Mackey Moana: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Mackey Moana: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:637;Page:7453] 
MOANA MACKEY (Labour) 
: 
 I am pleased to take a call in support of the Prime Minister’s speech earlier this week. I want to do two things. First of all I pay tribute to my former colleague Helen Duncan who passed away last week. Helen was certainly an inspiration to me as she was to many members in this House and I record my extreme sadness at what was really an untimely passing. Second of all I wish all members in this House a happy National Lamb Day. 
Today marks the 125th anniversary of one of the most significant milestones in the history of New Zealand’s meat industry. It acknowledges the agricultural pioneers William Davidson and Thomas Brydone who 125 years ago were responsible for the arrival of 5000 refrigerated sheep carcasses in London on 15 February 1882 in excellent condition 98 days after leaving New Zealand. We should all reflect on just what they have done for the economy of this country. The Minister of Agriculture Jim Anderton appropriately described them as unsung Kiwi heroes. I think we all agree that they should get the recognition for what they have done for this country. What they did has meant that New Zealand could move its product into Europe. It is hard to quantify how much we as a country in 2007 owe to this innovation of the 1800s. It is amazing when we consider it. 
The sheep and beef industry contributes $5 billion a year to this economy and today’s anniversary is a timely reminder of how New Zealand has always been at the forefront of change and innovation in the primary sectors. The fact that we are distant from our markets has always been used against us but we have always been smart enough to see the writing on the wall and to adapt ourselves accordingly. That is why the Prime Minister’s address was so crucial. Even if people do not care about climate change and saving the planet and even if they do not care that generations down the track may not be able to farm in this part of the world—if they do not care about all that and they do not believe in climate change—they probably do believe in the fact that we will suffer the consequences of being locked out of these crucial overseas markets if we do nothing. We can see that this is already happening with big chains in the UK announcing that they are going to list carbon miles. This challenge is already upon us so even if people do not care about the actual issue maybe they can recognise that we need to move ahead and take this seriously. 
Was not the reaction of National MPs during the Prime Minister’s speech interesting when climate change and sustainability issues were raised? They were completely dismissive; it was a joke. They laughed because at the end of the day I suspect that a lot of National MPs are not really committed to this issue except that it is becoming one of public concern. It is becoming a hallmark of this English-Key leadership that they are telling people what they think people want to hear. In 2005 Mr Key said he thought climate change was a hoax and was suspicious that global warming even existed. Now he is saying that he has always believed in it and wanted to do something about it. We are going to get used to this because Mr Key is modelling himself quite shamelessly on David Cameron. David Cameron the UK Conservative leader has come out on climate change. He even rode a bicycle to work but his ministerial car followed behind him. 
The other person that Mr Key appears to be modelling himself on is Mr Mark Latham from the Australian Labor Party. If members do a check on Mr Key’s famous speech at Burnside they will find that a lot of it was taken exactly from Mr Latham’s speech to the Australian Labor Party conference. So every time Mr Key stands up and says anything we have to ask who said it first and whose idea it was previously. 
Debate interrupted.