edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
Cameron MarkMARK CAMERON (ACT): Thank you Madam Chair. Congratulations to the member Steph Lewis for bringing this the Biosecurity (Information for Incoming Passengers) Amendment Bill to the select committee that I sit on the Primary Production Committee. It's a great piece of legislation I think. We ironed out a few kinks. I think we would reconcile that there were a few points of concern earlier on.To the member I'd like to bring her attention to clause 4—new section 17AA I think would be the right determination. If we can take our attention there it speaks to large craft and I think it would help to answer some of the questions from the member Joseph Mooney. For my interest and perhaps the interest of other members in the Chamber what does the member who brought this piece of legislation to the committee of the whole House today feel about ships as in vessels coming into New Zealand? How will the audiovisual and the digital information being shared on vessels accommodate the fact that many of these international vessels—P & O Cruises etc.—that are coming here have a plethora of languages on board?Again as you appreciate I support the legislation but I'm just interested to see how you iron out that concern because as it's been well canvassed our biosecurity is tantamount to a good economic outcome.
Mooney JosephJOSEPH MOONEY (National—Southland): Thank you very much Madam Chair. To the member Steph Lewis congratulations on having this bill pulled. This is a short and relatively simple bill but it is certainly an important one as biosecurity has a huge impact on New Zealand as an island nation. We've certainly seen with Indonesia for example the impact that foot-and-mouth getting into a country can have on the economy and on animal welfare and it's something that we're acutely aware of in New Zealand and we need to keep these risk factors out. So well done on bringing this—like I say—relatively simple short but valuable bill before the House. Just expanding on the questions that Nicola Grigg asked around the carve-out for private aircrafts I note that in new section 17AA(1) inserted by clause 4 This section applies to a large commercial craft that is on route to New Zealand territory from a point outside New Zealand territory on a flight or voyage that is intended to include arrival in New Zealand." Has there been any analysis of the number of aircraft that would not be captured by this definition? And if you could just explain to the committee the reason for having that carve-out provision."
Salesa JennyClauses 1 to 8Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National): Point of order. I seek leave for all clauses of this bill to be taken as one debate.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jenny Salesa): Leave is sought for that course of action. Are there any objections? The question is that clauses 1 to 8 stand part.
Grigg NicolaNICOLA GRIGG (National—Selwyn): Madam Chair thank you very much for the opportunity to speak on this bill or ask at least some questions of the sponsoring member Steph Lewis this evening. Congratulations on having the bill drawn and well done for shepherding it through the House thus far. We have made it very clear that the National Party is going to support the bill and we do encourage and support any measures to strengthen biosecurity law in this country because we do recognise—like many others in this Chamber—how very very particularly important our agricultural industry is to this country its society its community and its economy but also our native flora and fauna. And we've seen good examples of the likes of kauri dieback and the impact that's had on our taonga really—our native trees—and what a loss that would be if further incursions would take place.I know the Primary Production Committee did canvas this but I just would like to delve into it a little bit more because having not sat on the select committee myself I really would like a further explanation as to why the decision was made to carve out private planes boats and so on that are arriving into our ports because to me that would seem a risk an unpoliced—so to speak—activity. I don't know personally the numbers of people landing on our shores through our various types and varieties of ports and I would really like to understand the level of risk and the level of exposure that they bring to this country and why the decision was made to carve them out and what securities are in place to ensure that they do adhere to these upcoming rules.
Salesa JennyBIOSECURITY (INFORMATION FOR INCOMING PASSENGERS) AMENDMENT BILLIn CommitteeClause 1 TitleCHAIRPERSON (Hon Jenny Salesa): Members we come now to the Biosecurity (Information for Incoming Passengers) Amendment Bill. Members we come first to the debate on clause 1. This is the debate on the title. The question is that clause 1 stand part.STEPH LEWIS (Labour—Whanganui): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to be in the Chamber this evening to discuss the Biosecurity (Information for Incoming Passengers) Amendment Bill.This is a short bill but an important one. The bill will add another layer of defence to our biosecurity system which prevents threats getting in through our border. It protects our food and fibre sector and our environment.This bill essentially provides someone who is in charge of a craft be that ship or aeroplane to provide information to the craft's passengers about New Zealand's unique biosecurity arrangements and the particular laws that we have to protect our biosecurity and biodiversity here in New Zealand. The type of information that's required to be provided will be set out in regulations to be drafted by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). The bill was supported unanimously by the Primary Production Committee and reported back with amendments. The MPI officials made 11 recommendations which were all accepted by the members.This bill has been asked for by our food and fibre sector stakeholders in particular. It's been asked for for a long time because at the moment it's voluntary to provide information about our particular biosecurity arrangements here in Aotearoa New Zealand. We know that not all airlines for example were providing such information at the time that the bill was drafted.This isn't a huge bill so I'm not going to labour the point but I welcome questions from members this evening.
SpeechCHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): Members the time has come for me to leave the Chair for the dinner break and the House will resume at 7 p.m.Sitting suspended from 5.58 p.m. to 7 p.m.
SpeechClauses 1 and 2CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): Members we come now to our final debate clauses 1 and 2 title and commencement.
SpeechSTEPH LEWIS (Labour—Whanganui): I move That the question be now put.
SpeechSARAH PALLETT (Labour—Ilam): I move That the question be now put. CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): No there are a number of Supplementary Order Papers as part of Part 2 of this bill.
Boyack RachelRACHEL BOYACK (Labour—Nelson): Thank you Madam Chair. Look I did cover a lot of the detail around public sector agencies and plain language officers in the earlier part of Part 2 when I took a call. I will just make a note again just for the member Simeon Brown that there are a number of agencies who already have people in place undertaking this work. That is the conversation that I've had with a lot of the experts who work alongside these agencies. There will be some agencies that may need to either task someone who is already inside the agency to do this work or who may need to employ somebody to do this work. That may happen. But what I can also tell the member is that we know from research that this will improve productivity improve compliance it will make our Public Service far more efficient and it will ensure that people are able to engage and comply with what the Government is asking them to do.I'll just make a short comment on the note of increasing the number of public servants. Our public servants who worked throughout COVID who worked to keep New Zealand safe they are heroes of this country. I will always stand up as part of a Labour Government for public servants that have worked to keep people safe. I will always stand up for the extra police that we've pulled in to keep our country safe.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): Order! Order! Order! I'm just going to pull Rachel Boyack back to Part 2 of this bill.RACHEL BOYACK: I think that this particular line of questioning is one that has come up in previous debates has come up in the media. I've been very very clear that yes there may be some agencies that need to employ someone in order to do this work but many of our agencies are already doing this. Earlier today I had an email with all of the nominees for the Plain Language Awards that happen every year. Many of our public sector agencies have been nominated for awards which I'm really pleased to see but there are many that have work to do. I know that improving plain language—and I note that the Opposition have stated on a few occasions that they do support plain language. It's kind of starting to sound a little bit at the moment like maybe they don't but I know that those agencies that have work to do this bill will ensure that they comply with this and so it will give some teeth to the need for those agencies to improve their communications. Thank you Madam Chair.
SpeechHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National): Thank you Madam Chair. I am going to inquire of the member about both the resource that's going to be required for plain language officers and also add my voice to the question that Mr Brownlee asked and that was: how many documents are going to be subject to this bill?But before I do I want to point out how confused this bill is and how confused the member sponsoring the bill is. In her first intervention on Part 2 she gave us this very interesting story about a constituent that had come to her with an email that contained a PDF that was sent by a Crown agency and how she wanted it to be read to her and the Government agency had basically said Well look there's a PDF reader that can do that for you so off you go and we're not going to help." Here's the problem with that: if it was contained in an email is it subject to the Plain Language Bill? Because as we found out in Part 1 if it's a public document it's subject to plain language requirements if it's in an email it's not. So what if a public document is in an email? Is it subject to the law or not? Would there be a complaint? Is it validly laid? Would there be a sanction in any event? As we know there isn't any consequences for noncompliance so we are completely wasting our time here.But here's my question to the member in charge of the bill—and it's designed to flesh out the extent to which the public sector is going to have to engage plain language officers as it set out in Part 2—how many organisations are going to be caught by this? Now the bill talks about a Crown agent as set out in Part 1 Schedule 1 of the Crown Entities Act. I don't know what the entities listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1 or Part 3 of Schedule 1 did to deserve being left out of the scope but lucky them! And also Public Service agencies set out under the Public Service Act section 10A. And section 10A talks about basically all Government departments all departmental agencies all interdepartmental executive boards and interdepartmental ventures—whatever they are—and includes Crown agencies for the purposes of Subpart 4. The Crown Entities Act goes through a long list of organisations: ACC Callaghan Innovation and so on. So I would like to know whether the member has actually counted the number of organisations that are captured by this bill. It's fundamental to the question of how many plain language officers we're going to have and how much resource—taxpayer resource—is going to be diverted into having these plain language police running around vetting every single document that appears on every single website of every single Crown agency covered by the bill.We didn't have a departmental disclosure document we didn't have a regulatory impact statement and we didn't have a cost-benefit analysis but I think this committee—it behoves us to work out for the member and the Government who obviously support this what on earth we are going to be committing to if this bill is passed: how many organisations how many documents how many plain language officers?"
