Mallard Trevor; Sosene Lemauga LydiaMAIDEN STATEMENTSPEAKER: Order! We're not going to do a prayer—you know sorry. I know there's plenty of people in the audience that would be keen on us praying more than once a day but we're not going to do that formally at the moment. Members in accordance with the determination of the Business Committee I call on Lemauga Lydia Sosene to make her maiden statement.LEMAUGA LYDIA SOSENE (Labour): Ou te faatalofa atu i le paia ma le mamalu ua aofaga potopoto i le Maota fono o le Palemene. Tulouna le paia faatafafā o le maota nei. Tulouna le afio o lau afioga le Palemia o Aotearoa.Tulouna rangatira kaumātua ko tangata whenua.Tulouna kuia tuakana ko tangata whenua.Le mamalu e ma le paia o le aofia. Mālō e lelei fakaalofa lahi atu kia orana tāloha ni namaste al salam alaikum ni hao tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.I rise as a new list member of Parliament for the Labour Party. I greet you all House of Representatives of Parliament in New Zealand. May I begin by respectfully recognising this Whare. Here in Wellington I greet our Prime Minister the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern by thanking her and the Labour Government the House of Representatives our Māori elders tangata whenua our people of Aotearoa. To all members of Parliament across all political parties I greet you respectfully in te reo our Pasifika languages though short but significant.I want to reflect on my journey on how long it has taken me to get to today. I could not have been here without the support of the Labour Party. The values the beliefs I hold dearly are akin to the values of the Labour philosophy—I am so proud to be a part of the team of the Labour parliamentary caucus. I greet you Madam President of the New Zealand Labour Party Clair Szabó and your executive team.I specifically want to thank our Prime Minister the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern. As a regular visitor to South Auckland my home town you are our friend. Many times you have come to speak to us in Tāmaki Makaurau in our times of hardship in our times of sorrow. Your formidable leadership o te wahine toa o le tamaitai toa o le motu o le Pasefika as the daughter of New Zealand the daughter of Niue islands you are also the daughter of our Pasifika nations. We are truly grateful for your friendship Prime Minister.I was born to a young Samoan couple reverend Ofisa Nu'uali'itia and Litia Nu'uali'itia. My father was a graduate of Malua Theological College in Samoa. My mother was a registered nurse also from Samoa. Arriving to New Zealand at the instruction of their parents in their homeland they joined the call of the largest wave of Pasifika migrants because New Zealand employers needed migrant workers in the early 1950s. The Pacific nations were the closest international neighbours who beckoned to the call. Technically the Samoans and the Tongans who stepped forward at that time needed approval to live and work in New Zealand. But the then New Zealand Government quickly approved new migrants from the Pacific to fill those positions advertised. It seemed difficult to attract the local domestic workforce. Two of those Pacific migrants were my parents.My father hailed from paternal villages of Falefa Falevao in Upolu Samoa. His maternal side from the villages Matautu and Sapunaoa Falealili in Samoa. My mother was born to her maternal family aiga from Saasaai Savaii Samoa and her paternal father Salani in Apia Samoa. My father came out first not long after his younger brother Uncle Toetu Nu'uali'itia joined him as they found lodgings in a boarding house in Parnell. They both found employment quickly—pulp and paper mill in Tokoroa. But life here was so different: cold winters missing Samoa missing their culture missing their language. And without choice they each adapted to the Pālagi way of life. Soon after my father met my mother beginning their own family. By the time I arrived my parents had accepted a role as the first reverend of a local church to establish the second branch of Ekalesia Fa'apotopotoga Kerisiano Samoa (EFKS) in Ōtara. The suburb of Ōtara in the mid-60s was set up by the State offering cheaper housing located near the freezing works and production and manufacturing industries. By the 1970s the suburb of Ōtara was a place labelled by State departments without public amenities such as kindergartens trees and local parks. Young children of low-income families were missing out.In my former role as an elected local Government member for over a decade I know for a fact when planning new suburbs public infrastructure to that new community is a must rather than a nice to have. For families their children and young people public assets are much needed to grow healthy neighbourhoods for them to thrive.My parents retired from the Ōtara EFKS moving our family to the home they purchased in Henderson West Auckland. But only a year later in 1973 they accepted another pastoral call: a new branch of EFKS in Papatoetoe South Auckland. Our family was upheaved once again from West Auckland to resettle in Papatoetoe South Auckland for them