Watts Simon; Mallard TrevorSIMON WATTS (National—North Shore): I look forward to my first term in New Zealand's 53rd Parliament. It is with a sense of humility and awe that I address this House but it is also with a sense of continuity. I'm keen to pay tribute to my predecessors who have represented Auckland's North Shore with distinction the Hon Maggie Barry and the Hon Wayne Mapp. Thank you for all of the support that you have shown me—support I'm glad to say and honoured to say that was echoed around the North Shore.Thanks also to the people of my electorate for the faith that you have placed in me. Without your support I would not be here today. I see that many of the North Shore team have made their trip down here today. I want to especially acknowledge David Andrew Gary Azita Judith Logan and Bradley. The significant contribution that you made to my campaign is greatly appreciated. I also want to thank the many volunteers who got me here today members of the North Shore National Party and my friends who ensured that a candidate campaigning in his first election was always supported. You matched my determination to reach out to everyone who lives on the shore with enthusiasm and agility. Because of you our campaign benefited from fresh perspectives and because of your efforts we enrolled voters across the political spectrum in conversations about things that matter no matter and regardless of the political party they would typically vote for. You helped to achieve this because you understood that there is a new expectation in this country. New Zealand needs leadership that enrols all of our energies to tackle the tasks facing us. Challenging times demand more than ever that we work together in the interests of all New Zealanders.When we campaigned on the shore to clean up our beaches now not in a couple of years I knew that there were the people on the left on the right and in the centre who agreed. They may not have all voted for me but right now they are demanding action and quite rightly so. When I stood up in town hall meetings to say that traffic-clogged roads are a nightmare for commuters and the environment I knew there were people who had never voted National before who nevertheless agreed that we need more ferry services and expansion not cutbacks. The Harbour Bridge is the bane of the lives of everyone who lives on the shore. The lack of a second Waitematā Harbour crossing stifles business and chews up time that none of us can afford to waste regardless of where our political loyalties lie.So I congratulate the volunteers who worked with me to get the important stuff in front of the people as did the volunteers who supported candidates from all parties across New Zealand. Whatever your politics you brought a passionate commitment for our democracy the ideals that make this country exceptional and I thank you for that. It was certainly an election like no other and I thank our president Peter Goodfellow; regional chairs; party office holders; and staff who rose to the challenge. I especially want to acknowledge the fortitude and tireless commitment of our leader the Hon Judith Collins.In fact there are so many great people who should be thanked for me being here today. So I'm going to acknowledge them by sharing how they and the experiences they provided me informed my opinions and enriched my understanding of the world. I grew up in a typical rural family with parents who had a healthy respect for the benefits of hard work and a genuine love of the land that provided for us. I remember the time well when my two brothers Tim and Paul and I sold wind-fallen apples at our farm gate to finance a family holiday and we roped in our cousins to help too. You know kids can achieve a lot with the right encouragement and support. Thanks Mum and Dad. You are great role models.I knew then as I do now that I am very lucky and as a member of this Parliament I am acutely aware that too many children throughout this country and in my own electorate don't have the advantages I enjoyed. That knowledge stands beside me today. As an ambulance officer for St John I've been into homes with black mould on the walls treated children with breathing problems in overcrowded housing self-harm due to mental health and I've been on the roadside with colleagues as we tried to save the life of yet another person blighted by drugs and crime.When I decided to complete a Bachelor of Health Science in paramedicine and become a paramedic I wanted to make a difference but having spent much of my adult life in banking and in finance I quickly saw that the system wasn't working. To deliver change real change I'd have to apply all of my skills and experience to the challenge. I set my sights on pushing the health system from within. I became the deputy chief financial officer for one of the country's largest district health boards while still volunteering on the ambulance after hours. Working simultaneously at both ends of the system opened my eyes to the importance of a bold vision coordinated approach and action not talk. Health and education can't be siloed from our country's economic performance our strategy for affordable housing or the importance of providing a self-worth for our citizens. It's all linked and these challenges need action to sort out not only just the symptoms but the root cause of these issues.I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic at the age of 21 months old. I've had a lifetime association with a system that is blessed with passionate professionals yet plagued by broken decision-making. It is time to fix that. We must fix that. We have the people; we undoubtedly have the resources. We must put individuals families and communities at the heart of decision making not existing government structures and ways of doing things.When I graduated from the University of Waikato with a Bachelor of Management Studies I like many New Zealanders headed overseas to broaden my mind and to gain new experiences. My accounting and finance majors inevitably