Rurawhe AdrianIAN McKELVIE (National—Rangitīkei): Thank you Mr Speaker. This is kind of the time when you know there's no going back—ha ha! I'm done.Oddly enough I've lived my 28 years in public life with a lot of things in the back of my mind—but one in particular by an unknown author has stuck with me. It goes like this: I have wept in the night for the shortness of sight that to somebody's need made me blind. But I never yet shed a tear of regret for being a little too kind." Now anyone who knew me in my 20s would not believe that this is the same person they knew then. That's the effect life experience has on one; it's also why this place needs people with life experience because we change a lot from our 20s and 30s to our—I'm not going to say how old I am—to our 70s ha ha!When I entered this place I had no great expectation that I would have a profound impact here. So as I leave 12 years later I can only hope that I have enabled others to live a better more enabled and independent life than they could before I came. I hope that I have been able to give more Rangitīkeians hope and aspiration to achieve to enable them to feel better about life and to encourage them to visit and speak to their MP at any time in the hope of making their country a better place for them and their families to live.I have never been a pothole-and-road man or a person who worries about the cost of a council lunch or the colour of the library door; I have always been much more interested in where we want to be in 20 to 30 years and how we get there. As such I joined the National Party and came to Parliament having been elected as the member of Parliament for Rangitīkei in 2011 having previously served nine years as the Manawatū mayor a role I really enjoyed but needed to move on from as I don't believe mayors should stay around for much longer than nine years—probably nor should backbench MPs.One of the principles I brought to my public life was never to deny a problem or failing to admit to a problem and get on with fixing it. I have to say one of the greatest downfalls of successive Ministers in this place is their failure to recognise or admit to a problem and getting on with fixing it; after all they have the power—and some the ability to do so. It seems we are able to go on blaming previous administrations for years and years. If I had a piece of advice for members of Parliament it would be that: don't blame the others don't hide from the problem; admit your shortcomings and use your considerable influence and power to change what you can while you are here. One further piece of advice is: never be convinced by a senior Minister to swim in a very public place—ha ha!If I have a single regret on leaving this place it is that I have been unable to encourage more collegiality within and some degree of common acceptance universally around the big decisions facing us—climate change child welfare family violence and progress on environmental changes needed to ensure our futures as a world-leading food and fibre producer and that's not to mention health and education. Sadly I have to report that I have failed in the collegiality thing; however it is not for the lack of trying meeting with MPs across the House; the former Speaker Trevor Mallard—who inexplicably wanted the best for this place but showed it in very odd ways at times!—participating in cross-party events select committee and Speakers' tours even cricket tours. That cricket tour allowed me to have lunch at 10 Downing Street and on the same day attend the bulk of the infamous world cup cricket final at Lord's—stuff dreams are made of for a romantic like me. All of this to pretty much no avail and if you go back to my maiden speech it was all about "creating more collegiality in Parliament".One big issue I want to comment on before I leave this amazing place is the wellbeing of MPs and their staff. In my experience we generally look after each other pretty well; we also look out for each other when personal wellbeing is at stake. There are two matters which break these boundaries and cause much stress. One is thinking that staff of politicians can be politically neutral while working under a party banner—it is just not plausible.The second is the extreme and unacceptable prying into the private lives of MPs which has no relevance to their ability to perform the roles they are elected to undertake. This would never happen in the corporate world or down on the farm and it shouldn't happen here. If we don't reach some agreement as a society as to the boundaries here we will undermine democracy and chase the very people we want running for Parliament away for good. We come here accepting the risks but our friends and family do not and it is totally unacceptable that they should be compromised by the fact we choose to serve.You might ask what I've been doing in this place for all those years—well I wonder that as well! But I've ended every day in politics wondering if I have done enough wondering what I could have done better and if I could have done a little bit more to help people; even wondering at times if I am a very poor actor. I have listened to so many people tell me how to do things better with great ideas for the future and consequently I might ask of all of you as I leave here what are you going to do about it? Because we all come here knowing what needs to be done—we just take such different paths as we strive to put it right. I hope you will forgive me for stealing a phrase from a great New Zealand retailer Alan Martin—who most of you won't remember—"'It's the putting it right that counts".One thing I have been doing here is passing two members' bills with a third picked up by the Hon