Edmonds BarbaraBARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana): Fa'afetai tele lava Mr Speaker. It is always an honour to speak in this House even more so today in my first adjournment debate and to hold the torch on behalf of the class of 2020 and our Labour colleagues.In preparing for this debate the analytical person that I am I looked at previous adjournment debates. There are common elements that run over all of them such as the House's gratitude for and acknowledgment of the staff and people that keep Parliament and our electorate offices ticking. To the library security the cleaners IT teams the press gallery the Office of the Clerk Parliamentary Service Ministerial Services and the team here in Copperfield's I echo those same sentiments today—thank you.Probably the biggest difference I noticed though was not so much the content of the speeches but actually who was delivering them from the opposite side as the Leader of the Opposition. In the adjournment debate of 2017 it was Bill English; adjournment debate 2019 Simon Bridges; adjournment debate 2020 Judith Collins; and now in the adjournment debate for 2021 Christopher Luxon. Just in case the trend continues I offer my congratulations to the Leader of the Opposition and his deputy leader Nicola Willis. We worked together and against each other on the Finance and Expenditure Committee which may explain why when they were asked by Newshub who from across the House they would pick for their team they both identified me. Now when I raised this slightly scary and alarming proposition with my chief whip he responded very quickly with Mate well it's no surprise—they're looking for talent." to which I then added "And diversity." Thanks for the offer but no thanks. I am the Labour MP for Mana so talofa. But where my thanks does lie is with the hundreds and thousands of Kiwis who are working on the front line of the COVID-19 response and this is where the true talent and skills lie and it is with the diversity of their approach that we are seeing some of highest vaccination rates in the world. I look at the response in my electorate of Mana and the response of the two DHBs here in Wellington. Overall 91 percent of people in our region are fully vaccinated and 90 percent of Māori in the Capital and Coast DHB are fully vaccinated and the Pacific are not far away at 85 percent. We've had Māori- Pacific- youth- church- sport- workplace- and marae-based festivals. We've had Super Saturday mobile vans and buses Q and A sessions with gangs and their whānau in-home vaccinations for those in transitional housing mental health clients in courts and even people in police cells. This is not unique to Mana though. Like many other members of this House who have been on the ground our vaccination teams and organisers are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the vaccine in accessible to our communities. This is called prevention first. The people of Cannons Creek Tāmaki-makau-rau and Te Tai Tokerau are the real heroes not the villains of our COVID-19 response despite the claim of some of the members opposite. We appreciate our vaccination teams. We see you and we appreciate you. We appreciate the hard work of our formidable Prime Minister her Ministers their officials and our research teams. Another common element in adjournment debates is the highlights of the year so I ask the class of 2020 what their highlights were and let's see how many I can rattle off: the Dawn Raids apology; banning conversion therapy; Māori wards legislation; investment in papa kāinga housing and infrastructure; the Ministry for Disabled People and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities; a pathway to residence for 165000 migrants; minimum wage and benefit increases; sick leave reforms; the health reforms; pay equity for early childhood education; property and classroom upgrades for hundreds of schools; Budget increases to support our most vulnerable including the reintroduction of the training incentive allowance lunches in schools and free period products; funding of the changes to HPV screening for cervical cancer; the sexual violence bill passing; Dr Anae Neru Leavasa's TikToks and one of my personal favourites baby James; and our COVID economic response and recovery package. We know there is still more work to do but this year we believe we have supported and introduced meaningful change that will general improve the lives of New Zealanders.The last common element of adjournment debates I notice is that of song and remembrance. We remember all those close to us and those who stood in this House such as the Rt Hon Sir Michael Cullen who has passed: ia manuia lau malaga.It is the lyrics of this particular song that I believe describe our Labour caucus our focus and our approach.Tūtira mai ngā iwiCome together as oneWhāia te māramatangame te arohaSeek after knowledgeand love of othersKia tapatahiKia kotahi rāTātou tātou eThink as oneAct as oneAll of us.Nō reira manuai le Kirisimasi ma le tausaga fou. Happy holidays to you and your loved ones."