Leavasa Dr Anae Neru; Mallard TrevorDr ANAE NERU LEAVASA (Labour—Takanini): Kia ora koutou katoa. E te Atua nāu te korōria. Te Whare e tū nei tēnā koe. Te papa i waho nei tēnā koe. Te mana whenua o tēnei rohe tēnā koutou. [Oh Lord yours is the glory. To the House before me greetings. To the land outside greetings. To the tribes of this land greetings.]Fa'afetai mo le avanoa i lau susuga I le faipule. Ou te fa'atalofa atu I le paia ma le mamalu ua aofia mai lenei aso. Muamua ona ou fa'afetai I le Atua ona ua taunu'u lenei aso ma le manuia. Fa'atalofa ma fa'atulou atu I le ao o le malo fa'atalofa I le palemia o Niu Sila. Talofa lava mālō e lelei tāloha ni namaste sat sri akaal ji and warm greetings.It is an honour and a privilege to stand here amongst representatives of the House true representatives of Aotearoa New Zealand who reflect the diverse and vibrant communities that we serve. I am privileged to work alongside those who honour and value our shared heritage those who remember our history and those who look to a brighter future for our families. I acknowledge the tangata whenua o Aotearoa; our Governor-General the Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy; also our great Prime Minister the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern; and also further congratulate you Mr Speaker on your re-election in the House.I want to say thanks to my family: my wife Olivia and son Peter; my parents Olita and Senara Tauraa and Liz and especially my late father Faleafa Pita. And to my nine siblings those who could be here: Muliagatele Alaisalatemaota Tauanuu Nicholas Backulich Iutisone. And Vaifale Melvin and my siblings who couldn't be here their partners and children who make up our beautiful blended aiga. To my extended family who have flown here as well representatives from my Leavasa family Tamasese family and Vaifale family also to my Takanini Labour Electorate Committee (LEC) Māngere LEC and my church whānau who have supported me. I honour them for all their hard work and prayers during these last few years. It has been an incredible journey to get to this moment to be a new MP for the inaugural seat of Takanini. I want to show my appreciation to my Takanini community to all those who placed their trust in me to be their first member of Parliament. I do not take this lightly. I will do my best to represent them and serve them well. I thank my campaign team and the Takanini LEC some who were able to make it today: Namulauulu Anne Singh Kharag Singh Sidhu Tauanuu Nick Bakulich Raj Singh Liz Pale and their families. I offer my deepest appreciation.I acknowledge the history of Takanini. I pay tribute to Ihaka Takaanini paramount chief of Te Ākitai Waiohua in the 1860s who along with his whānau suffered great losses under the Crown. I pay homage to his whānau to his hapū and to his iwi. To those who have passed and those who continue to live today I pray I can honour his people the people of the great chief Ihaka Takaanini.I want to acknowledge my Samoan heritage as I look to the plaque of Samoa right there in the Chamber on the left-hand side and share a little about my family's part in that history. We too share a similar path with Chief Ihaka. When the New Zealand administration was in Samoa from the First World War my great-grandfather Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III was one of the leaders of the Mau movement the passive resistance movement for independence to colonial rule at that time. Tupua was arrested stripped of his title taken from his people and his homeland as a political prisoner in December 1928. He was sent to Mount Eden Prison for a term of six months. The administration had thought that prison time would have changed Tupua's stance even offering to bring him here to Wellington to appoint him as a fautua an adviser; however he declined this offer and was resolute in his position. I acknowledge the sacrifice that he and other Mau movement members made for independence. He died on what was called Black Saturday when he was gunned down shot in the back by police trying to calm the crowd. His last words were Samoa filemu pea ma si o'u toto ne'i ta'uvalea a ia aoga lo'u ola mo lenei mea." Translated: "My blood has been spilt for Samoa. I am proud to give it. Do not dream of avenging it as it was spilt in peace. If I die peace must be maintained at any price."For those who kept fighting for independence it came to fruition 32 years after Lealofi's death. I am deeply honoured to look back to where Samoa has come from and where I stand here a product of our history a product of our joint relationship between our countries. I am proud to bear the name of Lealofioaana as my middle name named after my great-grandfather. His brother Tupua Tamasese Meaole later became the first joint Head of State with Malietoa Tanumafili II when Samoa gained independence in 1962. Later on both my grand-uncles Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Dr Lealofi IV and Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi were both prime ministers of Samoa. Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi later became head of State as well. My mother's uncle was Minister of Education. My paternal grandfather was Minister of Agriculture. I share this history as I never thought I would be a politician as I thought becoming a medical doctor would seal my fate for the rest of my life. However my family will remind me of this family history of politics; so I am encouraged that I am in really good company.My Samoan chief title is called "Anae" from Falelatai my grandmother's village where our current head of State resides His Highness Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II. I will continue to honour this Anae title as do our Māori chiefs honour theirs with service to our families service to our community and to our country. The Samoan proverb is very powerful in this sense: o le ala i le pule o le tautua which means "The pathway to leadership is through service." Tautua I lau aiga tautua I lau pitonu'u tautua I lau atunu'u.My parents migrated from the heart of the Pacific Samoa to Aotearoa in the early 1980s. My late father Faleafa comes from the villages of the Vaiala and Vaimoso. My mother Olita comes from Solosolo and Leau'va'a. They came to seek more opportunities for our family. They were very hard working like all our Pacific families who migrated here during that time. I have been blessed to have hard-working parents who struggled earlier on so we would flourish later on.Growing up in Aotearoa has been a blessing. I was brought up in South Auckland Māngere went to a local primary school Viscount and then went from form 1 to form 3 to Marsden College then my later years at Auckland Grammar School. I wanted to become an All Black or professional athlete at a young age but I