Boyack RachelRACHEL BOYACK (Labour—Nelson): I thank the member for the fascinating question but I'll talk through the bill in terms of how the reporting on the bill works. It's quite clearly spelled out in the bill. So clause 9 Reporting agency must report to Commissioner" says that the "reporting agency must report annually to the Commissioner on how the agency complies with this Act." Clause 10 "Commissioner must report to Minister" says that "(1) The Commissioner must report annually to the Minister on how reporting agencies have been complying with this Act. (2) The Minister must present a copy of the report to the House of Representatives within 20 working days after receiving it." What that does is it brings some transparency into the reporting from the agencies through to the commissioner and through to the Minister. And we will receive annual reports from the Minister via the commissioner to this House on how agencies are complying with this Act which will be very helpful in terms of transparency to actually show us which agencies are doing a good job of including plain language and which ones have some more work to do. So it's a very simple very straightforward process.We also amended the commencement date to time this approximately around the time of the annual review time frame. And it's quite possibly the type of topic that could form annual reviews into agencies that report through to select committees. This is something we also discussed at the select committee process. A very simple process and I thank the member for his question."
Brownlee GerryHon GERRY BROWNLEE (National): Mr Chair thank you very much for the opportunity to make a fairly plain speech on this Plain Language Bill.I have a fear that actually some of the concern about this bill represented by my colleagues who have spoken on it so far may well be because of the lack of plain language in the application of the committee stage that we're going through at the moment by the member in charge of the bill.I wonder how far is this plain language going to extend. Will it simply stop with the legislative process or will it start to invade Parliament itself? In that regard I'd refer the member to Standing Order 5 so not too far into the book. If I may say quite plainly if the member turns over five pages to page 4—because there's one page that's unnumbered—then she will find Standing Order 5 which deals with Limitation on moving suspension.I think given the fact that so many people seem to be unable to fully understand the plain language nature of this bill—because of its extraordinary complexity for a bill that sets out to do such a simple thing—whether the member might like to consider this Standing Order? That is—and this a question I'm asking to the member—A member who is not a Minister may move a suspension motion only for the purpose of allowing a bill provision or other matters in that member's charge to proceed or be dealt with without compliance with Standing Orders or other order to be suspended."Now firstly I'd like an explanation from the member in charge of the bill how this particular Standing Order could be improved by some plain language so that more people might understand it; and then once that explanation is given if the explanation is in line with the attention of this particular Standing Order will the member consider taking the action that this particular Standing Order advises?The reality is that this is the guiding document for the way the House works. The guiding document for how legislation is to be dealt with through this House; how public debates are to be dealt with in this House; how a range of other procedural matters are to be dealt with in this House. If this document is not covered by the current bill then I think that is something that needs to be sorted out and I would hope that perhaps the member might consider a Supplementary Order Paper that extends the plain language provisions to impact Standing Orders as well.If we wanted to make it more complicated we could go to some of the very early rulings that are found in Speakers' rulings. Rulings from the 1900s a couple in there from the 1800s and even some very confusing rulings from the early 2000s when there were some interesting people occupying the seat at that time.So I conclude my contribution—not wanting to take the full time allocated—to allow the member to answer that question. One: what does that particular Standing Order mean; how could it be rewritten into plain language? And once that explanation is given to the House will the member consider taking that option and making a motion as is allowed by that Standing Order?"
Boyack RachelRACHEL BOYACK (Labour—Nelson): Thank you Mr Chair. I just want to take the opportunity—I was seeking the call earlier but I was a bit slow—to respond to the questions from my colleague Jamie Strange around accessibility. Ultimately that is a discussion for Part 2 where that comes in. The bill has received a number of submissions from organisations like Blind Low Vision New Zealand Community Law and Citizens Advice Bureau who work with people who have disabilities and require support at times to be able to interpret documents. Certainly I've had representation made to me by constituents and so I'm looking forward to discussing that further in the debate on Part 2.
