleasure to be a part of.
I would like to finish by quoting what John F Kennedy wrote shortly before his assassination that I think sums up this Labour caucus and its leadership under Phil Goff and Annette King.
“If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself, if we are weak, our words will be of no help”
And believe me, this caucus and its leaders are strong. Thank you.
Maiden Speech - Carol Beaumont
Patrick Leyland | 17th December 2008 | 5:00 pm
Karanga mai rau rangitira ma me nga hoa hoki
Te Whare e tu nei, te papa e takoto ki waho tena köroa
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e nga tangata o te wa
tēnā koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.
To the many chiefs, and friends as well, extend your call of welcome
Greetings to you the House that stands here, and the courtyard that lies outside
Greetings to you the authorities, the language and the people of the moment
Greetings, greetings and greetings to you all.
Mr Speaker, having paid my respects in the first language of our nation I now recognise the Treaty of Waitangi as the founding document of this country.
Mr Speaker, I acknowledge your election.
I am aware of the privilege and responsibility that being a Member of Parliament bestows on me. It is a great honour to represent my fellow New Zealanders and to serve and be accountable to them.
I will undertake this role passionately, seriously and with integrity. I will work constructively with all of the people, MPs and staff, of this House which occupies the central place in our democracy.
Let me acknowledge all of the members - ours is not a well respected role. We have a shared responsibility to work to improve the way in which MPs are regarded by New Zealanders, as attacks on politicians have the insidious effect of undermining our democracy.
I want to acknowledge my family and friends especially my mother Barbara for her unconditional love, my step father Ray who is watching at home, my sister Alison for her consistent support and friendship and my wonderful nieces Keriana and Emma, who keep me focussed and for whom I want to see a better future. I also want to acknowledge my partner Robert for his support, friendship and love. My friends and union colleagues are also important in my life – thanks to you too.
I want to acknowledge with pride our new Labour leaders Phil Goff and Annette King and also our previous leaders who provided outstanding leadership – Helen Clark and Michael Cullen. I am proud to be part of this determined and principled Labour caucus and I am proud of what Labour has delivered for New Zealanders not only over the last 9 years but over our long history.
I want to particularly acknowledge the role of Helen Clark as someone who has inspired me since 1981 when she was elected as the member for Mt Albert.
I acknowledge Helen’s strength, intellect, integrity and commitment to our country and the cause of peace and social justice globally. Like many others I have been enormously proud of Helen as our Prime Minister. History will confirm the significance of her contribution.
I stand before the House as a passionate advocate for social justice and human rights who believes in fairness, opportunity, prosperity and sustainability for all New Zealanders. I want an Aotearoa/New Zealand that provides hope and ideas for social justice in our region and globally.
Social justice means equality of opportunity. I proudly identify as a trade unionist and as a feminist, despite the unthinking stereotypes some feel compelled to promote. In my experience union officials are people who care and want to make a difference. I acknowledge in this House the valuable work they do.
Social justice means being fair. Mr Speaker, I grew up in a family where we struggled to make ends meet. I understand the stress that puts on our families. My parents believed in a fair go, working hard, and education – values that have shaped my life.
My late father Ron, who would be so proud to see me here, taught me to speak out against injustice, and fostered my love of debate but also showed me injustice first hand.
My Dad, despite leaving school at 12, became a tradesman mechanic, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. That may be natural, but what I knew wasn’t right, even as a child, was his dismissal of my dreams as unsuitable for a girl.
Social justice means educational opportunities for all. My political activism grew from my time as Chairperson of the Melville High School student council. While at school I was also a cleaner and member of the Cleaners’ Union. My 6th form history teacher, Marjorie Barrows, fundamentally changed my life course by persuading me to not leave school, but rather to go to university.
Education is a passion of mine. Education is transformational – for individuals as it was for me, and for society as a whole. Our social and economic development relies on improving the educational levels of our people.
I can only imagine the impact of low literacy levels on individuals, on their job opportunities, their employment security and their exclusion from vital parts of our collective life. Imagine not being able to help your children with their homework, or decipher prescription instructions, or read the newspaper. Imagine the impact which improving literacy could have for the individual, for families and for society.
