Brownlee Gerry: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
Brownlee Gerry: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
[Volume:669;Page:16474] 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House) 
: 
 I move  
That the House do now adjourn until 2 p.m. on Tuesday 8 February 2011 and that the sitting days in 2011 be as follows: 
February 8 9 10 15 16 17 22 23 and 24; 
March 8 9 10 15 16 17 22 23 and 24; 
April 5 6 7 12 13 and 14; 
May 3 4 5 10 11 12 17 18 and 19; 
June 7 8 9 14 15 16 21 22 and 23; 
July 5 6 7 12 13 and 14; 
August 2 3 4 9 10 11 16 17 and 18; 
September 6 7 8 13 14 15 27 28 and 29; 
October 4 5 6 25 26 and 27; 
November 1 2 3 8 9 10 15 16 and 17. 
This has been a very interesting year and before I make any reflective comments on that I would like to first thank you Mr Speaker for presiding over this House along with your presiding officers and for the way in which you have ensured that we operate in the way that is fitting for a Parliament of this nature. That is greatly appreciated not only by members of the House but also by many as you are no doubt aware outside of the House as well. Thank you for that and we wish you a restful festive season and all the best for 2011. I also thank the messengers; the security staff; the Hansard Office staff; everyone in the Clerk’s Office particularly Mary Harris the Clerk who has served us so well again for one more year; those in the Parliamentary Counsel Office; the House staff who look after us here; the Bellamy’s staff whom I particularly appreciate; the VIP drivers; my electorate office staff; my ministerial office staff; Ministerial Services the Parliamentary Service the Diplomatic Protection Squad; and the many others who make this place work including all of those who clean our offices during the evenings and keep the grounds looking tidy outside. We wish them all a happy and festive Christmas season and all the best for 2011. 
This year 2010 has to say the least been an interesting one. Not only has the Government been able to progress an awful lot of legislation but also we have had to deal with two very unsavoury incidents that have affected the lives of many many New Zealanders. [ 
Interruption 
] I take that back members are right to say that the word is not appropriate—not unsavoury but— 
Hon Simon Power 
: Difficult. 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: —difficult and tragic. The first was the Canterbury earthquake of course when so many people were displaced for a short time but then got back in their homes once they realised they were safe. To put that incident into scale worldwide it was the fourth-biggest earthquake incident insurance-wise since 1970. It is the third-biggest insurance payout for any disaster in the world this year so it has a magnitude that is quite considerable. It is interesting when we look at other earthquakes of its size how totally miraculous it was that no one died and that was the result I think of not only the building code that has been mentioned so many times but also the time of day that it occurred. A similar event in Kobe killed some 6500 people and in other events of similar size the death toll has run to hundreds of thousands. So there is some satisfaction that we were prepared well enough to avoid that loss of life but the loss of property will take quite some time to recover from. 
Then there was the terrible tragedy at Pike River Coal on the West Coast which certainly touched the hearts of all New Zealanders. It was very raw for people because they could see night by night on the television people who were in a dreadful situation not of their own making and quite unable to be helped and that unfortunately continues. Our best wishes and our hearts go out to the families who will have a lonely Christmas this year. I think that the words the Rt Hon John Key offered at the memorial service particularly to the mothers of the children who were affected will be of some comfort to them although precious little in fact. 
I do not want to sound trivial but there have been other disasters this year as well. One of those would have to be the incredibly poor poll showing of our opponents on the other side of the House— 
Grant Robertson 
: Such a statesman! 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: I know that they are calling on me now to stay as a statesman and keep talking in these general broad and above-the-issue terms but I think it only appropriate that we record the fact that this has been a year that has been an abject disaster for Labour—an abject disaster. It started to become apparent how bad it was when its communications plan was revealed earlier this year and Clare Curran attempted to present Phil Goff as “fresh” “funky” and “forward-looking”. From there it has just slowly gone downhill. Perhaps it came to its climax with Labour’s dreadful confusion over whether New Zealand should have supported the production of the  
Hobbit  
movies remaining in New Zealand. I think it is sad that a party that once claimed to be the doyen of the creative side of New Zealand could have lost it in such a way. 
I suggest that some of the members on the other side might want to spend some time over the Christmas holidays getting in touch with their creative side. I suggest that Mr Hodgson goes back to Dunedin and gets in touch with Mr Taylor and his unit down there and makes a little programme called “ 
CSI: Dunedin” 
 which he could of course star in—he has shown his credentials in that way in recent weeks. I suggest that going back to South Auckland Mr Goff might like to get hold of some of those production houses. He is the perfect leading man for a remake of  
Cold Case.  
Then there is his nemesis Mr Cunliffe—or Mr Caygill depending on what day of the week it is. Mr Cunliffe is a guy who I think would be perfect for a starring role in  
The Mentalist 
 although I understand from his office that he is also considering the lead part in  
Two and a Half Men. 
Shane Jones the self-confessed movie buff will make a new feature film known as  
“A Mighty Totara Rises Again” 
. This will of course be a sequel to his well-known classic “ 
Hung Parliament 
”. Clayton Cosgrove might like to do something with the title “ 
WWF 
”—all bluff all bluster lots of lycra and absolutely no winners there. We know that one of the most creative people in Labour is Trevor Mallard. It has to be conceded that he is very creative. We look at those blogs—there he is out there a poor man’s David Farrar making up all and everything we could possibly imagine to try and indicate that he is on top of the job. It is much easier sitting in front of a little—what do they call those things—keyboard and making it up than actually doing any work. 
Hon Members 
: Ha ha! 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Well look I do not mind admitting that I am a bit behind the times. I see that that member has an iPad; one does not need a keyboard with that. 
One of the highlights of the year for me was to be confronted with my advancing years when I spoke to the Youth Parliament and suggested to them that when I was younger we did not have such wonderful things that they enjoy like Sony Walkmans. I can assure members that that brought down the House because there was not a single person in that Youth Parliament who was born at the time the Sony Walkman was a popular item for people to carry around. 
Hon Simon Power 
: What? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Yes Sony Walkman that is right. I tell Simon Power that he is a young man too. In the end it is that lack of experience that is holding him back. 
I say to our coalition partners that it has been a delight to work with them this year. [ 
Interruption 
] No it has truly. If I had more time I would go into some of the delights of the discussions with Rodney Roger Heather and Rahui. It has been fantastic. I have loved our discussions. I thank those members. I do hope that they enjoy the Christmas season and have a great New Year. 
I finally want to acknowledge the Prime Minister the Rt Hon John Key for his extraordinary leadership of this nation. The fact is that that leadership is enforced not only by his own party and by the coalition partners who work with him but also by large numbers of New Zealanders who are very supportive of his style and the leadership he is showing for this country. 
To all of my constituents in Ilam I say thank you for all of their forbearance this year. It has been a difficult one. I look forward to 2011 and continuing beyond the election to serve that great electorate. Thank you.