Key John: Motions — United Nations Security Council—Election to Non-permanent SeatText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKey John: Motions — United Nations Security Council—Election to Non-permanent Seat[Sitting date: 21 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:9. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):I seek leave to move a motion without notice in relation to New Zealand’s election to the United Nations Security Council.Mr SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action? There appears to be none.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I move That this House recognise New Zealand’s election to the United Nations Security Council for the term of 2015-16. Obtaining 145 votes against two highly respected and much larger nations is a major achievement. The overwhelming support in the vote on 16 October in New York is a testament to New Zealand’s reputation as an independent principal foreign policy contributor and an acknowledgment of our record at the United Nations over the past 69 years. It is also a strong affirmation of the important role that a small State like New Zealand can play on the Security Council.We ran a very strong campaign over close to a decade. I would like to acknowledge the Rt Hon Helen Clark who launched our Security Council campaign and the commitment of successive Governments to it. There are several other people I wish to acknowledge as well. They include the Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully for his leadership and dedication to the campaign; His Excellency Hon Jim McLay and his team for their work at the coalface of the campaign in New York; the special envoys Rt Hon Sir Don McKinnon the Rt Hon Jim Bolger Colin Keating Amanda Ellis Sarah Dennis and Lucy Duncan; and the Opposition foreign affairs spokesperson David Shearer for his assistance with the campaign. We were able to run a bipartisan campaign and this was well received by the international community and I think it counted significantly in our success. I would also like to commend the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade including our missions around the world which worked tirelessly on the campaign.We thank all those countries that supported us. We had strong friends and advocates in every region in the world—in Africa the Caribbean Latin America the Middle East and Eastern and Western Europe. I would also like to pay particular tribute to our friends in the Pacific and Asia who stood solidly behind our campaign.Throughout this campaign New Zealand has gained a new level of profile on the international stage and strengthened our reputation as active global citizens. We look forward to serving alongside Spain on the council and I would like to acknowledge Turkey’s commitment to its campaign and the United Nations system. We also made new connections with a diverse range of countries and Security Council membership will allow us to increase our international engagement even further.This is a once-in-20-years opportunity for New Zealand to sit at the world’s top table. We look forward to again making a meaningful contribution to the important work of the Security Council. I remember when I went to speak to the United Nations and the permanent representatives I had an opportunity to go and speak to the African congress and the African Union members. At the time the indication from the chair was that there would be no questions; I would simply make an intervention and leave. After I made my intervention the permanent representative from Rwanda put up her hand and asked the chair whether she could make a statement. The chair obliged and the permanent member got to her feet and said to the members of the African Union that they should look around that they should be all voting for New Zealand that it was the representation of New Zealand that saved literally millions of people from Rwanda and that this was a small country that showed significant influence on the other members of the council. She put it to the members of the African Union that if it was not for New Zealand’s contribution the situation would have been very different.A small country can make a big difference on the world stage. I think the bipartisanship shown over the last 10 years and the efforts of our ministry and a great many other people have contributed to New Zealand once again being given an opportunity to represent those who are in the greatest of need. Over the next few years it will be a challenging time for the world. New Zealand’s contribution will be valued.