I trained as a teacher, a role we do not value highly enough, and have been an adult educator working with those already in the workplace. The focus on workplace learning, given 80% of the workforce of 10 years time are already in work, is something I believe in strongly.
For the concept of lifelong learning to have meaning requires our workplaces to be places of learning. This is not suggesting an impost on employers but a cultural change by all concerned. I was very proud of the huge increases in industry training under the Labour led Government and the proposal to provide workers with the right to a retraining allowance.
I commit here to promoting measures to ensure that lifelong learning is a reality for all New Zealanders.
I will stand in this house to champion the cause of social justice and human rights. Human rights are both individual and collective. Our rights are mutually dependent and as the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 recognised, individual rights must be placed in the context of economic, social and cultural rights.
When the Declaration was signed, Dr Colin Aikman speaking on behalf of New Zealand said:
..” Experience in New Zealand has taught us that the assertion of the right of personal freedom is incomplete unless it is related to the social and economic rights of the common man. There can be no difference of opinion as to the tyranny of privation and want. There is no dictator more terrible than hunger. And we have found in New Zealand that only with social security in its widest sense can the individual reach his full stature.
Therefore it can be understood why we emphasise the right to work, the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, widowhood and old age.
Also the fact that the common man is a social being requires that he should have the right to education, the right to rest and leisure, and the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community.
These social and economic rights can give the individual the normal conditions of life which make for the larger freedom. And in New Zealand we accept that it is the function of government to promote their realisation”
This remains true 60 years later. Unfortunately, some only see human rights in terms of self, or see any talk about rights as “political correctness”.
I believe in a strong rights based framework and I will defend human rights for all.
Workers’ rights are human rights guaranteed by international and, currently, domestic law. I pledge to fight each and every attack made on workers rights, including, on workers’ collective rights to union representation. Unfortunately we have already seen workers disadvantaged in this 49th Parliament with the reduction of Kiwisaver entitlements, unfair tax changes and the removal of rights to fair treatment for new employees in most workplaces.
Poverty and increasing inequality are among the most serious human rights issues facing the world today.
In New Zealand inequality grew in the late 1980s and 1990s and the much referred to gap in wages between Australia and NZ grew exponentionally.
Last year, for the first time in two decades the gap between rich and poor narrowed, due in no small part to a deliberate redistribution of income by Labour to low and middle income families.
Who benefits from inequality? Not the suffering families struggling to make ends meet. Not the children who go hungry.
Inequality is not only simply wrong in a comparatively rich country like NZ; it is unsustainable.
The health and educational outcomes of poverty impact on our whole country, economically and socially. Global poverty is a proven destroyer of individual and societal potential, and a grave threat to peace, security and sustainability.
Increasing provision for social justice depends upon a healthy economy. Our economy faces a number of key challenges – which can only be met by a highly skilled workforce developing smarter products and services.
To continue to improve our valued public services and standard of living, we must not only be aware of wealth distribution, but of wealth creation. I am committed to sustainable economic development. We need to be deliberate, smart, co-operative and strategic to strengthen our economy to cope with offshore volatility.
New ways of working together, the clarification of the roles of government, business and, yes, unions, have been a worthwhile development in the last 9 years.
An important aspect of social justice is the right to work. In recent years we have achieved some of the best employment outcomes of any Western country. Now there are major challenges ahead with unemployment forecast to rise rapidly.
Work is of huge individual and societal importance.
The Council of Trade Unions and Business NZ have started discussing what the workplace of the future would look like. I support the CTU view that it’s attributes must include high wages and high value, high skill levels, fairness, be located in a strong industry and be healthy and sustainable.
High skill, high wage and highly productive workplaces cannot occur without productive employment relations with decent wages and conditions of work, where workers’ rights to a collective voice are respected. The attacks of the 1990s on workers were not the way to go.
There is still a low wage legacy from that era. Low wages lead to low capital intensity and people working longer and longer hours to make ends meet. Low wages and low skill levels contribute to low productivity.
Families are the basic building blocks of our society, and the implications of long hours and low wages on them are huge. We must focus on our children who are our future; we must ensure their access to quality public education and health; we must challenge any family violence that threatens to mar their future. I will firmly support initiatives in the area of family violence reduction, and I take this opportunity to acknowledge all those working to eliminate this huge problem.
