Nakhle Rima; Brownlee GerryRIMA NAKHLE (National—Takanini): Thank you Mr Speaker. Ahiahi mārie good afternoon masa el kheir. Friends family neighbours in Takanini country men and women lend me your ears. Lend me your ears as we take a journey across many oceans time frames memories and faces. Lend me your ears as we delve into the realm of the here and now what brought me here and what's taking me into tomorrow.But first Mr Speaker I would love to wish you and all gathered here today in person or beyond these ceremonial walls a happy New Year. Thank you Mr Speaker for accepting this immensely important responsibility of being our Speaker. In the past Speakers faced the real risk of execution if the monarch disapproved of a Speaker's message. But rest assured Mr Speaker I'm pretty sure that King Charles III will be more reasonable to someone as praiseworthy as you.Allow me to acknowledge our Prime Minister the Rt Hon Christopher Luxon. Prime Minister so many Kiwis gave a great sigh of relief once you were announced PM because of your unshakable determination to take New Zealand and her children forward and upward. Thank you my favourite.Now to my genesis because ancestry is important to who I am. I am a New Zealander born in Australia to parents who were born in Lebanon. One of five children my blood traces back to an ancient civilisation known as the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians were seafaring traders who invented the alphabet a significant contribution to humanity. Skip forward a few thousand years to Lebanon. A fifth the size of New Zealand Lebanon gave me my parents John Hanna Fahd Rahme and Dalida Watfa Habib Rahme. I'm the daughter of a welder and a florist and my parents hail from a small village in the mountains of Lebanon named Ainata al Arz.When Mum speaks of her childhood it's with mostly fondness but there's an underpinning of pain. From her depictions I know even though she doesn't think in these terms that Mum grew up in poverty. Mum's childhood was hard but loving and as I go through life I see very clearly that the blow of poverty and hardship is somewhat softened when there is an abundance of love in the home.In 1973 Dad and Mum got married in Lebanon and migrated to Sydney Australia—a foreign land with a foreign language. But my parents always taught us to be appreciative and to love their adopted country.I share these pieces of my genesis because to me one's ancestry is not just an interesting dinner party topic. It is a deep source of intergenerational knowledge from which we can each draw tremendous strength.With all the ups and downs of childhood I recall feeling mostly loved and safe. But there was a specific time of hardship for my family and I remember boxes of food being delivered to our home by a woman dressed in a navy suit and a navy hat who I now realise was a Salvation Army volunteer. But my parents worked hard to get through this difficult time. They opened up their florist business decades ago and us kids grew up helping Mum in the shop after school whenever was needed: weekends school holidays and late into the night. This helped me see from a young age that money does not appear by magic but through hard work.My father deeply laments the fact that he can't read and write and always emphasised the importance of education. I was schooled at St Charbel's College a Lebanese Maronite Catholic school where my love for my heritage was cultivated and I was enriched by my Maronite faith. Dad bayee thank you for teaching me the importance of education.I was always drawn towards advocacy which led me to complete a degree in law. I would like to acknowledge my friends in the gallery who perform this old craft so dutifully including Lady Donna Hall Felix Geiringer Dan Hughes Richard and Johno. Towards the end of my studies I met the personification of perfection: Roger Nakhle. We entered marriage 12 years ago and I am so profoundly grateful for the privilege of being able to call Aotearoa my home since 2012.Like myself Roger is the son of Lebanese migrants. My father-in-law Elias Nakhle came to New Zealand in the late 1960s with very little and started working tirelessly. He and my mum-in-law Henriette Nakhle raised three boys and built a good life for their children while helping many others along the way. Mrs Nakhle's efforts have been recognised with both a QSM and a New Zealand Order of Merit for her services. I would like to thank my beautiful parents-in-law for all their love and support.To my brother-in-law David: you are one of the most intelligent people I know. I love you dearly and I wish you and the soon-to-be Dr Drae the best.I'm often asked: why politics? By nature as I said I've always gravitated towards advocacy towards service. The way that our society functions and how I can help improve the lives of my neighbours in Takanini and all over New Zealand through advocacy and service—this energises me every day.I can't hide the fact that there are some issues which stir passion quite quickly within me and it's those moments that make me question: why? Why do I feel so strongly about personal responsibility? Perhaps it's because of Mum's attitude—that despite the material hardship she experienced as a youth Mum says she never had the inclination to steal from or manipulate others to better her circumstances. Mum chose to go without rather than to steal.Why is law and order so important to me? Because people just want to feel safe—it's as simple as that. When order becomes disorder grandparents stop going out for grocery shopping parents don't let their kids walk home from school and dairy owners have to serve people from within cages. Our police should always be given the powers and resources they need to do the job they do best: keeping us safe. Punishments should fit the crime but we need to intervene early to prevent youth from entering a life of crime. I believe strongly in social investment. Social investment in our youth to help build their mental resilience and protect them from the lure of gangs; social investment to combat youth crime where positive mentors teach our troubled youth