Turner Judy: Address to Her Excellency the Governor-General 
Turner Judy: Address to Her Excellency the Governor-General 
[Volume:617;Page:13210] 
JUDY TURNER (United Future) 
: 
 I often think that politics is rather like driving in that it is advisable while focusing on the road ahead to regularly glance in the rear-view mirror to keep track of where we have come from. Tangata whenua offer the idea that we should back into the future always mindful of our heritage and the price paid for the freedoms members exercise in this place on behalf of all New Zealanders. With the few minutes I have to contribute to this occasion I would like to focus on one of the constants that have motivated Governments and politicians for most of the 150 years New Zealand has enjoyed democratic government. It is this thought: that New Zealand can and should be the best place in the world to raise a family. 
In the first 100 years of government “family” was easily defined and clearly prescribed as mum and dad and children of tribal proportions with the extended family living close by. Living outside those perimeters was considered scandalous. History records the many changes that ushered in the family diversity we experience today. Changes in technology changes in family law the impact of developing media the provision of welfare and the changing and progressing role of women and the consequential changes for men all contributed to the normalising of new approaches to the family. 
Somewhere in the middle of all that change we went into a fog or haze and families seemed to disappear off the conversational radar for some years. Whether we were swamped into a deluge of political correctness that made such conversations unfashionable or whether it was just that we subscribed to the good old Kiwi mind-your-own-business approach to life is unclear. However the good news is that the family is back on the radar screen and in a matter of weeks we will see the opening of the Families Commission. This is a Crown agency charged with the responsibility of making sure that family considerations never slip off the agenda and it will make sure that families are never overlooked or neglected by future Governments. 
This new commission along with many other commissions established by successive Governments has been an interesting development in the way we govern ourselves in New Zealand. Such commissions provide us with the opportunity to identify key aspects of our lives here in Aotearoa New Zealand that we do not ever want to see neglected or allowed to fall into disrepair. These bodies have been set up to advocate to both the Government and the wider community for those key causes. 
The renowned philosopher Jonathan Sachs wrote: “If we have any moral responsibilities at all then we have moral responsibilities to those we have brought into being. Our duty to children is constitutive and inalienable.” So my hope for the next 150 years is that we will be even more diligent regarding the right of every child to an unambiguous identity a definite sense of purpose and a stable family context to which that child belongs. We must add to what we already know about the risk factors that undermine family life a clear understanding of the strengths that produce confident parenting and resilient homes so that we take our responsibility as the House of Representatives seriously in order to deliver an environment in which families thrive. 
I hope we continue to value the institutions of civil society that contribute to cohesive communities while never presuming to take on their role nor expecting them to deliver what is clearly our mandate and I hope we may have the wisdom to know the difference. 
In conclusion I believe we need to have the courage to constantly ask ourselves the tough questions about outcomes as they relate to children; but most important we need to make sure that every child raised in this country has equal access to a future characterised by hope.