King Colin: Address in Reply 
King Colin: Address in Reply 
[Volume:628;Page:277] 
COLIN KING (National—Kaikoura) 
: 
 Congratulations Madam Speaker on your reappointment. I also offer my congratulations to Clem Simich on his appointment as Deputy Speaker. 
New Zealanders live in a country of opportunity a place where we can extend ourselves and reach exceptional goals. Seizing on opportunities has enabled me to reach this goal of making an address as the member for Kaikoura. As a farmer and a shearer I have worked with my hands all my life yet because I share the same political ideals as many of the people in the Kaikoura electorate I have been elected as their representative. First and foremost I wish to thank the people of the Kaikoura electorate for their support. It is an honour to represent them and I intend to work hard to ensure that they enjoy a future full of reward for hard work and enterprise. I also take this opportunity to acknowledge the exceptional support and encouragement I have received from my wife Lynnette. 
It gives me much pleasure to acknowledge my new fellow members in this House of Representatives. It also gives me enormous pleasure and pride to acknowledge my leader Dr Don Brash as well as the President of the National Party Judy Kirk. I wish to express my gratitude also to my campaign committee: the chairman Allan Holdaway who was also the chairman of the campaign team of the Hon Doug Kidd; the electorate chairman Richard Harvey a man with great enthusiasm and loyalty to the party; and I thank Jackie Rosemary and Norma for their skill patience and experience. To Barry Holdaway a true blue who kick-started my campaign I appreciate the support he has given me over the last 12 months and I know that I will be able to call on his knowledge of Marlborough whenever I require it. 
As Kaikoura’s member of Parliament I intend to use all my energy and know-how to promote the interests of an incredibly diverse electorate made up of three individual districts each with its own council goals and aspirations. Each requires serious consideration; each is unique. It is an electorate that extends from the beautiful Marlborough Sounds where mussels and salmon are farmed and where forestry flourishes to Blenheim and its surrounding area with vineyards and wineries encircling the bustling township south to Kaikoura with its ecotourism and farming and on over the Hundalees to North Canterbury and the magnificent rolling countryside that typifies the rural New Zealand way of life. 
As the youngest of five children I was the only one who wanted to become a farmer and as soon as I turned 15 I left school and began working full-time on the farm. I was determined to own my own farm one way or another and I knew it was never going to be easy—it was going to be a hard road to hoe. By the time I was 19 I was shearing sheep out of North Canterbury and I had met my wife Lynnette. We bought our first block of land in North Canterbury before moving up to the King Country where we bought our own farm in 1985. 
As the 1980s progressed New Zealand entered a time when farm subsidies and supports were coming to an end. I returned to shearing in order to stay on the farm. The only thing between myself and my family being sold up and remaining viable was that practical skill. Having shorn sheep in order to get into farming I needed to keep shearing more sheep to stay farming. It was that experience that above all things made me value the skills training that I received as a young man. Now I long for the day when our educationalists genuinely value technical practical qualifications respecting them in the same way as degree-based qualifications. 
At this point it is appropriate to acknowledge the outstanding contribution to this nation’s pastoral sector of a small but passionate group of New Zealanders. Their efforts and their values have provided me with the highest standards to attain to. Firstly I acknowledge Godfrey Bowen who lifted the manual labour of shearing to an art form and left a lasting legacy known as shearer training. It remains the perfect industry model for skills training to follow. Secondly I would like to acknowledge Laurie Keats and those other young farmers from the Wairarapa. Against all odds they staged the first Golden Shears in 1961 and it has been an outstanding success ever since. Today Laurie is patron of the Golden Shears and I wish the present committee all the very best as we lead up to the 2006 Golden Shears championship which is to be held on the first Saturday in March next year. 
By 1996 my wife and I were back in North Canterbury and I began conducting shearing training as the senior South Island shearing instructor helping young people to realise their potential. In the year 2000 like Godfrey Bowen I was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for my contribution to New Zealand shearing and the wool industry. My move into farming politics seemed a natural progression from being a farmer and helping to train the next generation of young farmers and shearers. Once I was elected to the Meat Board I got the bit between my teeth moving on to become a director of Meat and Wool New Zealand the Agriculture Industry Training Organisation and the New Zealand Sheep Council and also becoming a trustee of the Shear History Trust which has recently opened a magnificent museum dedicated to the wool industry in Masterton. Having also chaired a branch of the National Party for 5 years I find myself in the hot seat. I am proud to say that I have worked my way here using both my hands and my head working on the land and sharing the concerns of ordinary people like myself. 