SpeechJAMIE STRANGE (Labour—Hamilton East): Thank you Mr Chair. My perseverance has paid off! I acknowledge the interest in this bill from the Opposition parties. It's taken a long time but their calls have really engaged in this piece of legislation which is really fairly common sense. My question relates to the disability sector. I'm interested in the work that the member Rachel Boyack has done in terms of engaging with the disability sector and how the member expects that this bill will support the disability sector in terms of engaging with Government agencies with the Government legislation with various policies.Clause 4A in this bill outlines the fact that In this Act plain language means language that is (a) appropriate to the intended audience; and (b) clear concise and well organised." If we talk about the intended audience we have heard from a previous speaker on this Plain Language Bill who simply said all that people need to do is buy a dictionary and then they can understand everything. Is that a little bit simplistic? Is that a simplistic view of New Zealand as a society—that if someone doesn't understand something they're reading on a Government website all they need to do is buy a dictionary and that's fine. So I am interested in a response from the member around that.We did hear from a submitter who was involved with the disability sector who said the most obvious reason to use plain language writing is to make important information and ideas more accessible for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and others with disabilities affecting reading comprehension and other cognitive functions. So my question as I stated near the start is: how does the member expect that this bill will support the disability sector in terms of accessing Government agencies Government websites and the like? Thank you."
Boyack RachelRACHEL BOYACK (Labour—Nelson): Thank you Mr Chair. I'm just going to take a short call to respond specifically to some questions from Mr Brown and my apologies for not answering that in an earlier call. Before I do that I just note that there have been comments and questions specifically around the role of the Public Service Commissioner and the role of plain language officers and I'm looking forward to getting into that in a lot more detail when we get to the debate on Part 2.Mr Brown's question which I think is a good question to ask is specifically around whether legislation is covered by the scope of the bill. That is not the intent of the bill. I just note from the departmental report some quite useful information regarding the role of legislation which is that the premise of the Legislation Act 2019 is centred around promoting high-quality legislation for New Zealand that is easy to find use and understand including allowing legislation to be simpler shorter and more consistent and providing tools for modernising and simplifying legislation. I note that the Parliamentary Counsel Office has been doing a lot of work over a number of years to make legislation as they work through it easier to understand. So the bill does not cover legislation and that has not been its intent.
SpeechNAISI CHEN (Labour): Thank you Mr Chair. My question is around clause 4A(a). Clause 4A states In this Act plain language means language that is—(a) appropriate to the intended audience;". Mr Chair as you know I obviously come from a family and a community that has English as a second language—believe it or not! I spoke Mandarin and only Mandarin when I first came to New Zealand when I was five and I had to pick up English through primary school and that was quite an enjoyable process because I knew my fellow classmates were also just on their journey of learning the English language especially the written language the spelling as well. To the member in the chair I just really want to understand in terms of consideration during the select committee process and advice from officials whether the intended audience was people who have English as their second language. Was that ever intended? And what benefits would this bill bring in terms of the interpretation and the translation process and what benefit would that bring in terms of making sure that the Public Service in New Zealand could communicate more clearly with that community?"
Collins JudithHon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura): Thank you so much Mr Chair. Now look this is a bill which I have to say could be renamed the Lackadaisical Language Bill" a bill that seems to think that people cannot look up a dictionary or even work through what things mean. Suddenly we're going to have some plainer language and it's all going to make sense! I thought it was because the member in charge of the bill Rachel Boyack raised the issue about the use of te reo in documents. We certainly as MPs often get complaints about people—that they find it hard working out some of the news these days because so much te reo is being used. Now I personally support the use of te reo—it's obviously an official language of New Zealand—but it is important to bring people along with us in that and that we don't end up making people feel that they can't understand what's going on.She's raised the issue of te reo and I think we need to know—we know that in English it is not actually that hard to find easier plainer words to say often the same thing. If we look at the history of English we can look at—say in the legal profession of which I have some knowledge—the words "will" and "testament". They used to be used all the time and now mostly "will" and why is there "will" and "testament"? One because "will" was the Anglo-Saxon term and "testament" was that brought over by the Normans. So we have quite a lot of those sorts of terms—"give" and "bequeath" is another—where an Anglo-Saxon term is used along with the Norman term and what has happened actually is that usage over the years tends to have been modified to go for the shorter version which is often the Anglo-Saxon word. I have to say that the Anglo-Saxon language seems to have quite a lot of very short words and often very blunt in their meaning. This is probably one of those bills that it could be used for—some of these blunt meanings.I don't understand how it is—and perhaps the member could answer this: has she undertaken a study to make sure that te reo has some more plain language words? I'm not an expert in te reo and I wonder if there are te reo terms which are much shorter and plainer than some of the other te reo words or is there simply one word that's not dependent on who is speaking it? Is it just simply the word? So perhaps she could answer that because I'm not the expert and I'd like to hear from her."
O'Connor GregPLAIN LANGUAGE BILLIn CommitteePart 1 Preliminary provisionsCHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): We come first to the Plain Language Bill. The question is that Part 1 stand part.