suffered from left-knee bone cancer in my fourth form year. I remember playing a rugby game and afterwards seeing a lump on my left knee. After two weeks this lump wasn't resolving and was actually growing in size. My parents took me to the local doctors and I was sent to Middlemore for further tests. That's when they diagnosed me with cancer. All I could think about was that my sporting hopes were dashed. As a teenager I didn't really understand what cancer was.My second operation was to remove the tumour and place a metal knee-joint in it. But if the surgeon had found that the cancer was deeper and more widespread they advised I could lose my whole leg. I remember waking up after that operation as a 14-year-old all dazed from the drugs sore throat from where the breathing tube was and immediately reached to touch my leg to see if it was still there. Well my leg was numb from the anaesthetic so I had to ask the recovery nurse and she assured me that I still had my leg intact. I was so grateful that even though I have a metal knee-joint with rods sticking up to my hip my lower leg is still functioning well.My parents took it hard but I wanted to stay strong for them. The journey was difficult for my whole family—in and out of hospital for many years disrupted my college years and I had cancer spread to my left lung twice which ended with my left lung being totally removed. So I stand here with one lung and a metal knee joint. So often you'll see me limp. I call my limp my swag. And I often get short of breath but I'm just pretty unfit. But I'm truly blessed to be here. I recall looking out of my hospital window—whether it be at Middlemore Hospital overlooking our friendly grammar rival school King's College or Auckland Hospital with the Auckland Domain and that big round chimney-looking object obscuring my view. I would always look out and imagine myself being that person running in the domain that person walking towards the museum or that person walking to school. All I wanted was to live a life that was normal but now I look back and thank God for the many blessings that I've had along the way. Maybe normal was not part of my script.So 2002 was my last year of chemotherapy. My hair grew back the swellings throughout my body resolved after months of steroids surgical wounds started to heal and the following year I was able to attend Auckland medical school then subsequently complete my specialty training in general practice serve as a South Auckland doctor for 12 years become the first Pacific health provider for Telehealth services and serve my community on the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board this past year.I dare to say: live a life that is not normal. Step out of your comfort zone push the limits shift your mind-set and shift your future. I think about the huge amount of talent we have in South Auckland: our youth who aspire to do great things such as I did despite what barriers we have in front of us. South Auckland is my home. It has shaped me; it has inspired me. The media often misrepresents us. Yes we have our own issues but we do have our own solutions. We have our own flavour. We will continue to shine; we will continue to rise.As a South Auckland doctor I have seen what poverty poor housing conditions and poor access to equitable healthcare can do to our families. I have many that come to clinic that struggle to provide for their families; struggle to work multiple jobs to make ends meet; and struggle to live in cold damp mouldy homes that impact on their health. That's why health for many people takes a back seat as they try to deal with other urgent priorities.As clinicians we know that what underpins health and wellbeing are these social determinants of health. I find myself writing support letters in the clinic just as much as I'm treating my patients. It is so important that we get things right here at central government - level so we can get things right with the community as well. That's why Labour values and policies are so pivotal with these issues: to increase the minimum wage to improve access to healthcare and to have access to warm dry homes. It is why I am here to make a difference on a broader scale that will lead to better health outcomes for all New Zealanders and not just the few.My new electorate of Takanini is vibrant and is diverse. I have done medical work for many years within parts of the electorate so I am blessed to be elected to this position. I have had the privilege of meeting our colourful community young and old. Our population is the second-fastest growing in New Zealand and with it comes various challenges. We have some residential areas being developed at a fast rate which means we need infrastructure to help to cope with this increase. I am grateful that our Labour-led Government is focusing on infrastructure projects that will help our population growth and also support jobs during this COVID-19 environment. I think about Ormiston Primary School which has recently received over $10 million to help build more classrooms for our tamariki and I also think about the $1.3 billion investment that will help Mill Road develop as another safe and reliable link between Manukau and Drury. My priority is to help ensure that our communities thrive and flourish and with our population growth to ensure that our communities feel connected feel safe and feel at home.There has been a lot of talk about borders in recent times; also new electorate borders as well. Our border stretches from the northern end of Mission Heights Flat Bush—to name a few—coming down to our southern border: Wattle Downs and Takanini itself. I describe these suburbs as we know each one has its own character and has its own history—every suburb is unique. I hope to bring unity in that diversity to help celebrate our differences and be united for prosperity for all people. We've made history with this electorate. I look to the future with hope faith perseverance patience and lots of aroha.We all know that there are seasons in life: the high seasons and the low seasons a beginning and an end. One season I was looking out from my hospital window and now I look outside from my parliamentary window. Every day is a bonus for me. There will be a time when our political season will end. When the time comes for my valedictory I hope to look back and say "I have fought the good fight I have finished the race I have kept the faith." Malo ma faʻafetai Mr Speaker. God bless and thank you.[Applause]WaiataSPEAKER: I think we might have some people leaving and we've got some people coming through. I want to especially thank the Wainuiōmata part of that crew—they were most harmonious. At the conclusion of the next maiden statement the House will stand suspended until 7 o'clock. That just saves me interrupting afterwards."