Martin Tracey: Address in Reply 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Martin Tracey: Address in Reply 
[Sitting date: 08 February 2012. Volume:677;Page:200. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
TRACEY MARTIN (NZ First) 
:  
I te taha o taku matua ko  
Bolton 
 raua ko  
Birman 
 aku waka. I te taha o taku whaea ko  
Takitimu 
 te waka o tana whanau whangai. Ko Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara te maunga ko Waingongoro te awa ko Waimarama te marae ko Taupunga te whare ko Ngati Kahungunu ki Heretaunga te iwi. Ko Ngati Whakaiti raua ko Ngati Kautere nga hapu. Ko Tiakitai te tangata ko Mohi te whanau. Ko Anne Williams raua ko Burnett Martin aku matua. Ko Tracey Anne Martin taku ingoa. 
He mihi atu ki nga atua i hanga i nga mea katoa. He mihi atu ki te whaea o te ao ko Papatuanuku e takoto ana ki waho. He mihi atu ki tenei Whare. Tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. E tu ana ahau i raro i te korowai o o tatou tupuna. 
[ 
On my father’s side  
Bolton 
 and  
Birman 
 are my ships. On my mother’s side the  
Takitimu 
 canoe is her adopted family’s canoe. Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara is the mountain Waingongoro is the river Waimarama is the courtyard Taupunga is the house Ngati Kahungunu of Hastings is the tribe and the subtribes are Ngati Whakaiti and Ngati Kautere. Tiakitai is the man and Mohi is the family. Anne Williams and Burnett Martin are my parents and Tracey Anne Martin is my name. 
I acknowledge the gods who created everything mother Earth Papatuanuku lying out there and this House. Greetings to you greetings to you and greetings to you all. I stand beneath the cloak of our ancestors. 
] 
Mr Speaker firstly can I congratulate you on your reappointment to the Speaker’s Chair. And I will take this moment to acknowledge this House and to recognise its importance as a Whare where vital discussions are held and binding decisions are made but recognise also that those gathered within it are no more important than the people who placed us here and that all of us collectively are here to represent the people of New Zealand.  
I will take a moment to pause and to thank the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who through their votes requested that New Zealand First once again stand in this House to speak on their behalf. I will take a moment to thank the thousands of party members who never gave up and who provided in the final days of our election campaign the volunteer assistance that was forthcoming from every corner of the nation. My thanks go to those who gathered in February 2009 and made the commitment to keep New Zealand First alive and viable. Their efforts since that time have been unsung and unpaid and we owe them a debt of great thanks.  
I will take a moment to acknowledge the leadership of our rangatira the Rt Hon Winston Peters whose spirit and commitment to the principles of New Zealand First have led us out of the wilderness and back into Parliament.  
I will also take a moment to personally acknowledge the support of my family friends and community from those on parent teacher associations and school boards to kapahaka Te Whanau O Mahurangi and my respected colleagues and staff from the Rodney Local Board of Auckland Council.  
As a sixth-generation New Zealander my Pakeha ancestors arrived on the  
Bolton 
 and the  
Birman 
 in 1840 and 1842 respectively. You could say that I am returning to my roots with the Tonks family having built and operated one of the first brick factories flour mills tram tracks and blacksmiths shops in Poneke now known as Wellington. Not far from where we sit is the newly restored Tonks Grove with cottages originally built by William Tonks for his employees. Even then we believed in good-quality affordable housing.  
My maternal grandfather and his second wife Maude Mohi have provided me with the gift of blood ties to Ngati Kahungunu of Taupunga marae at Waimarama in Heretaunga. My brother-in-law and nieces and nephew proudly connect me to the New Zealand Chinese community a community whose historical contribution to the building of our nation is under-represented in the pages of our history books. As a wood dragon baby of 1964 beginning my term in Parliament in a water dragon year augers well. I like to think that in this sink or swim environment this combination gives me a floating edge. Ji xiang ru yi. Gong xi fa cai. 
The birthplaces of my mother and husband connect me to the mainland of New Zealand and through another brother-in-law our links stretch out into the Cook Islands. Kia orana tatou katoatoai teia ra. 
Like many New Zealanders our family has a proud history of giving service to this nation with specific mentions of my late grandfathers Lieutenant Kenneth Martin and his pivotal role at the Featherston prisoner of war camp during World War II before during and after the Featherston riot and warrant officer James Williams who saw service in the Egyptian desert and Italy as a New Zealand engineer with the 2nd New Zealand Division. 
 But although I acknowledge being a beneficiary of others’ efforts and struggles for me it has been the actions of strong determined women that cleared the path down which I walk—women from New Zealand’s past such as Kate Sheppard and Fran Collett of the press gallery and strong determined women from my family’s past: Martha Anson Mariah Swaddell Mary Martin Beverley Williams and Maude Mohi. The last few metres of this particular path have been carved by Anne Martin continuing that line of women with character strength and quiet wisdom—a woman to whom both I and New Zealand First owe a great debt. Neither of us would be here without her and we continue to value her commitment contribution and support.  