O'Connor GregHOUSE IN COMMITTEECHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): Members the House is in committee on the Plain Language Bill and the Biosecurity (Information for Incoming Passengers) Amendment Bill. It would be helpful for members to ask multiple questions if they have them of the member in charge during their call.
Hipkins ChrisSITTINGS OF THE HOUSEHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I move That the sitting of the House today be extended into the morning of Thursday 22 September for the consideration in committee and the third reading of the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill; the first reading of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2022-23 Platform Economy and Remedial Matters) Bill (No 2); and the consideration in committee of the Accident Compensation (Maternal Birth Injury and Other Matters) Amendment Bill.
Rurawhe AdrianPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: No petitions have been delivered to the Clerk for presentation. Ministers have delivered papers.CLERK: Statement of performance expectations 2022-23 for:Office of the Privacy CommissionerHuman Rights CommissionPeke Waihanga - Artificial Limb ServiceElectoral CommissionTe Kāhui Tātari Ture Criminal Cases Review CommissionIndependent Police Conduct Authoritystatement of intent 2022-23 to 2025-26 of the Electoral Commissionstatement of intent 2021-22 to 2024-25 of the Human Rights Commission.SPEAKER: Those papers are published under the authority of the House. No select committee reports have been delivered to the Clerk for presentation. The Clerk has been informed of the introduction of a bill.CLERK: Charities Amendment Bill introduction.SPEAKER: That bill is set down for first reading.
SpeechWEDNESDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2022The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSHon JACQUI DEAN (Assistant Speaker): Almighty God we give thanks for the blessings which have been bestowed on us. Laying aside all personal interests we acknowledge the King and pray for guidance in our deliberations that we may conduct the affairs of this House with wisdom justice mercy and humility for the peace and welfare of New Zealand. Amen.
Tuesday 13 September 2022 - Volume 762
Thursday 1 September 2022 - Volume 762
Rurawhe AdrianSPEAKER: I now ask members to stand with me and observe a period of silence as a mark of respect to the memory of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Members stood as a mark of respect.SPEAKER: Nō reira kia tau ki a tātou katoa te atawhai o tō tātou ariki a Ihu Karaiti me te aroha o te Atua me te whiwhinga tahitahi ki te wairua tapu ake ake ake āmene. [Therefore may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore amen.]In accordance with a determination of the Business Committee the House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday 20 September 2022. The House adjourned at 3.30 p.m.
Hipkins ChrisBUSINESS OF THE HOUSEHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I move That despite Standing Order 349(1) the debate on the question for the third reading of the Appropriation (2022/23 Estimates) Bill must be completed by 23 September 2022.Motion agreed to.
Address to His Majesty King Charles III—Condolences on Death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Congratulations on Accession to Throne
Penk ChrisCHRIS PENK (National—Kaipara ki Mahurangi): Thank you Mr Speaker. I take great pleasure in joining others in this House in paying tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She served in uniform during the Second World War and subsequently became the head of the armed forces in her role as Sovereign—an example of the practical and symbolic nature of the roles that she held in her life. Just as in this place we recognise the impersonal nature of the Crown yet acknowledge her service was deeply personal in the way that she served this nation as well as others in the Commonwealth in her time.I think too of the viceregal household here in New Zealand the Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro and others as they acknowledge this special but obviously very sad time. The commander-in-chief of the New Zealand Defence Force of course her viceregal representative in this country plays a similar role. I was fortunate to serve on Her Majesty's New Zealand ship Te Kaha and Her Majesty's Australian submarine Sheean. Ma'am thank you for allowing me to drive your vehicles.In this House we make laws in her name and soon we will make laws in the name of her son and successor. I do want to acknowledge from an electorate perspective and note that across New Zealand she visited many parts of our country. She visited Warkworth and Pūhoi back in late 1953 in what is now the Kaipara ki Mahurangi area and her son and successor visited Whenuapai as recently as just a couple of years ago. Now we say thank you for your service ma'am. God save our gracious Queen; long live our noble King.
