Brown Peter: Appointments — OmbudsmanText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBrown Peter: Appointments — Ombudsman[Sitting date: 11 October 2007. Volume:642;Page:12311. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First): On behalf of New Zealand First let me say that we endorse absolutely the motion. It was always the intention of my leader the Rt Hon Winston Peters to take a call in the debate on this motion. Though I intended to do so also I am probably occupying the slot that Winston would have taken. Unfortunately due to the overrun of question time and a pressing engagement he has had to go. I would like to record inHansardhis thanks to David McGee for his effortsand I wish him well on behalf of Winston. Winston is the first to say that David McGee has done an outstanding job.David McGee has not only done an outstanding job in his role as Clerk of this House; he has done an exceptional job. He is not only highly regarded here by I suggest all MPs—current and former—but he has served this institution so well that he is respected internationally by Parliaments well away from New Zealand. He has a reputation when it comes to the administration of Parliament that is second to none. He has written a book as has been stated calledParliamentary Practice in New Zealand and it has been updated twice. It was written in 1985 updated in the 1990s and updated again in 2005 to encompass MMP. It is a tremendous book. It is a book that should be on every MP’s desk. I would describe it in succinct terms as being an MP’s bible. It tells one what happens in this place why it happens and all of the procedures—just about everything one can think of.However he has chosen to move on. He is now set to become an Ombudsman. We in New Zealand First have no doubt that he will become a very competent Ombudsman. He has all the qualities in abundance. He has an analytical mind and an inquiring mind. He has the ability to explain—as the Hon Bill English said—some very complex issues to break them down and to explain them very straightforwardly in everyday language. That is an exceptional gift. He has patience and a marvellous ability to concentrate. If anyone doubts that they should take note—and I am sure you do Madam Speaker—of the many many thousands of questions he has sat through and listened to intently. When there has been a glitch or a hiccup he has been quietly but swiftly to his feet giving written advice on how the matter or the glitch should be handled. For that attribute alone he deserves a medal.However he has chosen to become an Ombudsman. It is my understanding that in that role he will be addressing a number of problems. One of those I believe will be sorting out the problems of prisoners. Some would assert perhaps that having worked over many years with MPs he might well be well qualified for the part of his role dealing with prisoners. Other MPs may well take umbrage at my even suggesting that and say possibly that it is irrelevant. But prisoners are volatile people. They have their highs and their lows. They know what it is like to be at the bottom of the heap. I say this in jest because Dave McGee knows exactly that—not because of his dealings in Parliament but because he is a lifelong ardent Sunderland Football Club supporter and that football team knows what it is like to be at the bottom and to be volatile.To conclude on a more serious note I say that Dave McGee has served this House exceedingly well. He most certainly will leave a very difficult pair of shoes to be filled; it will be an enormous task. We have no doubt that he will become an excellent Ombudsman. He is a very fair-minded man with the patience of Job and he has the intellect to simplify as I have stated the most difficult and complex problem. I know he will do exceedingly well. On behalf of my colleagues in New Zealand First I take this opportunity to thank him for his service and his invaluable guidance from time to time. I wish him and his family all the very best. Thank you Madam Speaker.