Mark RonHon RON MARK (Minister of Defence): Mr Speaker thank you very much for the opportunity. It's with great sadness actually that I stand to rise to speak about a friend—a friend of mine personally a man I came to love and respect and a man whom my children came to know as Uncle Mike. I guess looking around the House there are quite so many new MPs around here or MPs who haven't been here as long as some of us have who probably may not recall that actually I stood for Labour in 1993. In 1990 I got to know Mike because I'd been roped in by my then mother-in-law my late mother-in-law Marie Therese Berry—and I just note I'm going from the shoulder. I started writing notes but it just seemed irrelevant to write notes right now so I'm just going to talk. I got to know Mike during that 1990 campaign when I was helping the Labour candidate for Selwyn one Val Elley—a lovely lady. Actually I'd been the candidate but I pulled out because I'd only just come back into the country. I said to Mike—you know back in those days—You can't have me standing for Parliament when I've been out of the country for five years come back and try and tell people how to live their lives particularly after a Labour Government's done what it's just done." It was a terrible campaign. We had dogs set on us at Kaiapoi—I don't think that's ever been repeated since then. We got to know Mike and Yvonne very very well over that time. Come 1993 I was talked into standing for Labour not because I didn't like Mike and I didn't agree with where the policy was going; it was because as an army officer I just couldn't see myself standing for Parliament one and two standing for a left-wing party. But we did. Part of the reason I took it up was because my mother-in-law forced me—no I wouldn't say that! But it was because of Mike. Mike was a centrist. Mike was a pragmatist. Mike was straight up and down and honest and if he didn't like what you were saying he would argue with you and tell you bluntly and if you still argued he would argue with you more. Mike was a damned hard worker. I think the only thing he did harder than work was smoke back in those days. It would be cellphone in one hand cigarette in the other and going from cigarette to cigarette butt-lighting off one to the other and he just carried on. He would roll from interview to interview and I'd be sitting in his lounge thinking "Holy hell! Is this what Parliament's going to be like? Is this what politics is?" This was Mike living breathing the dream and fighting as a true battler did. In those days the campaign was based on some pretty sound policy. Actually when my boss the Rt Hon Winston Peters said to me "Ron you should speak." I went back to my office and I pulled out some boxes. Prime Minister I found a few things like my organisational chart for my campaign like all the names of the people that I met through Mike Moore—people like Ivan Hibberd. Here's my organisational chart. You might want to copy it sometime for the battle for Selwyn the seat we almost won—which actually cost us the election because some fifth-columnists within the Labour Party didn't like Mike and fought to undermine his campaign. But we had a great campaign and I found this little gem a pamphlet that was released. [Holds up pamphlet] This is in my office right now—there's more if you want copies Prime Minister—it's Mike head to head on the main issues against Jim Bolger. Tucked on the back side here was a policy which New Zealand First was glad to read and study and implement many years later. Mike announced this policy and launched it at my business Daytona Park on Moorhouse Avenue. It was called the youth employment scheme and it amongst many things sought to "ensure no young person under 20 is left on the dole with nothing to do." and I remember those speeches of Mike Moore saying things like "I don't know of a town that doesn't have a church that doesn't need painting. I don't know of a town that doesn't have a tree that doesn't need planting. I don't know of"—and it went on and on and he believed it with an absolute passion. I can still remember those speeches and they have stayed with me. It's interesting that we sit here and we talk—my whanaunga behind me—about efforts and we talk about young peoples' lives and opportunities being wasted and we are still talking and trying to fight those battles in 2020 when Mike was fighting them in 1990 and 1993. I'd like to think Mike that we're winning. I look as no doubt many of you do at certain politicians who pass through the political landscape of this country. To me there are some that stand out and will for ever be kauri trees: Keith Holyoake Richard Seddon. When I spoke in this House in my maiden speech as a New Zealand First MP in my first term here in 1996 as part of a coalition Government with National I spoke of Norm Kirk: "People don't want for much. They only want somewhere to live somewhere to work someone to love and something to hope for." That was a speech that was repeated by Mike Moore time and time again on the hustings. There are many many policies—and it's funny as heck because I sat in my office assisted by one of my staff pulling out one of the boxes and we pulled out "Rebuilding the Kiwi Dream". [Holds up pamphlet] How many have used that slogan on hustings? That was Mike Moore. "Join Labour: Jobs Growth Health". [Holds up pamphlet] How many of