SpeechIAN McKELVIE (National—Rangitīkei): Thank you Mr Speaker. It's both with great privilege and with considerable sadness that I rise to speak in tribute to our late Queen. I like those who preceded me today offer my condolences to King Charles III and to all members of the royal family.The Queen has been the only Queen I've known for the first 70 years of my life and during that time she's been one of two constants in an ever-changing world in those 70 years. The other was my mother who departed three weeks ago. My first memory of the Queen so my mother told me was waiting outside the Premier Drapery Company department store in Palmerston North in 1954 for her to pass by. I of course don't remember that but many years later however Sue and I did have the privilege of meeting Queen Elizabeth once some years ago in her own paddock Windsor Great Park. That was many years ago but on a number of occasions I've also met King Charles in Feilding in the Rangitīkei and in Wellington on the polo field and I think he will be an admirable follow-up of his mother.Her Majesty has purveyed a sense of stability in some of the very testing times for our country and for the world. Her grace her calmness her quiet determination and her innate sense of fairness in difficult times have in no small way contributed to our country's confidence to go forth into the world as a proud people prepared to stand up for what we believe to be right. Thinking back to 1952 Britain was rebuilding after the Second World War New Zealand was reeling from the death of so many young men and women the Cold War was in full swing and a young Queen Elizabeth II was about to be crowned. They were indeed tumultuous times. It was her love of agriculture and horses that endeared her to many New Zealanders and a wonderful association with the Ferguson family—Don Ferguson of Ōtorohanga and their Ferdon jersey stud—and as a patron and great supporter of the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Association and as a consequence of racing throughout the world. Racing was the beneficiary of her attendance at a number of meetings during her visits to New Zealand. In her lifetime interestingly she also bred the winners of every British Classic race. That's an amazing feat. No doubt the corgis probably beat the horses but none the less it was an amazing feat.Despite our sorrow at the passing of an icon we should celebrate all she meant to us and I believe undoubtedly her most difficult task was to lead the world's most public family. All of us who strongly support the family unit can only sit and wonder how she has held together that royal family under such public watch. A wonderful human being and an example to us all.
Boyack Rachel; Rurawhe AdrianRACHEL BOYACK (Labour—Nelson): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. It is the most humbling privilege to stand here today in this Whare and share in sending our warm Pacific greetings to King Charles III King of New Zealand. In doing so we share in the grief of the royal family the whole United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realms in mourning the loss of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.Queen Elizabeth was also head of the Church of England. While the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia is technically independent of the Church of England as a fellow Anglican I wish to acknowledge the Queen's deep Christian faith and the strong values of service steadfastness and hope that she brought to her role especially during difficult times. In her 2002 Christmas broadcast the Queen said I know just how much I rely on my faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right to take the long view to give of my best in all that the day brings and to put my trust in God." While the Queen was a woman of deep faith she was also supportive of people of all faiths and those who don't hold a religious faith. She championed the importance of freedom of religion and inclusion and the work of the interfaith movement. So too has King Charles been at the forefront of religious inclusion for many years most notably speaking out in support of Islam and pushing back strongly against Islamophobia. In his "Islam and the West" speech in 1993 he spoke about the misunderstanding in the West about Islam and in 2015 he said "It's always seemed to me that while at the same time being Defender of the Faith you can also be protector of faiths." May we as a nation follow the lead of our late Queen Elizabeth and King Charles in supporting and upholding religious freedom and inclusion across Aotearoa. Lord now lettest thy servant depart in peace: according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen: thy salvation; Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people;To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel.May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. Long live the King.SPEAKER: The next call is a split call. Three minutes—Ian McKelvie."
Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you Mr Speaker. It is with great sadness that I rise to speak in honour of the memory of Queen Elizabeth the great Queen of New Zealand. I extend my sympathies to His Majesty King Charles III and to the entire royal family as they mourn not merely their Queen but a mother a grandmother and a great-grandmother. I say I rise with sadness but I also rise with a deep sense of privilege to have witnessed a part of her reign the reign of a remarkable Sovereign a remarkable woman and a remarkable human being. While I never met the Queen she has been a constant in our lives and for most of us for the entirety of our lives. Her constant presence has not just been through her constitutional role but also as someone who has lived her life so publicly for the world to witness. In times of great change she has been an anchor for New Zealand as our country has changed and developed and indeed for the entire Commonwealth.Her Christian faith was also deeply important to her and gave her a great sense of purpose upon which she was able to exercise her duties. While being a monarch and a Sovereign she served someone even greater than herself. Duty sacrifice and service epitomised her reign and she crowned those virtues with grace humility and a love for her people. These values are not time-bound; they are choices that we are all able to make. She lived a life of loving duty because she chose to and we are all challenged by her example to make these choices too. I think I speak for many New Zealanders when I say that the extent of the grief that we have all felt has come as a shock. As Queen Elizabeth herself said this grief is the price we pay for love—love we have experienced and love we have given to Her Majesty. Queen Elizabeth has gone on to where all of us will one day follow to meet her God and her King. Rest in peace Your Majesty. God save the King.
