Davis KelvinADDRESS IN REPLYDebate resumed.Hon KELVIN DAVIS (Deputy Leader—Labour): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. This morning when I gave the opening mihi I acknowledged you as the Speaker of the House. I'd just like to take this opportunity to also acknowledge Adrian Rurawhe as the Deputy Speaker the Hon Jenny Salesa as an Assistant Speaker and also the Hon Jacqui Dean in her role as an Assistant Speaker as well.Also in that speech I did say that we do have our differences as politicians but I think we all have the best interests at heart and that we should all be working for the benefit of all New Zealanders. I also just want to take the opportunity to acknowledge the two members of Parliament who gave their maiden speeches this afternoon and just a couple of points. Arena Williams I'd like to acknowledge her as an inspiration for young Māori women and young Māori mothers. The line in her speech that really stuck for me is when she said that students in schools she'd visited liked the fact that they saw a person that looked and spoke and sounded like her. I'd just like to also acknowledge Ibrahim Omer. Now I don't know if in this House I have ever heard a more inspirational or emotional maiden speech. To know that somebody can come from such hardship from another country and overcome all the hurdles and barriers that he has to become a member of Parliament in New Zealand—I think it shows the tenacity and the character of the man in the first instance but also what a country of opportunity New Zealand is. I really do want to acknowledge Ibrahim. I found his speech incredibly emotional and I just really want to acknowledge him.I also acknowledge Dr Shane Reti. Now if you happen to be in the Bay of Islands and drive from Kawakawa around what is known as the Old Russell Road towards Russell about 30 minutes away—you have to go through farmland and an unsealed gorge—you come to the little valley of Waikare. The people of that valley are Te Kapotai and there's also Ngāti Pare. I acknowledge the honour that Dr Shane Reti has brought on the hapū of Te Kapotai as well as his iwi of Ngāti Wai being the deputy leader of the National Party. I'd just like to restate that and it also occurred to me later on that I too have—my great-great-grandmother came from that very same valley and so it's probably unique that the deputy leader of the National Party and the deputy leader of the Labour Party both hail from the same marae. As well Willow-Jean Prime comes from that marae as does Peeni Henare. So I'd just like to acknowledge our whanaunga from Te Kapotai and the valley of Waikare.On election night the country spoke and what they said is they wanted strong and stable Government. There was also an endorsement of the kind and compassionate leadership of the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and acknowledgment of the way she has led us through the COVID-19 epidemic. They also said that they appreciated that there was a Government there that had cushioned New Zealanders from the worst edges and effects of COVID. But also Māori spoke and we're very proud to have retained six of the seven Māori electorates. But across all of those Māori electorates we received over 60 percent endorsement from our Māori people. It was a very proud night for our Māori caucus and an acknowledgment of the work that we had achieved over the last three years. Our Māori caucus increased from 13 up to 15 and 13 was the largest ever Māori caucus in any party. Well we've just increased that. But we didn't just increase it through the Māori vote and I'd really like to acknowledge those Māori MPs who actually won general seats: the Hon Kiritapu Allan who won the East Coast and has become a Minister and I'd like to acknowledge Arena Williams who won the seat of Manurewa; Shanan Halbert who won the seat of Northcote; Willow-Jean Prime who won the seat of Northland; and also Jo Luxton who won the seat of Rangitata.But I'm not just here to say Wow look at us." Winning those seats means that we have an obligation to our people. Winning those seats means that we need to make sure that we do continue to improve outcomes not just for our Māori people in the Māori seats but also for Māori in the general seats and for all New Zealanders in those general seats. It also goes to show that yes as Māori we can do anything. There was also once upon a time when I was the only Labour MP north of the Harbour Bridge and I'd just like to acknowledge the fact that I don't know what to do with myself now that north of the Harbour Bridge we have Vanushi Walters in Upper Harbour we have Shanan Halbert in Northcote we have Willow-Jean Prime in Northland we have Marja Lubeck based in Rodney and of course myself in Te Tai Tokerau.Dr Deborah Russell: Emily in Whangārei.Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Emily in Whangārei—that was a fantastic win for the Labour Party. I just want to actually acknowledge a little bit more about Emily. We went to a tangi last week of one of our dear Labour Party people and I just want to talk quickly about that man very shortly. But Emily came along and said "OK so what do I need to do?" I said "Well the best thing you can do is go into the kitchen and say 'How can I help?' " So she did just that. I've got to admire her courage for going into this situation that she's not familiar with and she put aside the fact that she's Dr Emily Henderson a lawyer and said to the people of the marae there "How can I help?" She spent probably over two days maybe 30-odd hours in there just peeling spuds washing dishes. It's a real lesson to everybody in the House that if we just humble ourselves and go in and be servants to the people we'll get the recognition because the people spoke so highly of her. To all members of the House I'd say just go in and adopt your local marae and become part of the community. But don't sit there in the powhiri making out "Yeah I'm the big MP from your local area." Go out the back and help the people. It will make a big difference.Rudy Taylor was the man that passed away. He was a friend of mine he was a mentor and he was a supporter. We talked we joked and we argued. In my office I had a photo of Rudy at Waitangi. It was a photo just of his hands holding his tukutuku. I hung it above my meeting table. It was a constant reminder to me of where I come from who I represent and most of all who I don't want to disappoint. And that is again a message for all of us as members of Parliament: we are there to represent the people who elected us and we cannot disappoint them. Rudy was a kind man and the stories that we shared at his tangi were of his kindness his strength his loyalty and his love for Te Tai Tokerau. It will be the memory of my good friend that will continue to keep me grounded. It will be the life of this Ngāpuhi leader that will keep me inspired. He's one of the people that encouraged me to do things for our people.If I look at some of the achievements that we've made in the last three years and I can start rattling them off in Māori education—for example Te Ahu o te Reo Māori is a programme that's going to see us train 40000 educators by 2025 to integrate te reo Māori into their curriculum. Te Kawa Matakura is a leadership course for young Māori that will see them achieve degree level and help them to go on to be leaders in their communities. Te Hurihanganui—in Porirua yesterday we launched that—this is to address racism in our schools even though it's based around the Māori kaupapa the messages go broader to racism around all cultures. There's work that we've done with the kōhanga reo. The issues around kōhanga reo—they were allowed to wallow for nine years—we're starting to address them and we've got them over $200 million in the last three years. But more so than the money what's more important is the relationships that we have formed with them.So we're all in here to make a difference and we must not forget that. We must not forget that there are people out there who voted for us they put their faith in us and they believe in us and we must live up to that mandate that we're all given as members of Parliament. Nā reira tātou mā huri rauna i tō tātou Whare tēnā koutou tēnā koutou kia ora mai anō tātou.[Finally to each and every one of you in our House thank you one and all.]"