However while recognising those that made this journey possible it would be remiss if I did not acknowledge two men—at least—who are in very different ways also instrumental: firstly my late father who held very strong views on many topics and not unlike his daughter expressed them often but he also instilled a sense of personal truth and loyalty along with a resilience of character; and secondly my husband. It takes a very brave man to live with a very strong woman. As I have explained often in recent days I am merely part of a team—at home as well as here in Parliament—and there is no one’s opinion I trust or value more than my husband’s. I like to think it was good planning and exceptionally good taste that landed me such a man but whatever it was I am extremely grateful.  
To my children—each committee I joined while supporting your growth and education built on my abilities and helped me gain the confidence required to live by the motto of Mahurangi College: Mahuhu ki te Rangi reach for the heavens. From the playcentre and kindergarten committees Warkworth School parent teacher association and board of trustees and Mahurangi College board of trustees to kapahaka and Te Whanau O Mahurangi—they all gave me the courage to put my hand up for a bigger stage. So thank you my children for having the good grace to let your mum be all those things without being so embarrassed you asked her to stop.  
For the first 15 of the last 17 years I was a stay-at-home mother. It was not until my election to the Rodney Local Board of Auckland Council that I re-entered the paid workforce proper since leaving credit control to raise our family. But those who know me are aware that very little of this time was spent watching  
The Oprah Winfrey Show 
 or attending coffee mornings—these are somewhat of an urban myth to the women I have had the great pleasure to work alongside. To those women—the women who are the backbone of our communities who do for their communities as they do for their families while many of them also hold down part-time or full-time employment—please know that you continue to amaze and inspire me. So when a reporter asks me how I am going to manage my workload with family and housework I shake my head in disbelief and a small amount of amusement because ladies it would appear that they still have no idea what we do on a daily basis. It puts me in mind of the movie  
Made in Dagenham 
. The central character Rita O’Grady is asked by a member of the press “How will you cope?”. “Cope?” she responds “We’re women. Now stop asking such stupid questions.”  
So to the real question of the moment: what does a wife mother credit controller community worker volunteer member of the National Council of Women local government official and list member of Parliament sitting on the Opposition benches do? Well here is a definition that I believe sums it up: “The opposition which consists of all parties not in government has the role of holding the government to account. The opposition usually opposes the government’s policies questions its actions draws attention to issues promotes alternative policies and debates proposed legislation.”  
The Opposition is responsible for challenging the policies of the Government. So that is my job: to challenge question draw attention to issues debate and propose alternatives. Sometimes that might mean a challenge to individual members such as the elected members for Helensville and Northland. It might be a challenge to work with those communities and elected local government representatives to address the high social deprivation scores of seven and eight in those electorates; to implement solutions to the lack of alternative education access to tertiary or trade education and high youth unemployment these communities suffer; and to help those business communities push forward and gain recognition as satellite and regeneration towns so they can encourage greater economic development and through that employment.  
Or it might be to challenge the elected member for Rodney to remember his verbalised support for the projects of Penlink and the Puhoi to Wellsford highway with full retention of access at Puhoi; to remember north Rodney and that it was a National-led Government that took it into the amalgamation of Auckland with relatively no consultation; and to recognise with the intended economies of scale that are being pursued with some vigour that these communities and businesses find themselves being starved of tender opportunities and economic development incentives. These communities and businesses are under stress; they require that member’s attention and his commitment to truly understand and assist in the solutions to these issues.  
Or it might be to challenge this Parliament to recognise that we have done it all before: we have seen asset sales we have seen a youth wage and we have seen a test-driven education system. Look back—many in this House were here the last time these were tried. They did not work then and they will not work now. The challenge is to have greater vision and to work to a 100-year view rather than knee-jerk reactions.  
I draw the attention of the House to the message of Corinthians 13 verse 11: “When I was a child I talked like a child; I thought like a child I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult I put childish ways behind me.” These are not the times for political games. These are not the times to allow our egos to get in the way of positive solutions that will benefit our people. These are not the times to say “I won’t work with that person or this person.” because we do not like their personal style. These are the times to act like grown-ups and put away childish things because we have all been placed here to represent our people the citizens of New Zealand—not the citizens of Europe or Australia or China or America or any other country that comes a knocking. Our job is to represent New Zealanders first to get the best deal for New Zealanders first and to put the interests and well-being of New Zealanders first.  
But as I close I also challenge myself. There is another saying that goes “If you have not done enough to be criticised then you have not done enough.” My personal challenge is that by the time I leave this House I hope to be highly criticised. 
Apiti hono tatai hono te hunga mate ki te hunga mate; te hunga ora ki te hunga ora. Tena koutou tena koutou tena tatou katoa. 
[ 
Join and link the descent lines with the dead to the dead and the living to the living. Salutations and greetings to each of you collectively and to us all. 
]