Turia Tariana: Motions — Rt Hon Helen Clark—Appointment as Head of United Nations  Development Programme 
Turia Tariana: Motions — Rt Hon Helen Clark—Appointment as Head of United Nations  Development Programme 
[Volume:653;Page:2275] 
Hon TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena tatou katoa. I am delighted to stand on behalf of the Maori Party today to offer our congratulations to the Rt Hon Helen Clark on the prestigious honour she has received for herself and for Aotearoa. Her appointment as the head of the United Nations Development Programme is a tribute to her outstanding abilities and leadership experience. Our tupuna used to say “Ina te mahi he rangatira!” meaning literally “See how he or she does; a leader indeed!”. For Helen Clark we can indeed say “Ina te mahi he rangatira!”. 
For all of her academic and professional life and no doubt in her primary school days at Te Pahu School Helen has been the consummate politician. She has researched political representation she has lectured in political studies she has held office at every level of the Labour Party she has achieved the ultimate aspiration of wearing the warrant of Prime Minister of our nation and now she is taking that political leadership to the world. We know she will serve well. 
Helen has the most formidable capacity for work. In fact I have always thought her passion for climbing mountains was absolutely true to form. Although for many of us the prospect of ascending Mount Kilimanjaro would be bordering on impossible I can well imagine Helen literally leaping up the ascent and still being ready for some more. Such is the nature of her leadership that she has always been able to inspire followers to believe that the impossible could be possible the improbable probable. She has commanded respect by her sheer energy for the role. 
I must acknowledge too her commitment to connect with people. I remember her once flying in from London immediately boarding a plane and heading up north for one of the “engaging with Maori” hui. Our people appreciated that Helen and I mihi to you for all the personal commitment that I know it took. I think one of the most endearing qualities that our people will remember of Helen’s leadership was her impressive memory. I can recall her greeting someone whom she had met only once at least 10 years before at a hospital in Kawakawa. That sort of personal touch is remarkable and I have no doubt that it will be extremely useful in the United Nations environment. Our people loved the ordinariness of the person some called Auntie Helen. They knew her to be an ordinary person who could enjoy a joke and laugh uproariously while at the same time demonstrate extraordinary talents as the leader of our country. It was not all perfect but there was more that we agreed on than disagreed on and I will always speak with the highest respect for a person who has made such a significant contribution to the future of Aotearoa. 
Many aspects of Helen’s leadership have earned her international recognition. In 1986 she was awarded the annual peace prize of the Danish Peace Foundation for her work in promoting international peace and disarmament. We acknowledge her as the first elected woman Prime Minister and the longest-serving woman MP. While Prime Minister she was a member of the Council of Women World Leaders whose mission is to mobilise the highest-level women globally for collective action on issues of importance to women in equitable development. I am sure that the council will be proud that one of its members is now heading the United Nations global development network with a potential to advance knowledge and experience across the world. 
We will remember the encouraging support that she provided to the arts community and her role as Minister of Health in sponsoring the introduction of tobacco control legislation. Those in the House who have enjoyed her friendship her leadership her mentorship her frequent text messages her animated telephone calls and her direct way of speaking will no doubt keep their memories alive in their own way. But for this moment I simply wish to place on the record our acknowledgment from the Maori Party of the dedicated role that she has played in shaping this nation. 
We wish her well too on what will be colossal challenges ahead—the urgency of eliminating poverty the desperate need to control the ferocious spread of HIV/AIDS and the significance of getting it right for supporting developing nations into a position of much greater strength which is a critical task for our global positioning. This is not goodbye; this is our time to be able to say ka kite ano. Na reira ka nui te mihi rawa atu ki a koe Helen. Tena koutou tena koutou tena tatou katoa. 
[ 
I will see you again. Therefore Helen I acknowledge you greatly. Greetings to you collectively and to all of us. 
]