Turei Metiria: Obituaries — Rt Hon David Russell Lange ONZ CH John Finlay Luxton QSO Hon John Howard Falloon CNZM Rod David Donald 
Turei Metiria: Obituaries — Rt Hon David Russell Lange ONZ CH John Finlay Luxton QSO Hon John Howard Falloon CNZM Rod David Donald 
[Volume:628;Page:83] 
METIRIA TUREI (Green) 
:  
Kia ora koutou katoa. Nga mihi nui ki a koutou. 
[ 
Greetings to you all. A big greeting to you all 
.] 
First I send my sincerest regards to the friends and family of Mr Luxton Mr Falloon and of course David Lange. They too have suffered personal losses this year and we can understand just a little the grief and pain they will still be feeling from their losses. So on behalf of the Green Party I send them our sincerest regards. 
I also recognise the passing of Tahu Asher who was here for such a long time. He was here the whole time I was in Parliament. He translated my maiden speech which included what has to be the funniest moment of my entire life—I cannot imagine anything ever beating it. He translated my singing of the te reo version of the Blam Blam Blam song “There is No Depression in New Zealand” sung to the tune of the national anthem. He did it with such class. I think the words came as a real surprise to him and I will forever remember him for that really amazing experience. 
I also thank all the members of Parliament staff Maori Party members and Labour Party people who came to our offices to pay tribute to Rod. I especially thank Marian Tim Darren and the Speaker for their support for the Greens over this last week. It has been a difficult parliamentary process for us all and I want to say how much I appreciate their support and the support of all members in helping the whole Parliament through these last few days. 
But really all of my aroha awhi and manaaki goes to Nicola Holly Emma and Zoe. It is very difficult for us and must be near impossible for them. We look forward to seeing them tomorrow to express that to them. My heart is with them and will be there for some time. 
One of the funny things about this place is that we express so many emotions here. Sometimes there is so much anger and frustration and not quite so much funny bantering between members. There has been the occasional moment when I thought someone was going to get up and punch somebody else. There is a lot of laughter too—real genuine laughter. We do not often get the chance to be truly sad here and I think it is very important that today at least on days such as this we can express our deepest sorrow and feel free about our tears our hupe and our pain. 
Rod spoke about David Lange at the Green Party campaign opening. I too am sorry about David Lange’s death. In that speech Rod described Mr Lange as a flawed hero. I think he was making an allusion to Lange’s humanness—that there are no superhumans or superheros. Rod too was just an ordinary person. He was able to show us how people can behave extraordinarily and how they can do extraordinary things while just being ordinary people. 
Rod had his wiggles and his nigglies; he could be really infuriating sometimes. He set very high standards some of which were impossible for anyone to meet including himself. I am really frustrated that I never got to argue with him about for example anarchism which is something I always wanted to do. He did piss me off sometimes and I pissed him off sometimes. But those moments could be fun for us because although he took himself quite seriously at least he knew that he did that and made allowances for it. When I was bad he always forgave me with a big hug and a huge smile. 
Despite Rod’s ordinary humanness he was committed to making sure he did everything he could for the people around him. He was dedicated to the service of his people—in the very old-fashioned traditional sense of the word “service”. He never did anything for ego for money or for power and his death reminds us that we know hundreds of people in our communities who are not famous who do not get huge rewards and who also have that sense of community service. Perhaps we need to make sure that we remember them thank them for their service and contribution and do not let their passing go by without acknowledging that because it is so incredibly special to us all. 
I do not remember the first day I met Rod although I really wish I did. However I do remember that I first campaigned with him at the Otara shopping centre. I think it was my first real function with him and I was so impressed by him. We were told that the kids’ enclosed lockable playground in the Otara shopping centre had been built by pokie-machine owners and operators right outside their front doors for very obvious reasons. Rod was horrified. We had our photo taken and I was so pleased that he understood just how awful it was that that sort of thing could happen in Otara. It made me feel really close to him that he understood the situation instinctively that he was there and that he was prepared to work really hard to make it public. 