Rurawhe AdrianHARETE HIPANGO (National): Ka tangi te tītī ka tangi te kākā ka tangi hoki ahau. Tihei mauri mate. [The mutton bird is calling the parrot is calling; I also wish to speak. Behold the force of death.]Today we as a House of Parliament extend our condolence to the House of Windsor. I reflect on a remarkable woman—daughter wife mother grandmother and great—Queen Elizabeth II who represents and is the passing of a generation and era. I reflect on the relationships through my whakapapa mere pounamu he taonga to hand connecting me to generations of my forebears. I stand cloaked with the memory and presence of them generations through the ages—past present and to come.My Wanganui tūpuna—ancestors—like other Māori chiefs in their own Sovereign standing on behalf of their peoples their hapū inked a relationship with the Crown pen to parchment on a Treaty—my people—on 23 May 1840 Pūtiki Marae my tūrangawaewae who forged a relationship with the Crown a mutual commitment to bring our people together in standing and understanding of nationhood as sovereign peoples with the Sovereign of England. He iwi kotahi tātou.My great-great-grandfather Hoani Wiremu Hipango forging an enduring commitment of that relationship to survive and thrive in 1855 met with Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace. His son Hori Kingi he sent to study at Oxford University to keep a glow of the embers of that relationship with the Crown ignited between his people of Wanganui with the Crown. My tupuna koro caressed and buried in the soils of Letcombe Regis Oxfordshire England at 19 years old since 1871.I share this with the House as we mourn the passing of generations and an era and we look forward to embrace a future as a nation—those conversations the kōrero to be had. These relationships are poignant and significant as we traverse the period of time through into the future.I think of my friendship with Prince Edward during his tutorship at Whanganui Collegiate School in 1982 and I am sad for him and his family as they grieve the loss of their mother. Queen Elizabeth—a woman whose life transcended time and generations of selfless service duty dedication diligence durability and dignity—regal to the end. An era passed; a monarch of a generation now taken flight. Te kōtuku rerenga tahi now departed but always remembered. Rest in peace Your Majesty. King Charles III—tihei mauri ora e.SPEAKER: Simeon Brown—two minutes.
van Velden BrookeBROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT): I rise on behalf of the ACT Party to express our congratulations upon King Charles III's accession to the Throne and our sympathy on the loss of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.As Queen of New Zealand Her Majesty was loved across our country. For many of us she felt like a family member; a real matriarch caring for all the people she met and a fellow lover of dogs. Part of that feeling of connection is because there cannot be a family more photographed than our royal family and every action so scrutinised. We have all come to know Queen Elizabeth through every magazine cover at every supermarket counter over our lives.The other part of that feeling is born from interactions with Her Majesty those human connections. Queen Elizabeth travelled far many many times to be in New Zealand over her reign and spoke personally to Kiwis over decades on tours and touched our hearts. Thousands of Kiwis saw her travel through their towns and she has been there with us through good times and through tragedies.Over the seven decades of Elizabeth's reign our country changed considerably but Her Majesty stayed constant unwavering in her service to people and to charity. We recognised in her character strength and humility. She was a hard-working strong woman—a mother a grandmother and a great-grandmother working until the age of 96 and a few days before her passing.New Zealand has had five monarchs before Queen Elizabeth II. On 11 February 1952 New Zealand's Governor-General stood on the steps of the Parliament building and proclaimed the high and mighty Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary" to be "Queen Elizabeth the Second". She succeeded her father King George VI. In the same manner this Sunday past the Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro stood on the steps of the Parliament building and proclaimed our Sovereign as King Charles III our seventh Sovereign. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth gave her life to serve others in the same manner that King Charles III has also said that he endeavours to serve.In 1953's Christmas broadcast Queen Elizabeth said "the Commonwealth is moving steadily towards greater harmony between its many creeds colours and races despite the imperfections by which like every human institution it is beset." In his first speech as King King Charles III said "whatever may be your background or beliefs I shall endeavour to serve you with loyalty respect and love". We are all individuals and we are lucky to live under Sovereigns that recognise the inherent dignity of every person and that uphold rights no matter their background or belief.I wish to speak to comments made by some of my colleagues about the relationship between the Crown and Māori. The Treaty was signed between Queen Victoria and Māori chiefs. It is difficult to have a Treaty-centric approach without the Treaty.Queen Elizabeth II was loved across New Zealand and the world. She will be missed. On behalf of all of my parliamentary colleagues—David Seymour Nicole McKee Chris Baillie Simon Court Dr James McDowall Karen Chhour Mark Cameron Toni Severin and Damien Smith—God save the King."