Investing in people, supporting them throughout the lifecycle’ and ensuring that they have the ability to participate to their full potential is essential for our success as a country. Social inclusion needs to be deliberately fostered at all levels.
It benefits none of us if new migrants to our country are not able to participate to their full potential or if young Maori and Pasifica peoples are overrepresented in the unemployment and educational underachievement statistics.
Small countries like NZ have a greater opportunity to build consensus on what sort of future we want.
A number of successful small countries have created ‘social partnership’ approaches ensuring that workers, businesses and government all play a crucial role in economic and social development.
This brings me to my final point – only healthy democracies can ensure successful fair societies.
Democracy is something we value highly as New Zealanders. It is something we have fought for and led the world in achieving. For democracy to thrive our people must have the will and ability to participate.
Many New Zealanders don’t participate in democratic processes, and some attribute this to apathy.
I believe the reasons to be more complex, and include lack of knowledge, language barriers, disillusionment with political processes, time constraints and a sense of powerlessness. Whatever the reason, the alienation of some is a loss to us all because not only is their vote lost, but so are their ideas and their commitment to common values and goals. We must all work to lift genuine participation.
As a Labour MP I will be based in the Maungakiekie electorate where I live and where I was our candidate in the recent election. I acknowledge and thank my campaign team and the large group of Labour activists who worked so hard. Let me acknowledge the Hon Vui Mark Gosche, the previous MP for Maungakiekie.
Mark has always been a strong advocate for the values of Labour, the people of Maungakiekie and working people generally. Mark has inspired many people through his obvious integrity and the courage he displayed through huge personal tragedy.
I know the people of Maungakiekie will miss him as their MP. I want to acknowledge both Mark and Carol Gosche for their support, friendship and encouragement.
I also want to acknowledge Peseta Sam Lotu–Iiga the MP for Maungakiekie and indicate my willingness to work with him constructively on local issues where possible.
Maungakiekie is a vibrant and diverse electorate. In the course of the campaign I saw the huge number of people who work for community good in sports groups, marae, in youth groups, in community safety groups, in churches and in community development initiatives.
They are ambitious people. It is important to reflect on the meaning of the word, “ambition”, because recently it has been used by many only in the context of the individual. It is more than that. I consider myself ambitious and have always wanted to use my skills in roles that challenge me, but my real ambition is in wanting to make a difference for others. As my friend Helen Duncan, a former Labour MP said in her maiden speech:
“I believe that people are not driven solely by the pursuit of individual goals and ambitions, and that the welfare, comfort and happiness of others can make a difference to the enjoyment of our own lives”
I commit to being ambitious for Aotearoa/New Zealand and all our people and I will seek to ensure that we measure what we do by considering the economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of our actions.
I believe that most people want to do the right thing, that they want a better future for future generations. It is about being clear about the future we collectively want and determined to make the necessary changes. In the words of Sonja Davies, a pioneering woman union leader and member of this House “Nothing is ever too difficult to achieve. Only inertia can defeat us”.
No reira, kia kaha, kia toa, kia manawa-nui
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. Kia ora
Therefore be strong, be brave, be stout hearted, Greetings to us all.
Maiden Speech - Jacinda Ardern
Patrick Leyland | 16th December 2008 | 5:30 pm
Mr Speaker I am honoured to stand in this House today. I would like to join my colleagues in congratulating you on your election.
Maiden speeches are like words spoken in a heated argument. They will come back to haunt you. Today, I want to share the things that I wish to haunt me; my values and beliefs, the things that brought me here. And I do so in the hope that should I ever abandon them, I will have the good grace to leave.
But I cannot begin without first paying tribute to the previous leader of the Labour party, Helen Clark. There are many reasons why I joined the Labour party, but it was Helen who made me proud to be a member.
My generation grew up under your leadership Helen, and many don’t know how good they had it. I have no doubt that your leadership will leave a legacy well beyond my own generation.
Mr Speaker, I cannot pinpoint when exactly my interest in politics started, but I know it started young. I was born in Hamilton, but in the 80s my family relocated to Murupara where my father took up the post as the local police sergeant.