Rod was very well loved in Dunedin where I am now living with my family. I moved to Dunedin just a couple of years ago. I have stolen his office his people and his electorate campaign team that he worked so hard to build up. He was really loved there. He did such things as visit and support McKinlay’s Footwear Ltd who make shoes and Emerson’s who make great beer. He had a fantastic relationship with members of the media in Dunedin such as Dene MacKenzie of the  
Otago Daily Times 
 and the radio station 4XO. They had organised a fundraiser for the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Salvation Army and Rod spent the night in a cardboard box outside the Dunedin Countdown supermarket. He promoted the Taieri Gorge Railway and tried to save it. He supported the single transferable vote (STV) campaign in Dunedin. He supported the Green Party people and all those in the community who were so in favour of STV. STV is used in Dunedin which is really fantastic. 
One of my lasting memories of Rod involves last year’s Buy Local for Christmas fair that was organised at the Octagon. I made Rod a Christmas Santa outfit. It was green and white and made of a quite clingy material. I had actually used a pattern similar to that used for outfits worn by exotic dancers. I sent it to him and he had it with him in Christchurch. He wore it on the plane. When he arrived I said to him: “Oh mate you didn’t have to wear it on the plane.”. He replied: “Oh but you made it for me so I thought I would wear it all the way down here. Nicola didn’t think it was a very good idea but I wore it anyway.” I am sure he wore it just because it was actually quite sexy. But that was the thing—I had made it so he wore it and he was prepared to go out there even though it showed all of his best assets I think. 
I will be eternally grateful to Rod in relation to the hikoi to Parliament over the foreshore and seabed issue. I met the hikoi at Te Papa and walked up here with it. I skirted around the back so that I could see it coming in and when I got here I found that Rod had asked the Speaker’s permission and organised for us to have our banner out on the front steps. The Green Party MPs were holding the banner when the hikoi arrived. He did not tell me he was going to do it but that is what he was like. He would just do these things because they were great ideas they were supportive they were helpful and they were part of letting everybody know that this was important to us as well. When I got to Parliament he was there with that huge banner. We were all there and it gave us a real chance as parliamentarians to support what was happening with the hikoi. It was his initiative and his drive to do it. 
I love Rod like a brother and I think that says a lot about him as a mentor and a leader. He was always there to tell us when we did a good job. Even if one of us had an interview at 6 o’clock in the morning he would ring at 6.05 a.m. and say it was fantastic. He always had advice and he always let us argue with him about whatever was happening. He would stand fast to what he thought was right but we could turn him if we did it the right way and had the right argument. I liked to call him “my esteemed leader” and when I did he would say: “What are you greasing me up for?”. Most of the time I was not greasing him up for anything but it was good to remind him that as much as it was a joke I held him in real esteem. He really was a leader in the best sense of the word for me—although I did call him my boss whenever I was angry at him. 
Rod was an excellent member of Parliament and I will remember him by doing my best to be in his image the best possible member of Parliament as much as possible. He really had an enormous amount yet to teach us especially some of us new ones. I deeply regret that he is not here to continue that. Rod was an example of a good man. He was a role model for men. He would come up to me with his arms open and say “Metiria!” and want a great big hug. It was just the way he did things. He was not afraid of himself. 
 I think it is important to recognise Rod in the context of the whole activist movement. The social justice and environmental movements have lost a number of very good men this year and I just want to remember them: Owen Wilkes who died in May this year was a dedicated peace researcher former editor of  
Peacelink 
 and involved with Peace Movement Aotearoa/New Zealand; David Wakim who died in October of this year was a pharmacist an active member of Pax Christi a Palestinian Human Rights Campaign member and a founder of the Council of Christians and Muslims in New Zealand; and Kevin Smith who died in August this year was a senior adviser to the Minister of Conservation Chris Carter a former conservation director of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society and instrumental in ending the logging of native forests on the West Coast. And now we have had the death of our darling Rod. Our country is bereft for the loss of these men who showed themselves to be good role models for what it can be to be active passionate emotional and kind. We are very sorry that they are not here with us and all our love goes to their friends and family. 
I wish I could remember every moment and every word I ever shared with Rod. I will remember him by being the best MP I can be by doing beach clean-ups and by buying local for this Christmas the one after and every Christmas to come. By drinking Dunedin-made beers I will remember him. Whenever I am nude in public I will remember Rod. When I make my special chocolates I will remember Rod. On occasion I will remember him especially by doing something that I know would really piss him off. I miss Rod Donald very very much. 
Waiata 
Motions agreed to. 
Honourable members stood as a mark of respect.