to begin this parish with a small congregation. Papatoetoe is where my siblings my three brothers and my sister completed our public schooling. I recall in those days when local Labour MPs would call my father asking him for support and his community's support. My father was relied upon for his unofficial social worker efforts and community connections as he took every opportunity to advocate for better services for the communities he represented. You see advocacy—that was his thing. Immigration justice welfare matters were just some of the topics he would raise with the leaders. I remember the many late-night phone calls and the visits from community members in the most desperate circumstances seeking help because they had nobody else to turn to.My father was a fluent Tongan speaker and helped his kāinga where he could. He also helped his Fijian family members—him and my mum based in Auckland. You see that was all in the mix of his village concept. No one was ever turned away. Although our mother spoke little English us kids—we were the interpreters. Our parents protected us by ensuring our daily needs were cared for. They both worked hard—up to three jobs weekly—and sacrificed much for us kids. But we were expected to help out. Some troubled youth from our local church families came to live with us and my mother's instructions were to care for them. Those were the lessons my siblings and I learnt: to care for one another to serve our community with the best resources we had at that time. That is why I am here today. I have served my family. I have served my community. Now I am here to serve my country. As a proud Samoan woman raised in Aukilani New Zealand it is my hope that I will make a lasting contribution work hard and strive for solutions on some of the Government's key priorities: climate change and specifically issues of the environment to assist in solutions to eradicate children's poverty focus on New Zealanders' wellbeing in areas of mental health and specifically women's health. Māori and Pasifika communities are particularly vulnerable and overrepresented in some of these areas.I am a strong believer in social justice. I want to continue to promote women into good stable jobs. Whether it's around the board table or leading operational teams women have the innate natural ability to bring out key skillsets—empathy and understanding to get the job done. Pasifika women are paid far less on the equity pay scale and work continues forward led by race relations commissioner Saunoamaali'i Karanina Sumeo a proud Samoan woman based in South Auckland and I congratulate her for this. She is up in the gallery.The year 2020 was the year that New Zealand like the rest of the world was turned upside down by COVID-19 and its destructive force. No one predicted the changes it would bring to the shores of Aotearoa changing it for ever. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Labour Government prepared New Zealand's health and economic recovery response. Thank you to all the front-line workers essential workers health workers—you fed us you looked after us and that continues.Finally I pay tribute to my parents. They are no longer here but they are with me today in spirit. I miss you every single day mum and dad. This is your legacy. From humble beginnings in Ōtara South Auckland to Wellington I am honoured to serve New Zealanders as a member of Parliament. I know you would both be so very proud. I thank my siblings Va'a Allen David my sister Amelia Mark and Brian and your families my aiga and Afoa's aiga potopoto my Soul Sistas my colleagues and friends and community here tonight in the gallery and many others listening tonight to Parliament TV.I want to especially acknowledge Vui Mark and Carol Gosche; Jessica Jacob and Kristian—rest in peace—and their families. They helped me start this dream. My Ekalesia reverend Peniamina faletua Sinatala Leota and those who are here tonight; the Magele Labour team led by local MP Aupito William Sio and faletua Jean; my Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board Auckland Council colleagues; my Mount Albert Grammar School colleagues Pat Drumm Whaea Tui G and Simon from the second-largest high school in Aotearoa with 3000 students rangitahi. I served on there for 15 years as a school trustee and they're celebrating their centennial in 2022. I am the better person because all of you care so deeply about your local communities. I thank you for your manaakitanga to my journey today to build my self-confidence resilience to be a better leader grounded in the values and beliefs of our caring society.I pray I will strive to make that difference for New Zealanders. I am so very proud to make history as the 11th Pasifika parliamentarian of the Labour Government 2022 the largest Pasifika caucus ever. Lastly to my husband Afoataga William Sosene and to our sons—Ioritana; daughter-in-law Felicia and moko Taika; Christian and your partner Kasidy—thank you for your patience. Thank you for your alofa. Take good care of Nana Sai and Nana Valasi. God bless you. Nō reira faafetai tele Soifua ma ia manuia.ApplauseSamoan hymn