My memories of that place are vivid. I knew a lot of people had lost their jobs, but I didn’t understand it was caused by the privatization of the forestry industry and the complete lack of support from central government. I knew there were suicides, and that the girl that babysat my sister and I one day turned yellow from hepatitis and couldn’t visit anymore. But I didn’t understand the linkages between all of this and the poverty in the community I was living in.
My passion for social justice came from what I saw; my love of politics came when I realized that it was the key to changing what I saw.
And there is much to change. The fifth Labour government made good progress on what I believe must continue to be our focus- reducing poverty in this country. Labour ensured that no elderly person lives below the poverty line, but that doesn’t mean that some are still not living a hard life. We lifted 130,000 children out of poverty through working for families, but many remain there still.
I will not pretend that the response is simple. It is not.
The majority of the children living in poverty now are dependents in families where the main means of support is a government benefit.
But if you believe our welfare state is a necessary safety net and a support for those unable to support themselves, as I do, then the children living in these circumstances should not be in living in poverty.
These children are not part of an underclass, they are part of our community and we have a responsibility to continue the momentum of the last Labour government and to finally rid ourselves of poverty in this country. This is our collective challenge.
But Murupara and the wonderful people who live there and continue the work to rejuvenate their town, form just one part of the lessons I have learned.
Demonstrating my parent’s love of big cities, my family relocated to Morrinsville. I have good memories of growing up in this small rural Waikato town. It’s a key productive region of New Zealand, and the region of my family. My grandfather dug the drains there, my other grandad farmed there, and I was honored to campaign there this election. It’s a place that keeps me grounded.
I attended Morrinsville College, a fantastic school and an example of why we should be proud of our education system and the teachers working within it.
I only wish my education could have extended to the universal teaching of Te Reo Maori, so that more of my generation could converse in our national language rather the then more common offering of German, French, and Japanese.
Education and language builds understanding and I join colleagues who have gone before me in calling for the universal and compulsory provision of Te Reo Maori in our schools.
Morrinsville College was also the place where I experienced my first election. Campaigning on the weighty electoral issue of letting girls wear trousers to school, I was voted on to the Board of Trustees, and was subsequently assigned to attend all suspension meetings as the student representative.
It was tough. I sat face to face with my peers who were threatened with removal from the education system. While I had no qualms handing down punishment to the bullies who were brought before us, there were others who obviously had very little support financially or emotionally from their families, their caregivers, and their community.
Mr Speaker, so much lies in our beginnings. Research tells us that young people who find themselves in the criminal justice system have also experienced instability in their home, exposure to violence, and three out of four were part of families that did not have enough to get by.
We will never find durable solutions that genuinely prevent issues like disengagement in education through to crime, if we continue to look at the shallow end of the problem.
Morrinsville brought with it other experiences. I got my first job when I was 14 and eventually found myself working at a supermarket.
It was the 90s. I earned roughly $5 an hour, joined a union that struggled to support us under the realities of the Employment Contracts Act, and saw the real consequences of working for a hostile management team. I saw the importance of unions again when, in 2005, I packed my bags and moved to New York.
While I struggled to find work I volunteered in a soup kitchen and on a campaign for home care workers who had been without an employment contract for over a decade.
I busied myself as a campaign assistant, tried to make up chants that never quite rhymed when belted out in an American accent, and organized the workers. Their very presence on the picket line threatened their livelihood. It was an experience that has deepened my commitment to balance in employment relationships, a balance I was shocked to see disrupted so severely in my first week in this House.
Mr Speaker, I’ve never given up on finding ways to change what was going on around me. But I’m the first to concede: I’m not a normal young person. This election, young people made up 50% of those who didn’t bother to enrol.
They are the least likely age group to vote, and some of the most likely to be effected by the decisions we make here. I have the privilege of holding the youth affairs portfolio. There are many issues within this role, health, education, justice, but it cannot be about just speaking on behalf of youth, but giving them the opportunity and reason to speak for themselves.
Like many who have gone before me, I too believe that civic education plays a massive role in this. But so does the simple impact of our example. We all have a responsibility to help restore a little faith in our political processes, to continually show the relevance of politics to young people and our communities at large, to find new and better ways of listening and responding. Some may call this participatory democracy. I call it our job.
