Upston Louise: Maiden Statements 
Upston Louise: Maiden Statements 
[Volume:651;Page:871] 
LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 Mr Deputy Speaker congratulations on your appointment. Members of Parliament ladies and gentlemen friends and family I stand before you as a servant of the people of Taupo and of New Zealand. I am proud to be a National Party member of Parliament and proud to be a member of the Government led by John Key. On 8 November New Zealanders voted for change. They voted for better opportunities for the freedom to make choices in their own lives and for a Government focused on a brighter future. Today is my opportunity to introduce myself to share my journey to Parliament and also to share what I hope to achieve while I am here. I am Louise Upston; my maiden name was McGill. I am a fourth-generation New Zealander. When my family arrived here New Zealand was the promised land the land of opportunity. New Zealand was the chance for our forefathers to better themselves and their families. My father was born in Southland my mother in Selwyn. I was born in North Shore and raised in East Coast Bays. I first voted in Tamaki and had my first child in Mt Albert. I was married in Waikato but I chose to raise my children in the heart of the Taupo electorate. 
My father Ian who is here today and my late mother Norma shaped me. My parents taught me about hard work and determination. As I was the youngest of four my sisters and brother taught me a few lessons too. I learnt that I had to stick my head up to be noticed. I learnt to persevere when the odds seemed stacked against me and not to take no for an answer. These lessons had stood me in good stead when at the age of 19 I launched my first business. Since then I have been an employee an employer a manager a leader and a director. I have been in a range of industries including local government tourism education broadcasting and information technology. This is the breadth of experience that I bring to my electorate and to this House. 
Life has not always been easy for me; I have seen success and failure personally and professionally and I have learnt from it. Determination and a bit of guts have enabled me to overcome the challenges by getting over them around them through them or under them. 
Honourable members we all know the hard work it is to get a seat in this House. We work hard to get here. Getting a seat in this House has been a goal of mine for many years and many people have also worked hard to help me take my place here—in particular my husband Craig. Craig is an incredibly generous man who knows the importance of setting one’s sights high standing up for what one believes in and never giving up: Craig I could not have done it without you. To my children: Hamish my teacher; Mac my warrior; and Jessica my princess; my father my hero; and my late mother my guide; and to the many friends and extended family who encouraged me to follow my dream—thank you for your love and support; for your patience and your generosity. 
And I have the best “blue” crew in the country—we turned Taupo blue—they were as determined as I was to win the seat and worked incredibly hard with me to achieve the goal. I say thanks from the bottom of my heart to the National Party volunteers from Taupo led so well by campaign manager Simon Lusk and electorate chairperson Hilary Brown. Of course we have a very special Taupo resident—party president Judy Kirk who took this great party from its darkest days in 2002 to its brightest in 2008. 
To the Prime Minister the Hon John Key I say: “Thank you for your belief in a better New Zealand for your unwillingness to accept mediocrity and for your strength in these turbulent times. New Zealanders have put their faith and trust in you and I know they won’t be disappointed.” 
So why am I here? Because we need change—not change for change’s sake but real change that makes a difference to the lives of ordinary New Zealanders change that will give us a brighter future. First we have to change our attitude—dreaming big dreams setting big goals celebrating excellence acknowledging achievement and nurturing tall poppies. New Zealanders can do it. 
 Nelson Mandela once quoted Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Our unique Kiwi spirit has power. In recent times it has been suppressed. Political correctness has invaded our homes our lives and our minds. Mediocrity has replaced excellence and fear has replaced courage. We are all pioneers whether our waka arrived this decade or last century and no matter where we started our journey we are all pioneers. That is what makes us unique. 
The people of this country we pioneers are all different. We are all equal and we can all succeed at something. Every New Zealander can do well and as a Government we want New Zealanders to do well. National is determined to raise the bar. I am proud to be part of a Government that will expect more—more of ourselves more of our Government departments and more of the communities we represent. We will not sit back and watch this great country go backwards. We will face the challenges head on. We will move nimbly when needed and boldly when necessary. We all know we are in challenging times. Resilience and determination and the belief in better days ahead will see us through. 
First and foremost I am here to represent the people of Taupo. The mighty Waikato River connects the people of my electorate from the peak of Mount Tongariro to the horse studs of Cambridge; from the trout capital of Turangi to the forest land of Tokoroa; and from the tourist Mecca of Taupo to the finest dairy farms in Tirau and Putaruru. My focus is on the people of Taupo and representing them. I have heard too many stories of hard-working New Zealanders trying to get ahead and having to fight a system that is meant to be there to support them. It should be simple for people to get the assistance they need. There are too many rules and regulations policies and procedures and not enough common sense. 
My parents had lots of common sense: they valued education because it meant opportunity. That is why education is my top priority. Every New Zealander has the right to a great education because education provides opportunities. We need to give every New Zealander the skills and knowledge to succeed. Currently one in five of our children fail. At one of the schools in my electorate 20 high school students have a reading age of 8. Our education system has failed those children. If they cannot read or write their opportunities in life will be severely limited. We should be helping those children and that is why I am proud to be part of National’s crusade for literacy and numeracy. As a parent as well as a politician I know that education is the first step on the path to success. 
Teachers and principals are doing the hard graft: doing their best to provide an environment where our children can learn. They deserve the resources to get the job done and our support to let them make decisions about how best to do their job. With our support and parent support teachers and principals will teach our children to strive and achieve aim high and work hard. Excellence in education will ensure New Zealand has a brighter future. 
My second priority is keeping New Zealand safe again. In March this year over a thousand people gathered in Taupo at a Sensible Sentencing Trust event. I saw ordinary New Zealanders demonstrating their disgust at the murder of Karen Aim. They were claiming back their town and demanding action to make it safe again. There are simple ways to do that. By changing the laws around sentencing bail and repeat offenders we can reduce crime committed by known criminals. 
Let me tell the House about a family in my electorate; about an innocent young girl with her whole life ahead of her—Krystal Bennett. She was stolen from her family by a known criminal: a disqualified driver who was driving an unwarranted unregistered vehicle and was a repeat drugged driver. The offender was on bail. She was awaiting sentencing for a crime she had committed 6 months earlier and not far from this Chamber she crossed the centre line ploughed into Krystal and killed her. 
The suffering of her family the Barnetts their lives ruined by a career criminal was dramatically increased by the previous Government which seemed indifferent to the victims of crime yet frittered millions of dollars on criminals. The victims—Sharlene and Malcolm—lost their daughter. They had to fight to get justice when they should have been supported by a system that puts victims ahead of criminals. Our police need our support in their fight for safer communities. In the fight to reduce crime New York’s former mayor Giuliani understood that police supported by politicians are much stronger than those attacking them. Mayor Giuliani backed his police force to reduce the crime rate. 
It seems everyone is presumed innocent except the police. They act courageously and make terribly difficult decisions in the line of duty and we repay that by hounding them in the media launching immediate inquiries and subjecting them to intense scrutiny. Why do we not support our police? Why do we not back them? Are we going to have to implement Tasers with video cameras to prove the police are innocent? Let us not be mistaken: the police are good the criminals are bad. It is as simple as that. We need to support our police and not tie them in knots with bureaucracy. 
Like all honourable members I want to ensure that New Zealand has a great future; a future where education is valued and our communities are safe. I am ambitious for my country my community and my kids. In this House we talk. We need to do more than talk. We need to act with courage and determination and to work hard for New Zealand. There are challenges ahead and I am realistic about the size of them. I am excited about being part of a team that will deliver a brighter future to New Zealand.