Andrew Little with help from the Hon Kieran McAnulty and planted in a Government bill all under a Labour Government. These concerned three subjects very dear to me: horses or racing livestock and dogs. That's why we come here to promote the issues we're interested in and it does show that collegiality is achievable if one chooses to work at it.One role I really enjoyed was my short time in the Speaker's Chair as a temporary Assistant Speaker. The help I got from the team behind the wall in the Clerk's office was amazing and there is no doubt they could make any person appointed to the Speaker's role look great—that is no reflection on you Mr Speaker ha ha! Sorry to give your secret away!Whilst on the people behind the wall there have been so many who help us on a daily basis from the security team; to those who clean up after we leave for the day; to the messengers; to the House team; to the select committee staff who are amazing; to the team in Bellamy's—you have been so kind to Sue and I and I thank you.Another role I particularly enjoyed was my spokesperson for seniors—it's quite appropriate I imagine—and subsequent involvement with our National SuperBlues a wonderful group of older New Zealanders. It's been an amazing experience talking to older New Zealanders. It's interesting what you find out.I am a farmer born a farmer and never intended to be anything else—oh how life can change. As such I recognise that change is essential to achieve our aspiration to be the world's cleanest and greenest food and fibre producer and it needs to be done in an incremental manner that most can agree to. To achieve this we need a plan bought into by the majority of this House particularly the two major parties and all businesses and producers affected by it. It has to allow those businesses and those responsible for the implementation of change to be able to plan and budget for the future with certainty to know the plan is achievable and to be confident that achieving this will ensure they are valued and have a business with a certain future. One Government starting these processes and the next one stopping them will never see us making the progress our farmers deserve.Whilst on the topic of agriculture I will quote from my maiden speech. I said "I want to make a plea for us not to encourage through suspect policy the planting of pine trees on land that can be used for food production". How prescient that proved to be as we continue to allow the planting of pine trees in the permanent forest sink on land that should otherwise be available to agriculture and the productive forestry sector. This is one of the biggest single challenges we face in New Zealand with respect to our future as a food-producing nation and one that must be resolved urgently—and will be by a National Government when elected in October. Having said that I also firmly believe that the emissions trading scheme has a place in our climate change response.I have spent a lot of my time in Parliament sitting on select committees and have had the privilege of chairing two of—one while in Government and one whilst in Opposition. As I leave here I am sad to say that they do not work any better than they did when I arrived. By that I mean they miss the opportunity to achieve much more for New Zealanders because of the partisan nature of them. Were they able to operate in a semi-bipartisan manner doing what is best for the legislation or the inquiry or financial review in front of them we would produce a much better result for the Parliament the Government and the people of New Zealand.This approach to select committee work would also help maintain a very strong democracy which I believe is being weakened by the day in New Zealand. Remembering whatever the select committee does can be overturned by the Parliament—or the Government of the day—if so desired. The Minister concerned would then have to have a much stronger and more public reason for doing so and that would be great for democracy and the legislation concerned.I have seen so much legislation bulldozed through select committees and returned to Parliament only to need a quick and poorly-thought-out fix at committee stage or need to be returned to Parliament shortly after Royal assent. Haven't we seen this very day an ill-considered and ill-conceived water legislation rushed through the select committee under urgency only for a 250-page Supplementary Order Paper to be dropped on the Parliament a few days later. A four-year term would make that process much easier.One of the things many will have noticed is my reticence when it comes to asking questions of Ministers and I will explain this very quickly. One of my early questions was to a Minister—who shall remain nameless—a primary and three supplementaries. Being a new and very clever MP I listened very carefully to the answers knowing that the Minister concerned had answered the third supplementary in the answer to the second. I did not ask the third—and amid much glaring from the Minister concerned I sat staunchly in my seat. Needless to say I didn't get a question for another 18 months.I have been privileged in my time here to have been looked after by some amazing people hereby Fiona Julian Leanne Marshall and Ainslie Newell—who has put up with me for the last 11 years—in the electorate offices by Norma Humphries Jacky Short Suze Redmayne Hilary Webb Bernadette McIlwaine Jane Cameron Leanne Marshall and the Taumarunui version of the MP Kay Kidd who's been with me from the very start.I have also been fortunate to have had two excellent policy advisors here in Ben Henderson and Jamie Allan; and voluntary and special ones in Grant Hadfield Simon Taylor and Wiremu Te Aweawe—and