Hide Rodney: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
Hide Rodney: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
[Volume:659;Page:8624] 
Hon RODNEY HIDE (Leader—ACT) 
: 
 First of all let me wish the very best to all the good people of Epsom who have done a wonderful job of supporting their local member. I have to say that on becoming a Minister I was very concerned about whether I would be able to perform adequately the duties of a local member but I have to say that with the help of other Ministers it has been very easy. What I found with National Ministers is that they actually do care about individual constituents so when I have taken concerns to the respective Ministers we have had a very good result and the outcome that we would expect. I would also like to thank all the ACT supporters and all the ACT voters who have supported us over the years. 
Our goal this year was to show that we could work well in Government that we could work well with the parties in Government and also that we could make a difference within Government so that giving one’s party vote to ACT would actually mean something. I believe that we have demonstrated that. I would like in particular to say how marvellous it has been to work with the Prime Minister John Key. John Key said at the start following the election that what was important to him was not the words on the paper of any confidence and supply agreement but the relationship that would be developed between National and the confidence and supply parties. I have to say that the Prime Minister and every other Minister have actually worked very very hard in terms of their integrity and their respect for the ACT Party and likewise with the Maori Party and United Future. The leadership John Key has shown in respect of the confidence and supply parties has made for a stronger and a better Government than would otherwise be the case. 
I thank all the Ministers I have worked with. It has been a fabulous year. I also particularly thank the Maori Party and United Future. Oftentimes we disagree on the policy issues but that is what we would expect when we come from different political parties. At no time have those disagreements spilled over into any loss of respect or into attack or insult. The relationship has been one of utmost dignity and I have to say I greatly admire the Maori Party as a consequence. I thank my electorate staff for working tirelessly on behalf of the people of Epsom. I also thank Mr John Carter the Associate Minister of Local Government because he has worked incredibly hard in that role and without doubt we actually have two Ministers of local government rather than one Minister and an Associate Minister. 
I thank Brendan Boyle and the team at the Department of Internal Affairs and the officials at the Ministry for Economic Development and at Treasury whom I work with. I thank them sincerely for their superb efforts. There is no doubt that those departments have faced big challenges and they have worked hard especially on the reforms under way in Auckland. The Auckland Transition Agency established to oversee the move to one unitary council in Auckland is doing a fantastic job. Executive chair Mark Ford general counsel Rob Fisher and the team at the agency deserve mention for their calm determined and professional work on what is no small task. I am grateful to them for all their efforts and look forward to their continuing in that job. 
To my parliamentary colleagues and in particular Mr Cunliffe on the Opposition benches the ACT Party extends its very best for the Christmas break and for a holiday with their families and friends. Of course we often disagree on matters of policy but we share a common goal which is to make New Zealand a better place for everyone. We disagree oftentimes about the best way to do that but I do not think there is anyone in this Parliament who does not want the best for our country. 
Mr Speaker your efforts in this House deserve special mention. I agree with all the commentators who laud your work in making Parliament an institution of which we can all be proud. I think that you have shown leadership and wisdom that has done New Zealand and our great institution of Westminster parliamentary democracy a wonderful service. I wish you and your wife a very good Christmas and holiday. You can reflect on putting something into our country and into our Parliament that is no mean achievement and that is a great respect for Parliament. 
I also thank everyone who works in the precincts. They have been mentioned but we all know that what makes our Parliament work is all the hard work of others who support the MPs often at difficult hours and often in difficult time frames. They too can have a break. 
I also wish the press gallery a good break and a good 2010. The relationship between the Government—and indeed politicians generally—and the press gallery is a robust one as it should be in any functioning democracy. I think that we have a great respect for the journalists and I think too despite what people might think at times the journalists too have a great respect for us as politicians and more particularly for this great institution that is our Parliament and this wonderful thing that is our democracy. 
It has been a tough year for Kiwis and a year of some considerable uncertainty. It has certainly been a tough year for a Minister of Finance grappling with a difficult set of accounts and a worldwide recession. It has been good to end the year on some good news on the economic front. What we know about Kiwis is that we can have a great Christmas confident in the knowledge that next year will be better because we actually have had a good and stable Government making the right decisions and that our Parliament is in good heart. So too are the values of this great country in terms of our work ethic our enterprise and the positivity that we can all revel in in this country from the Prime Minister down. Thank you.