self-discipline.Social investment in housing: when I worked at Te Mahia Community Village a transitional housing facility in Takanini I saw the significant drop in antisocial behaviour when social wraparound services are partnered with housing providers. Thank you Sharon Wilson-Davis and Phil Davis for STRIVE Community Trust which does great work in this area. And to the staff at Te Mahia Community Village—Maxine Oceania Saras and the rest of the team—thank you for the amazing work you do caring for our people and showing what is possible.We often hear that education is the key to breaking the cycles of poverty unemployment and crime but I ask the House: why is education the common denominator? To me it's because if our people cannot read and write to begin with they risk being shut out from society and the world. To improve the future of our nation it's imperative that we place a high value on education. While I strongly commend the traditional school systems I also place merit in alternative school programmes and alternative education programmes and charter schools because not every child learns the same way. The outcomes achieved by programmes such as Mātātoa are admirable. Thank you Frank Haimona Matua Kingi and all the team for your dedication.Our youth are our future but our seniors have played a major role in building our beautiful country. I believe we must respect and take care of our seniors as a matter of duty. Freedom of speech is an essential component of a functioning democracy. My view is that as long as this right is exercised in a respectful manner nobody should ever be vilified for having a different opinion.I am the MP for one of the newest electorates in the country—Takanini—and the outstanding result in last year's election tells me that most of my neighbours have put their faith in the National Party and in me. I will work tirelessly for our electorate and our country. To our volunteers who dedicated so much time and energy into our campaign—including our Young Nats and not-so-young Nats—many of whom are seated in the gallery today I am filled with deep gratitude for all of you. Dr Neru Leavasa thank you for the service you gave our electorate as the former MP. You are a good man with a good heart.To my Takanini National Party committee thank you for all the hours you continue to give in setting the foundations for our new electorate and for your friendship. Katrina Stent thank you for setting the wheels in motion back in 2015 with that one question. Daniel Newman my local councillor in Manurewa-Papakura and my friend your guidance over the years is deeply appreciated. Much love to you and Lizzie. Marcus and Danielle Kearns thank you for the fervent love you have for our country.Takanini is enriched with over 50 percent of its residents born overseas. I would like to acknowledge all our migrant communities for helping build and grow New Zealand. A few special mentions for the phenomenal work of some of our ethnic community organisations such as the Hindu Foundation New Zealand Sikh Games and Takanini Gurdwara that all have representatives here today.And as we gather here in this debating chamber which is also a war memorial I pay homage to our ANZAC men and women and the brave Māori Battalions many of whom gave their lives to help liberate foreign lands one of them being Lebanon. Lest we forget. The horrible truth is that Roger and I have had bloodshed in both our families because of war in the Middle East. For there to be peace—a lasting peace—I believe parties will need to swallow a bitter pill and make some concessions not for themselves but for their future generations.Hospitality and togetherness is a very important part of my Lebanese culture and I also found this in the Māori culture. When I met Anne Kendall now deputy chair of the New Zealand Māori Council and Tony Kake CEO of Papakura Marae I was touched by the constantly warm welcome I received at the marae. My beautiful Anne you have shown me what it is to serve one's community faithfully and without judgment. Tony your dedication to our people knows no bounds and South Auckland is indebted to you. Tarsh Kemp now my colleague in the House thank you for the work you led at Manurewa Marae.I love our Māori people our Māori culture and our Māori language. In politics messages get muddied when spins are attached to them. But I want to make something very clear to my Māori brothers and sisters: if I felt that the National Party was racist I would not be part of the National Party. If I felt that the National Party was anti-Māori I would not be part of the National Party. Lebanon experienced hundreds of years of occupation and persecution. The Ottoman Empire tried to wipe out the Arabic language in Lebanon. It was the efforts of the Maronite monks that kept the language alive so I understand the importance of preserving one's language and culture. I would like to acknowledge Kīngi Tūheitia and thank him for the manaakitanga he always bestows to all who enter the grounds of Tūrangawaewae Marae as I did recently. To my nieces and nephews Rima Silia Pio Zara Tony Isaac and John you are my heartstrings. To my brothers-in-law Archer Cyril and George thank you for treating my sisters with deep love and respect. Nagewa Jenny Tanya and Tony my beloved siblings you are cushions on which my heart rests and my mind finds sanctuary. Mum Oummi thank you for always making me feel safe in the fortress al ha of your love. Roger my wisdom when I was ready to give up you said the words my soul needed to hear. You ran the campaign the way you wanted and in Takanini I'm proud that we achieved the highest swing of the country. I don't know what good I've done in this world to be eternally blessed with you but what I do know is that I am in constant awe of you. Prime Minister colleagues Takanini New Zealand I'm at your service. Now let's get Mill Road done and let's get our country back on track. I had to put that in.HakaWaiataSPEAKER: I think we now have people moving out of the gallery for new people to come in. If that could occur as quickly and smoothly as possible that would be much appreciated.