of course I've got a vintage model on some days in Rob Webb. I have also had four great youth MPs in Jacinta Gulasekharam Ben Henderson William Wood and Daisy Tumataroa all of whom I am sure will make a great impression on New Zealand during their lives—possibly as a result of that experience.A few words about my Rangitīkei electorate who without the great support of I would not be here today. Electorate chairs the late Bruce Mills Gary Massicks Jamie Cunningham and Shelley Dew Hopkins all of who have been great support to me; my campaign chairs Simon Taylor Jamie Cunninghame and Grant Hadfield; my campaign organisers Kathy Johnson and Adrienne Pierce; and my sign teams bosses the late Mervyn Craw the late Johnny Monckton the late Brendon Mickleson the late Bruce Mills the late Anton Smith and the late Neville Wheeler—it's a very tough job that sign job! And those surviving—there have been some—in Cameron McKelvie Greg Weston Mark Monckton Jamie Cunningham and Shelley Dew Hopkins.Special people in Elaine Wheeler Jacqui Campion Marion and Bill Abbiss Diana Hansen Claire Hare Jane Bolton Stuart Picken Norma Humphries; and my late brother BJ who was both a great critic and a great supporter; my late mother Rosemary who kept on asking me when the Labour Government came to power "Have you seen the Prime Minister today?" I said "No Mum I haven't!" She's no longer with us of course. And so many others who have been special to Sue and I.I followed a very good MP and senior Minister in Simon Power into this place and I hope to be followed by an equally good one in Suze Redmayne. I wish her all the best in the upcoming election; I know she will be a star in a future Government—the fact that Simon and I played a role in her education ensures that. Gotta claim it now!I have always had a good relationship with my neighbouring MPs and I must mention particularly—because there's been a number more too—Tangi Utikere the Rt Hon Adrian Rurawhe—Mr Speaker—and my own National neighbours Nathan Guy the late Chester Borrows and Jono Naylor. We are all loyal to our region. Finally in this respect I must mention the person I rate most highly and that's Dame Tariana Turia—I think she's the most courageous politician of my time.Other very important people especially to our provincial MPs are our mayors. I've had a few—16 in all—and all have worked very hard for our region and been very supportive of me. I must especially mention—because I can't mention them all—my successors at the Manawatū District Council: Margaret Kouvellis and Helen Worboys Don Cameron Andy Watson Grant Smith Tracy Collis and Brendon Duffy.The class of 2011—I have loved our time with them. We started as a group of nine grew to 11 and I wish the four of you left standing—Simon O'Connor Mark Mitchell Scott Simpson and Paul Goldsmith—all the best in the upcoming election. I will never forget Paul Foster-Bell's take-off of Tim Groser or Paul Goldsmith just being Paul Goldsmith—or Maggie Barry just being Maggie Barry even if it was at 2 o'clock in the morning. Also to demonstrate the somewhat treacherous nature of this job there have been 98 National MPs here with me; now there are 34 left—64 have been and gone. When I appeared before the interview panel for selection to become a candidate in May 2011 one thing in particular stuck with me and that was being told by the chair that my wife would play very little part in my political life. Well I told her that—you can imagine how that went down with her. Of course she has effectively been the other half of the MP for Rangitīkei for the past 12 years. How lucky have I been to have had a hugely supportive family and Sue who lived the business for all those years. She has also driven many of the 850000 km our cars have travelled just touching the brakes from time to time when she got a little bored—with me sitting on the computer; your head goes up pretty quick when that happens.I am sure she will miss this place and its people more than I will. She has seen the world while I have been an MP as is only fair; as we become slaves to our roles our partners need a life of their own. We will wake up on the morning of 15 October with nothing to do—the first time since we went to school 66 years ago. It will be a new adventure in a life together that has been full of them. To our very adult children—Diana and Thaine Cam and Rachel Angus and Harri—and our eight grandchildren thank you for putting up with the at-times unwanted publicity and the fact that we cannot attend birthdays sports events and other family occasions that "normal" people do.I have loved my time in here serving the people of the Rangitīkei visiting businesses people and houses all over the country—in fact in many parts of the world—battling with constituents from all over the place and some have literally been all over the place. I know and have learnt so much and as I leave here I have no idea what will happen to that or what I will do in the future.I will not be joining the critics of this place on leaving—that's the job of the press and the voters. Finally I have served under two great New Zealanders in Sir John Key Sir Bill English the unlucky Simon Bridges Todd Muller—and we just heard today what might have been—and the courageous Judith Collins. I wish Christopher Luxon Nicola Willis my 2011 colleagues and the National team led by Sylvia Wood all the best in the upcoming election. They will make a fantastic Government for all New Zealand if elected—albeit in very challenging circumstances. Thank you Mr Speaker.[Applause]SPEAKER: I'm going to now ask Ian McKelvie's family and friends to vacate the gallery so that we can have David Bennett's friends and family come in. Thank you."