Adams AmyHon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn): Mr Speaker thank you. It is a great privilege and it's with great honour that I stand to speak on behalf of the Opposition on this motion to recognise and commemorate 125 years since New Zealand proudly became the very first nation in the world to give women the right to vote. There is nothing that creates more pride in Kiwis than when we are travelling around the world—and I was in the UK recently with yourself in fact Mr Speaker and we visited the House of Commons and we realised how far ahead we were of so many countries around the world and how long it took the rest of the world to catch up with New Zealand.I like the Prime Minister want to really use this time to express my admiration and my deep gratitude to all of the women who have come before me all of the women who made it possible for us to be in this House for us to participate fully in the life of New Zealand: of course Kate Sheppard the suffragette movement more fully but also Sir John Hall—who I talked about in my maiden speech who comes from my seat—who had the courage from within the system to say Actually this isn't right." Kate of course is a national hero as she should be but I also want to acknowledge those male leaders at the time who stood with them and enabled New Zealand to make that change.It seems to me that in 125 years we have come an awfully long way in respect of the role of women in this country but I have to acknowledge that we're not there yet and when I give speeches to women around how I see the role of women in New Zealand I always make that observation. As much as I would like to say the job is done it is not. And I think the way that all of us repay the legacy of Kate Sheppard and her brave team of suffragettes is to ensure that we leave it a little easier for those who come after us.I want to acknowledge the raft of strong women who have come through this Parliament actually in all walks of New Zealand life who have done exactly that—taken on a challenge worked that bit harder and been that bit better to get them there—and as a result of doing that have not only made the path a little easier but inspired so many young women who look up to them.It's quite remarkable to me when I look at Canterbury—the area of course that I represent—and note how many of those strong leaders come from there: of course Kate Sheppard; Sir John Hall; our first woman MP Elizabeth McCombs; our first woman Cabinet Minister; our first woman Prime Minister; our first woman Minister of Finance—the list is quite long. But Sir John Hall who I mentioned before made the point that he thought that women coming into politics would bring decorum and civilised behaviour as we had "a far keener insight into character" and clearly he was right. He also noted—and I'm sure Grant Robertson would be interested in this—that women are far less likely to countenance official extravagance and I congratulate Sir John on his foresight. This morning we had a bit of a ceremony in the Grand Hall where all of the women MPs in this House were recognised and we were told our number in terms of which number we were in the hierarchy of women MPs. I was a little horrified to find out that I was No. 98. Now I've been in this House 10 years and that means in the 90 years that women have been able to be here I'm only the 98th. What's good news is that in the 10 years since we've had another 50. So we're off to a slow start but we're catching up fast. There's no question in my mind though that we still face challenges. I recall very vividly standing for selection and being told quite explicitly that they wouldn't vote for me because what sort of mother would I be to my children if I was in Wellington doing this job—how could I be a good mother and do this job? My response after picking my jaw up from the floor was "Actually I'm doing this for my kids." because we come here very definitely with an eye on how we make it better for the generations after us. I want to leave this place knowing that my daughter's generation and one day potentially my grandchildren's generation—although if my kids are listening no time soon please—know that they can come here and I would like to think that one day they will be standing here speaking in a debate like this and being able to look back with astonishment at how long it took the Parliament of New Zealand and New Zealand to really utilise the full potential of half its population. I remember flying up to Wellington one day and being asked by an air hostess on Air New Zealand "You come up here a lot. Do you work in Wellington?" "Yes." I replied. By this point I was Minister of Justice by the way and she said to me "Whose secretary are you?" She was a lovely woman and I don't want her to feel bad but it still astounded me that that's the natural assumption that unfortunately is still so prevalent in New Zealand. It is an honour to stand here to speak and to thank the women who have come before us. It is an honour to represent New Zealand in this House of Parliament but I hope one day that women who come after us will be able to look back and be able to say "The job is done." It is not yet but we will continue the fight."