This leads me to concerns over how people in the provinces are treated by those who live in cities and are remote from rural issues. North Canterbury is a beautiful productive rural area. Unfortunately people in cities who think they know best have stepped in and dug a big hole in this beautiful landscape so that they can fill it with the city’s rubbish. The Kate Valley landfill is a dismay to rural people. City folk seem totally unaware that country people care for their environment. To the city people I say: “Tidy up your backyard before you interfere in our domain.” The situation has created a great deal of upset and I believe that it highlights the need for rural people to be supported in their bid to have a greater say in what happens in their domain. 
Meanwhile Kaikoura has its own set of concerns. The area is very very typical of modern New Zealand. Its economy is made up of farming as well as tourism. The pastoral segment is sandwiched between the sea on one side and the magnificent rugged Kaikoura Ranges on the other. Accommodating the requirements of a thriving tourism industry ensuring the interaction with whales and dolphins remains beneficial for the creatures as well as for the tourism operators and looking after the requirements of a modern revitalised rural sector make for an interesting challenging balancing act. Infrastructure is also an issue in this district with growing concerns over the ability—or should I say the inability—of the State highway to cope with an increasing volume of traffic especially large trucks. Infrastructure development especially bridges and roading is a major concern most obviously highlighted by the region’s eagerness for work to begin on the new Awatere Bridge in 2006. I recognise that I must continue to politicise vigorously these concerns seeking a fair share of the roading budget for the electorate. 
Further north and we are into Marlborough where we see a dramatic change of land use generated by people with insight an entrepreneurial streak and enough conviction in the future viability of the wine industry to risk personal investment. These people are creating wealth for the province as well as for the nation. It is sad to see a lot of the wealth leaving the region in taxation. This drain on financial resources limits the region’s ability to continue to grow and create wealth. Once a particular sector feels it has become the milch cow for the Inland Revenue Department’s coffers those investors begin to look elsewhere. It is in everybody’s best interests to ensure this does not happen. 
I have reached the point now where we come to the northern most point of the Kaikoura electorate and this is the Marlborough Sounds. It is the most beautiful part of our nation. It has 1100 kilometres of seashore but it is dogged presently with a major problem due to the perception that it is an extension of State Highway 1. Marlborough should not be maintaining and managing the required infrastructure at its own expense. Currently Marlborough stumps up with a huge amount of money to maintain a road-rail link and it is about time the Government stepped in and took responsibility for this. Alongside transport woes biosecurity has become a big issue with the discovery of the sea squirt in our waters. The public expects a biosecurity system that can protect and when necessary eradicate incursions. I support proactive initiatives from any party that moves decisively towards such a system. 
The continuation of health services in Marlborough is a major concern. We eagerly await the green light for the redevelopment of Wairau Public Hospital. At this time I must acknowledge the major contribution that the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust makes to the continuation of health services in Marlborough. I commend this private-public health model to all New Zealanders. Things of importance as well to people in Marlborough are those that provide services for the mental well-being and the emotional well-being of our community. Caring for the elderly is hugely important. It is appropriate that families are comfortable that their loved ones are kept safe in aged care. Too often the carers who provide that care are given no support and no training. I have a strong personal view that I wish to champion with regard to that sector: we must reinstate the position of the enrolled nurse within the health system. That will provide a clear pathway for staff working in long-term care for the elderly. Such a pathway will provide better-quality care for the elderly and will also provide the staff with creditable and rewarding career outcomes. 
I believe that we need to be goal setters and achievers. I promise my electorate that I will take the lead. I will set the example in setting and achieving goals within key areas of public interest—issues of national importance such as health education care of the elderly fairer allocation of spending on infrastructure reward for personal endeavour and the care of the environment. Those issues will be addressed in the local context for the benefit of the whole electorate. 
Finally can I say that I am proud to be here as a member of this House and as an advocate for the people of the Kaikoura electorate. I am fuelled with high hopes and determination and eager to ensure that the future generations can take advantage of the same opportunities that I personally have enjoyed. We must as goal setters and achievers find the correct balance between reward for enterprise and sustainability. I am speaking now in terms of the whole nation. Only then will New Zealand provide a first-class lifestyle for all in the years to come.