Brownlee GerryHon GERRY BROWNLEE (National): I don't have time in the short allocation we have today to repeat the many glowing tributes that have been made to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I'd simply like to associate myself as much as one can with those glowing comments.I had the fortune to meet her at a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference in the early 2000s and shortly after had the opportunity to shake her hand. She was literally at that event mobbed by many of the other delegates who completely surrounded her. Prince Philip was standing to one side and I said to him Sir is Her Majesty all right?" and he replied "Oh yes she's quite used to it." I think it was that humble way that she had that firm demeanour that gave life to the ethereal concept of the Crown and I noted also that many of those who wanted to associate with her were from republics from within the Commonwealth.She gave an exemplary life of service which I know will be picked up by King Charles. I've had the opportunity to meet him also. I am a great fan of his and I'm sure that he will become equally as loved across the Commonwealth as his mother was. The last time I met him was at the commemorations for the Battle of the Somme in 2016. He arrived in a uniform that was the New Zealand Army Field Marshal uniform. After he had shaken my hand and that of James Kember the ambassador his first words were: "Minister this uniform is synthetic. New Zealand produces such beautiful wool. Why don't your uniforms proclaim that?" I was somewhat lost for words but he touched my arm and said "Just pass that on would you?"Later that day he met with young New Zealanders who were studying in Europe and young Pacific Islanders who were studying in Europe and he demonstrated his deep knowledge of our country and of their countries by speaking with each of the 80-odd who were there. When it came time for him to leave his equerry said to him that it was time to move on. I was standing a short distance from him and he said "Oh right. Well where is the Minister?" and I said "I'm right here sir." He turned around and said "Oh how could I miss you?" I was unoffended by that gesture because I saw he made the same gesture meeting the new British Prime Minister just the other day and there is no similarity between us.His deep sense of humour which comes I'm sure from his mother will stand him in good stead in the years ahead. I think he is a contemporary man. He has understood issues ahead of his time: issues around urban development around the need for youth support through his Prince's Trust and more latterly around the environment and particularly the issue of climate change. He I think will bring a new majesty to the concept of the Crown. God rest the Queen; God save the King."
Goldsmith PaulHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National): Thank you Mr Speaker. It is my pleasure to take part in this address to His Majesty King Charles III. Of course as he mourns the loss of his mother our Queen it's right to say that she lived a remarkable life and genuinely she did: stretching back to the war years to Winston Churchill through to today. The pomp and pageantry of the Crown which in a modern age of television went to a new level was something that bound people together with pride and was something that we as New Zealanders were able to share in. It gave us a sense of being part of something greater than ourselves something much of the world admired. The Queen perfected the balancing act of a constitutional monarch. She was august and yet familiar. She was remote and yet known silent on politics and yet clear on values. When we look around the world and we see some of the monsters who have been heads of State and have come and gone and see some of the inadequate leaders we have we look at her as being an island of calm of steadiness of benign thoughtful respectful government and leadership.I'm reminded of a line from her address when she turned 21 when she said Now that we are coming to manhood and womanhood it is surely a great joy to us all to think that we shall be able to take some of the burden off the shoulders of our elders who have fought and worked and suffered to protect our childhood." What a lovely sentiment to say when you're 21 and I will certainly try and persuade my offspring to bear it in mind. But it makes me think of my grandmother. She loved the Queen even to the extent of having corgis and she was a truly remarkable woman.In this Māori Language Week I'd like to just read "Whāia e koe te iti kahurangi. Ki te tuohu koe me maunga teitei"—seek that treasure which you value most dearly and if you bow your head let it be to a lofty mountain. We bowed to Her Majesty and we bow also to His Majesty King Charles III in the knowledge that his reign will be just."
Message from Governor-General—Death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Accession of His Majesty King Charles III
Rurawhe AdrianMESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR-GENERALDeath of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Accession of His Majesty King Charles IIISPEAKER: Members I have a message from Her Excellency the Governor-General. It reads as follows:DAME CINDY KIRO GOVERNOR-GENERALMr Speaker It is my sad duty to formally advise the House of Representatives that on 8 September 2022 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second died at Balmoral Castle.Her late Majesty is succeeded by His Royal Highness Prince Charles the Prince of Wales who was proclaimed in the United Kingdom on 10 September 2022 and in New Zealand on 11 September 2022 as King Charles the Third.Her Majesty devoted her whole life to the service of her subjects. As Queen of New Zealand she retained an abiding interest in the changes and developments taking place in our nation and great affection of its people. In return she received our deepest respect and honour. Her grace dedication and strong sense of duty throughout her long reign will be well remembered.I am sure the House of Representatives shares the sorrow of His Majesty and all his Realms at the death of His Majesty's mother the late Queen.Tērā te tairere te taimimiti timu noa timu noa.Behold the tide at its lowest ebb.The Rt Hon Dame Cindy KiroGovernor-GeneralMonday 12 September 2022.