Dunne Peter: Address to Her Excellency the Governor-General 
Dunne Peter: Address to Her Excellency the Governor-General 
[Volume:617;Page:13188] 
Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) 
: 
 I want to begin by acknowledging the service of all those who have served in this Parliament either as members or as officials of it over the last 150 years and particularly those former members and former staff colleagues who are here today to celebrate this important milestone in the life of this Parliament and the life of this country. 
It is a very humbling experience to stand in this Parliament today and appreciate that it was in this very Chamber that Richard John Seddon became our first populist leader and bestrode the political landscape like the colossus of his time that he was. It was in this Chamber not far from where I am standing now that Michael Joseph Savage and Walter Nash laid the foundations of the welfare State in the 1930s. It was in this Chamber that that great parliamentarian Sir Keith Holyoake made his mark over almost 5 decades. Many of the legends we have grown up with as being the founding fathers—and they were in the main fathers—of our political system made their reputation in this very Chamber. 
In my time in this Chamber I remember many classic members and many classic occasions. I particularly recall Sir Gerard Wall sitting where you are now Mr Speaker and achieving the rare milestone of being able to eject both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition by 4 minutes past 2 one Tuesday afternoon. I recall Sir Robert Muldoon in his later years when he was still the most devastating 5-minute debater in this Parliament. 
 What we are about today is recalling and respecting the tradition established over 150 years and the contribution of so many men and women who have preceded us as members of this Chamber. But this is an occasion that is bigger than just a celebration of the Parliament’s 150th anniversary. We cannot become captured by events to the extent that we do not look out beyond those and contemplate their relevance to our wider nation. 
This Parliament is the cradle of our democracy. Yet I think our democracy is something that we far too often take for granted. Last week I was in Taiwan at the inauguration of the new president of that country and what struck me there in comparison to our respect for democracy was the blatant outpouring of positive support for the fact that a new leader was being inaugurated.In New Zealand we do not have that same degree of outpouring of support and excitement when a Government changes or when new political leaders come to office because we take our democracy so much more for granted. 
All of those nations that are new to the democratic tradition cherish it value it nurture it and promote it. Here we tend to think that because it has been around for 150 years and because this is one of the oldest continuous parliaments in the world we do not have to do anything very much to nurture encourage promote or support it. Then perhaps we wonder why respect for the institution appears to wane from time to time and that confidence in us as politicians is not all we might expect it to be. Although a lot of that is due to our own performance a lot of it is due to the fact that we as a nation do not do enough to promote the democratic ideal promote the concept of parliamentary democracy and demonstrate its relevance to the lives of every single New Zealander. 
As we celebrate 150 years of parliamentary Government today we ought to be reflecting on how we can take the relevance and the message of that ideal out to the public so many of whom over a wide range of issues feel disenfranchised. It is of no relevance to them to say that this is one of the longest-serving and most continuous parliaments in the world. It is of no relevance to them to recount the stories of old that many of us have learnt of the annals of this Chamber and that many of us like to recount to rotary clubs and others. What our people are seeking from us is an affirmation of our democracy and a commitment to making it work in their interests. That is the challenge confronting this Parliament as it embarks upon its second sesquicentenary. 
I think that one of the issues we therefore have to give real consideration to as we embark upon that next 150-year journey—at a time Sir when even you will no longer be with us; and I want to acknowledge that your achievement has been a remarkable one—is how we change this institution to meet the needs of a changing nation. While there is virtue in Parliament’s tradition and while it is appropriate that we cling to the forms and formats of the past as a guide to the future we cannot afford to become so hidebound by them that nothing changes and Parliament and our constitution remain caught in a time warp that simply reconfirms for many how out of touch we are. 
I think therefore that it is appropriate that in the wider community at the moment we are starting to embark upon a broad debate about the future of our constitution about the role of our Parliament about where the Treaty of Waitangi fits about the relevance of our institutions about the relationships between our executive our legislative and our judicial branches and about our status as a constitutional monarchy. 
These are not issues that a mature nation ought to be afraid of or run away from. If we really believe that one of our achievements over the last 150 years has been to bring our Parliament to a state where it is pivotal and central to our democracy and where the challenges achievements and progress that have been striven for and made are meaningful then we will be bold in our approach to the future. One hundred and fifty years ago the national and international circumstances into which this organisation was born were vastly different from those we confront today. The challenge for this Parliament is to remain relevant in the future and part of that will be the way in which we reconsider and then amend—as necessary for the future—our constitutional arrangements to continue the vibrancy and growth of this nation. 
It has been said many times that the mix of our peoples is changing. We have heard reference already this afternoon to the way representation in this Chamber is starting to reflect that mix. The next big challenge for all those New Zealanders—current and to come—is how the structure of our system of Government and the role of our Parliament in relation to that Government is addressed. 
As we reflect upon 150 years of parliamentary achievement we can all think about the great things and the great individuals who have been part of this Chamber; those issues where New Zealand has led the world—and we have been proud to do so—and those of our number who have made a contribution far beyond the limits of these shores. The challenge for us as we move forward and for those who will succeed us in this Chamber is to keep that momentum going. It is one thing to be remembered as one of the longest-serving small democracies of a parliamentary nature in the world; an even greater achievement would be to be seen always at the forefront of progress the forefront of justice and the forefront of democracy. I believe that is the challenge that this Parliament should pick up as it embarks upon its next 150 years.