you have used that campaign? There he is. [Holds up photograph] Zoom in. That's Mike—"A recovery without jobs is not what New Zealanders need. A recovery that sacrifices a proud public health system is not what New Zealanders want. An unshared recovery where the benefits are the property of a few is not what New Zealanders deserve." That was Mike Moore. I think my kids delivered hundreds and hundreds of these pamphlets during 1999. "Labour's Plan for the Environment"—that was Mike Moore. "Let's get New Zealand working again". [Holds up pamphlets] This is all my stuff. These are my mementos—I even found one of the Speaker which I put on my Facebook post over Christmas. "Labour's Plan for Jobs" under Mike Moore "Labour's Plan for Women" under Mike Moore "Education: Our Children Our Future" under Mike Moore "Security Certainty and Retirement" under Mike Moore "Making Our Neighbourhoods Safe Again" under Mike Moore "Adding Value to Jobs" under Mike Moore and of course the key the hinge pin upon which all of those policies depended was Mike's plan for economic growth and jobs which included trade and prosperity. If I think back to when I went to the Middle East and I deployed and I went into Oman we went into a supermarket—well it wasn't a supermarket. They didn't have supermarkets in those days. We were lucky to have tarseal roads. But in this little supermarket that I went into the only meat you could buy was New Zealand lamb and New Zealand beef and New Zealand butter. There were little round punnets of butter and if you lifted the top off the inside had a picture of Tony Garea. Anyone know who he is? World-famous New Zealand wrestler big time in the United States—Mike Moore's work. Mike Moore driving the trade: the lamburger. When I left in 1990 we had a small little corner and the Dutch the French and every other European country had moved in on us. That was a reflection of how things had changed you know and Mike tried desperately to recover those losses. I remember that and I remember him talking to me. He helped me put up a hoarding. Clayton Cosgrove was one of the "Beagle Boys". He used to come down to check on my campaign to see how we were going. Clayton was sent down to keep an eye on the unions—whether they were going turn up and veto my candidacy at my selection. Jesse Simpson I remember you and the rest of those boys. Mike sent Clayton down just to see how Ron did. Clayton came back and reported and Mike said to him "How'd he go?" and he said "Don't worry about him. It's all done—he's the candidate." But then Mike sent Clayton back down to see me on another more sensitive mission. When I had my hoardings produced for Selwyn we only had so much money and so we took the photograph in black and white and put it up—Gerry Brownlee might remember this—and it was quite dark. Then the National Party team started talking about me not being a New Zealander and not being a Māori but being a Pakistani and that word got out around the electorate—"Don't vote for him he's a Pakistani." Mike Moore called Clayton Cosgrove into his office and he said "Mate you need to go down and talk to our mate." and Clayton said "What for?" He said "Got to change his hoardings." "Why?" "Because he's too black." Clayton said "Stop—you want me to go down and tell this ex-army officer he's got to pull all his hoardings down because he's too black?" and Mike said "Yeah." So Clayton turned up and very tentatively and gingerly said "Ah mate I need to talk to you about your hoardings." and I said "Yeah what?" He said "Well Mike's asked me—don't take offence. Please don't be offended and understand it's about image it's about perceptions but Mike says that we need to change your photo—it's a little bit dark." I said "Oh it's too black?" He said "Yeah." and I said "Well what are we going to do?" He said "We'll change it." and I said "OK". So he rushed back and Mike said "Well how did it go?" and he said "Done. He said 'Oh what are we going to do?' and I said 'We've got to change it.' The only problem is he hasn't got any money." So that was sorted. Then Mike came down and helped me put up some of my new hoardings with a colour photo because we could afford to do it and I didn't look so black and people could no longer say I was a Pakistani and not a New Zealander any more. My memories of Mike—and I could go on for quite some time—are about a man who would just speak from the shoulder. You know it's interesting that comment because we were at a public meeting and the question was put to me just like that. But those were those times and we got on—thank you. I want to finish on one note—if I might take the liberty Mr Speaker. I can do no better than to quote from the state of the nation speech in 1993 which I still have a copy of: "The Rt Hon Mike Moore Leader of the Opposition MP for Christchurch North". At the end of the speech and I think this pretty much sums up Mike—oh excuse me Yvonne—"I believe leadership is more than finding an angry crowd and agreeing with it. I want to offer New Zealand again a chance to be a fairer safer and more progressive society. I know that Government alone can't do this. This voyage needs all the crew rowing. We can't afford passengers. I am gripped by a sense of urgency because I know that we don't have a moment to lose. We don't have a person to waste." That was Mike Moore in 1993 a man my family loves. Kia ora."