lead me into banking with stints in Canada and Ireland before moving to London. My OE coincided with the 2008 GFC. At the time I had a senior role in one of the world's largest investment banks and that experience is with me today. I saw that people in glass towers can be heroes too. They can work around the clock to save the livelihoods of people they've never met. They can shoulder the responsibility to find a way through an economic calamity that seems without end. The people I worked with through the GFC brought agility to new challenges insight to complex issues and bestowed a valuable education on a business graduate from the Waikato.The importance of decisive informed decision-making was hammered home to me then and that experience is with me now. And that experience resonates with the economic challenges that I see in my electorate and as a country as a whole as we seek a path beyond COVID. An economic rebound that leaves the most disadvantaged behind and that locks young people out of work and homeownership is a mirage. It might look good in the business pages but if it fails where it counts in our homes and in our communities then it's not worth the paper it's written on.Right now we've got a housing crisis in New Zealand and yet there's plenty of land to build on. Why can't Government in partnership with iwi community groups and the private sector build and supply superbly designed and built homes that people are proud to live in? All that is lacking is our willingness to look beyond what we've always done and act.In world terms we are a young country. And we are blessed with enviable resources and creative people. There is no excuse for a lack of vision. My friends and colleagues will tell you that I have little appetite for bureaucracy excuses and time wasters. I want action backed by decisive informed decision-making. How do we build an economy that empowers everyone to be all that they can be? An economy that shares the opportunities it is creating? How do we get a health and education system that is eliminating waste so that we can ensure those resources are channelled to the people who are making a difference? The answers and leadership will come from our communities our entrepreneurs our workers and yes our Government. So that everyone in this country can get on with making their lives better. It is no secret that I believe in limited government but limited doesn't mean being constrained in our vision. It means having a laser focus on the stuff Government is meant to be doing. The stuff only Government can do: regulate legislate investigate but also cajole inspire and lead.Sitting on these benches isn't an opportunity to indulge in our particular and individual interests. Being in Government is about getting the important stuff done and not being distracted from that task. Many many people throughout this country are capable of making their own decisions. What they want from us is action on the things they can't influence. Limited government creates laws; it builds frameworks and structures of better governance to support our communities; it is focused on the incentives that will enable the private sector to thrive and generate jobs; and it takes a leadership role on protecting our environment.A better Government will focus on a bold long-term infrastructure plan ensuring Government spending is not wasteful spelling out the returns to a nation of that investment creating an environment that encourages local and foreign investment and ensures incentives align with the outcomes we want as a country. Let's take on these challenges with the vision and teamwork to drive positive change beyond the next election. Our lives are not governed by three-year intervals so why is our decision making? New Zealanders expect more of this House than that. We need to put in place the ideas today that will guide this country to 2040 not 2024.It is our responsibility to define a clear road map for New Zealand and to put in place the measures that will ensure all Kiwis will get there. Being part of a Parliament that's going to define this road map for our country and act on it is why we are here. All of the people and experiences that informed us on our various paths to these benches in this Chamber are here in this Chamber with us. We owe it to them.I owe it to my two young boys Jack and Callum and to my lovely wife Shannon. I'm incredibly grateful that they have supported me in my decision to enter Parliament but they want to see results. There has to be a reason why I spend half the week away from my family in Wellington. We have to deliver outcomes that will resonate beyond this Chamber and continue to resonate for the generations to follow.I want to finish with a vision mentioned only a few years ago about New Zealand becoming a technology and innovation centre. I'm sure in this Chamber today that there will be members who consider that prediction a fantasy. But is it really so unreal to believe that our future is going to be exceptional? Or is it simply that we don't have the confidence to go for it? Look at the ideas and innovation created in this country just as the rest of the world is struggling. See farmers working flat out factories producing valuable goods and people from around the world are hammering on our doors to get into a country they know is exceptional even though we don't sometimes quite believe it. Complacency will condemn us as will the future generations if we don't take this opportunity to lift up this country with both hands. Fellow parliamentarians let's make it happen. I thank the people of New Zealand for this opportunity. I am proud—so very very proud—to be the National member of Parliament for North Shore. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.[Applause]SPEAKER: Members there has been permission granted for a waiata. At the conclusion of the waita the House will be suspended until 7 o'clock tonight when it will resume in committee.WaiataSPEAKER: Now pakipaki. [Applause]Sitting suspended from 6.09 p.m. to 7 p.m.