One of my first opportunities to see all sides of an MPs role was when I took a job a job in Phil Goff’s office. It was an honor to work for you Phil. I saw first hand the commitment you have to New Zealanders, just how hard you are prepared to work for them, and I am very glad to be working with you once again.
Mr Speaker, like so many kiwis, I took up the opportunity to travel abroad, studying at Arizona State University for a semester. Mid way through my time there, two planes flew into the World Trade Centre in New York, and everything around me changed.
I’ve watched international politics continue to change while serving as the President of the International Union of Socialist Youth, an umbrella group with consultative status with the UN that has almost 150 progressive youth movements across 100 countries. It’s taken me to some of the most remote parts of the world, from the refugee camps of the Bhutanese and people of Western Sahara, to Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank, and the wall that divides the two.
Since holding this position, I have been asked if I am a radical. All I can say to that is “I am from Morrinsville”. Where I come from a radical is someone who chooses to drive a Toyota over a ford or a Holden.
I am a social democrat. I believe what I believe strongly, human rights, equality, social justice, the importance of community, and I do believe New Zealand has a role to play in promoting and defending these principles abroad.
For anyone has moved abroad you know what it’s like to reflect on your home from afar, and I have done so with pride. Not only for our record on foreign affairs, but for our thriving music and film industry, for our culture and heritage, for our country’s beauty. But these are things that do not merely exist. They must be fostered, and protected with more than empty rhetoric.
I fear that kiwis pride for our clean green reputation is already mis-placed. It is shameful enough that we are about to lose New Zealand’s most proactive piece of legislation addressing the impacts of climate change that we have seen to date. It is unspeakable that in addition, we now have a parliamentary select committee to question climate change itself.
We had the potential to be a world leader. The National party told us instead that we should be fast followers. All I can see now are the many losers- the future generations that some members of this house do not yet consider themselves accountable to.
There are other things time working in an international environment can teach you. I spent three years in the United Kingdom working as a public servant, a career I have great respect for. This role took me from the UK Cabinet Office through to the Department for Business and Enterprise where I worked as an Assistant Director on regulatory issues.
I spent most of my time talking with small businesses, local authorities, even police officers, understanding the delicate balancing act of protecting citizens, while building a regulatory environment that allows businesses and our public services to flourish.
I am very mindful of the need for both. With a strong economy comes the chance to further strengthen public services and create a fairer society for everyone.
But Mr Speaker, personal experiences are only part of the thing that bring you to a place, and I have to acknowledge the role of my family. My father and mother challenged me, supported me, and showed me that the world was not black and white, or rose tinted. I honor them.
I honor my mother who sacrificed everything for her girls, in the era where choices were made between family and career.
I honor my father and the dedication he has shown to his family and to the NZ police over the past 35 years. He has seen the most horrific side of human nature, but has always shown compassion and a commitment to building communities in New Zealand and Niue.
And to my sister, Louise. Nothing bores you more than politics, which is why your support has meant so much to me.
But Mr Speaker, it was my nana who was the true political beast in our family. Gladys was staunch Labour.
Sadly I never had the chance to ask her what it was that made her so passionate, to the point that she would switch off the television if Muldoon ever came on, and keep it off for at least 10 minutes to be sure he wasn’t polluting her screen. I know I can do no better, than to make Gladys, Harry, and Annie proud.
To my Waikato campaign team, including my wonderful grandparents, who fought along side me in a seat that has been held by National for the past 40 years, thank you. Next time, I’m sure we’ll take it on the specials.
To my friends and all of the new and existing Labour team, to Darren, for all the leave I know you will grant me, and for giving the kind of advice that proves you were born middle aged, but also that you were born wise. To Marian Hobbs, the old conscience of this house, and to Michael, I’m proud to be the youngest member of this parliament, but even prouder to serve here with you as the father of this house.
I thank you all.
So there it is; the answer to that golden question. It’s the things I have seen, the lessons I have learned, and the people of New Zealand that I wish to serve that have led me here. These are the very things I wish to follow me, and to haunt me, for as long as I have the privilege of serving in this place.
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.
