Carter Chris: Address to Her Excellency the Governor-General 
Carter Chris: Address to Her Excellency the Governor-General 
[Volume:617;Page:13207] 
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Conservation) 
: 
 It is an honour to speak in this debate and indeed to be a member of this Parliament. I would like to thank the people of Te Atatu who voted for me and in so doing provided me with the opportunity to be a member of Parliament. I am their voice in this place and hope to continue to be so for some time to come. I would also like to thank the Labour Party for selecting me as a candidate and thus giving me the chance to help carry out the party’s programme as part of the Government in this Parliament. 
It is a particular privilege today to see that so many people who were formerly members of this House have come along to celebrate this special 150th anniversary. 
As has been said by quite a number of speakers today our Parliament is one of the oldest true democracies. We were the first country in the world to give women the vote and to give indigenous people the vote and we have an unbroken record of democracy for the last 150 years. These are facts to be proud of and as a nation we are proud of them but democracy does not end with suffrage—it begins with it. It is the extent of representation in Parliament that truly fulfils the promise of any democracy. As I look around the Chamber today it is quite evident to me that over the last 150 years our democracy has matured into one that can—and perhaps for the first time be honestly said to—represent all New Zealand. Gone are the days when democracy was a window dressing for an oligarchy. My ancestors left Ireland and Lancashire in the north of England 150 years ago; they came to New Zealand in 1848 and 1849. They left the British Isles a place that had a Parliament that was ruled by the squirearchy—people who had enough money to ensure they had the time and ability to be in Parliament. It was not a Parliament that was truly representative of all the peoples of the British Isles. 
That was that time and that place. We are now in this time and this place where we can honestly say that this Parliament of ours is indeed a Parliament of the people. It is a House no longer just the domain of the intelligentsia the landed aristocracy or the wealthy. I see the many faces of modern New Zealand represented in this Parliament today: Pakeha Maori Pacific Island Muslim Asian Rastafarian; young old; male female; straight gay and transgender—and I acknowledge my very good friend and colleague Georgina Beyer who is sitting with me. Although it took over a hundred years after women first got the vote we have had two women Prime Ministers in succession in this Parliament. We have had a Maori Speaker we have a woman Deputy Speaker and have had women Assistant Speakers and one day I am sure we will have a woman Speaker as well. The Koran has been used as an object of oath for the first time in this Chamber. A former beneficiary has sat on these seats as an MP alongside a multimillionaire. And I have had the privilege of becoming the first openly gay member of this Parliament and indeed the first openly gay Cabinet Minister. It is a reflection of the health and maturity of our democracy that as our society’s attitudes have evolved those attitudes have gradually been represented in Parliament. It has often taken a ridiculously long time but at least we have got there. Not all countries can be so lucky. 
I suppose credit for the flourishing of diversity in our Parliament can be laid partly at the feet of MMP. Like a majority of members of this Parliament in 1993 I was not supportive of MMP when it was introduced but I take this opportunity to congratulate the architects of its introduction. Although a degree of this Parliament’s diversity has been delivered through electoral seats there is no doubt that MMP has added an entirely new dimension to the breadth of representation here. Whether this has resulted in better governance can I think be judged only many decades in the future—if ever. I suspect it will become like so many issues a question of politics. 
When I first entered Parliament in 1993 it was a formal institution and still focused on the executive despite the best efforts of Sir Geoffrey Palmer. It was still dominated by a two-party structure. I lost my seat in 1996 and returned 3 years later in 1999 to find a totally different environment. The political landscape had splintered but more than that the institution of Parliament itself had changed. To me Parliament today is less formal than it was and in many respects is a more collegial place. MMP and minority Government have required that a whole new set of relationships and a whole new level of dialogue between parties take place; a level of engagement across party lines occurs that simply did not exist before. As a whip in the previous Parliament I very much participated in that process. Where once members were lucky to sit on one select committee now they can sit on two and in some cases even three. The time that MPs spend on these committees is now properly recognised as important in Parliament’s Standing Orders. As a result the power of these committees has grown. As political microcosms of Parliament they are playing an increasingly important role in scrutinising the executive legislation and Government departments. Quite appropriately Government control of these committees has loosened. 
Ironically as Parliament has progressively become more representative accountable and transparent in the last 150 years it has also apparently become more unpopular. Somewhere along the line this institution which should be a source of national pride has become sullied. Commentators point to the unpopularity of economic reforms through the 1980s and 1990s the litany of broken promises by politicians the scandalmongering by some MPs and the reputed extravagance of Parliament. My guess is that all these issues have contributed. My guess is that the loss of status that politicians and Parliament have endured is to some extent an inevitable consequence of greater transparency. If that is the case so be it. But I cannot help but think the crisis of respect that currently hangs over Parliament exists because politicians do not spend enough time celebrating Parliament’s successes as well as talking about its failures. 
A great deal of hand-wringing is occurring at present because this institution has presided over an apparent decline in New Zealand’s wealth relative to other countries over the past few generations. I am privileged to hold among a number of responsibilities the position of Minister of Conservation. It is with enormous pride that I look at what Parliament has achieved for New Zealand in the past 40 years in conservation. Parties on both sides of the political spectrum have consistently conserved our nation’s natural heritage to the extent that today one-third of our country some 33 percent of our land is protected—that is some 8 million hectares. This includes 14 national parks with a total area of 3 million hectares. There are also 18 no-take marine reserves with a total area of 760000 hectares and two marine mammal sanctuaries covering 2.3 million hectares. Parliament’s record of conservation is one of the longest and oldest in the world. Tongariro National Park gifted to the nation by the iwi of Tuwharetoa in the 1890s is the world’s third-oldest national park. Critical and for its time visionary legislation has been enacted by this Parliament to conserve our natural heritage including the National Parks Act the Reserves Act the Wildlife Act and the Conservation Act. We were one of the first countries to move towards marine protection with the Marine Reserves Act and the Marine Mammals Protection Act. 
I offer my congratulations to all MPs who supported that legislation over the last 40 years.  
Hansard 
 records many debates—often very vigorous debates—on conservation issues. But it also records that across the political spectrum enthusiasm for conservation has grown as we have come to terms with the fragility of our distinct natural ecosystems. If one asks any New Zealander what he or she loves about our country and what is special about it that person almost inevitably talks about our landscapes and unique biodiversity. Our love for the kiwi the kokako and the sperm whale unites us all—as does our commitment to their future well-being. The native plants animals and natural landscapes of New Zealand and the influence they have on shaping our culture in large measure define us as a nation. Parliament has recognised that captured it and protected it. That is just a small part of this institution’s many successes. 
Mr Speaker finally I would like to finish my contribution to this debate by acknowledging you. You and I have been close personal friends for many years. We share an electorate office today. Dr Cullen mentioned in his contribution to this debate that you have been here for one-quarter of this Parliament’s history. That is an enormous contribution to this Parliament and I would like to be recorded as personally and on behalf of the Government saying that we acknowledge the enormous contribution you have made to this Parliament and congratulate you on it.