Ewen-Street Ian: Valedictory Statements 
Ewen-Street Ian: Valedictory Statements 
[Volume:627;Page:22196] 
IAN EWEN-STREET (Green) 
: 
 This is a moment of exquisitely divergent emotions for me. On the one hand I am deeply saddened to be leaving this place and the many friends I have made here. On the other hand I am elated to have the freedom to be a normal human being again. I am really looking forward to being able to spend some quality time with my partner Sue and our daughter Ysabella. She is my first and I am assured only child and she turned 18 months old yesterday. 
Hon Annette King 
: And she’s beautiful. 
IAN EWEN-STREET 
: And she is beautiful—just like her father obviously! 
What a privilege it has been to be a member of Parliament and I mean that in both senses. Obviously we lead lives of considerable privilege in this House but it is also an absolute privilege for me to have been able to serve my community here. I thank all the members of the Green Party who have supported me in becoming a member of Parliament. They put their trust in me. In particular I thank all the members of the Kaikoura Greens. I cannot possibly mention them all but I want particularly to mention Alison and Norman Fletcher and Sally Atkinson who led a tireless team for me. Without their support and love I would simply not be here. Thank you all. 
What an amazing wonderful life-changing experience it has been in this House—6 years to treasure for the rest of my life. It reminds me of when I was first shoulder-tapped to become a candidate in the Kaikoura electorate in 1996. I clearly remember telling Danna Glendining that she “had to be bloody joking”—and here I am. At that time there was absolutely no way I wanted to become a member of Parliament. I could not have thought of anything worse. But when Danna Glendining and my ex-wife Marg ganged up on me I did what all men do when they are ganged up on by two women: I capitulated. I thought it was easier to be an MP than to stand up against two women and have them on my back. So I am here now and I am about to go. I have been wondering how people will remember me how I will be remembered by my colleagues here in the House. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: Tall dark and handsome. 
IAN EWEN-STREET 
: Tall dark handsome and young! I have wondered how I will be perceived by the wider public. My ego wants me to be remembered for the good things I have done—for saving the world and all those things. Perhaps I did not quite achieve that but I did achieve a few things. 
I am proud to have initiated the inquiry into organic agriculture by the Primary Production Committee. As a consequence we now have national standards for organics. We have funded the organic sector strategy and I think I was the person who actually brought organics into the mainstream in this country. I certainly introduced it to this House and although I was probably the butt of a few jokes in the early days I think it is now reasonably widely accepted that organics is here for the long haul and is not something to be scoffed at. 
I would also like to be remembered as somebody with a passion for biosecurity. I brought out into the open the problems we have with sea container inspections. I spent a lot of time campaigning against the aerial spraying of the painted apple moth in Auckland. But I think that the most famous insect I brought to this House was the glassy-winged sharpshooter which my colleague Clayton Cosgrove always referred to as the “glassy-eyed shitshoveller”. That shows how much he knows about biosecurity. Never mind. 
Fundamentally though I suppose I would like to be remembered in this House for being a hard-working intelligent sensible and general all-round good guy. But the reality is that I will not be. I will be remembered I suspect for my decision to stand down from the select committee inquiry into the scampi industry. The reason I stood down was that I perceived there was going to be a conflict of interest because I had established a personal relationship with a lawyer who was appearing on behalf of one of the submitters to the inquiry. That decision I thought at the time was reasonably newsworthy. I thought that the  
Marlborough Express 
 might have run something about it on about page 5. Well it probably did run something but what really blew me out of the water was that not only was I banner headlines in all the newspapers but we led the television news as well. I was gobsmacked. I really had no idea that the decision was going to be so important to so many people. Maybe it was just a slow news day that day. I suspect that was more likely the case. 
Perhaps the headline that has stuck most in my mind though is one that Richard Prebble coined here in the House and that the  
Press 
 in Christchurch picked up on. It came out the following day with this big banner headline: “Sex for questions scandal”. I read that and I thought: “God! That’s terrible! Sex for questions scandal.” and then I saw pictures of me and Sue underneath and I thought: “God! Moi? Sex scandal?”. Richard Prebble is not here today but I hope he is listening. I say to Richard that in case he had not noticed Sue is young beautiful and highly intelligent. And I—well I am not any of those actually. Even my kindest friends would probably say that I am middle-aged overweight bald and seriously boring. So Richard that was not a scandal; that was a bloody miracle. But I knew I had chosen the right woman a few days later when Sue and I were walking on the travelator over to Bowen House and Richard was walking the other way. Sue and Richard had never met so I introduced them. Sue said to Richard: “Thank you Richard for making me famous.” We do not often see him gobsmacked and at a loss for words but he did not know what to say. He sort of backed off down the corridor; he literally did not say anything. As he went around the corner Sue chased after him and said: “But watch out for my father because he still wants to kill you!”. That is my girl! I knew I had made the right choice. 
So that was the scampi scandal. I know I can joke about it now but it was a pretty difficult time in my life. It was a fairly rich experience in the rich tapestry of life—a great one for finding out who one’s friends are and perhaps more pertinently who one’s friends are not. 
I would particularly like to thank all of the members of the Primary Production Committee whom I will name: David Carter Doug Woolerton Clayton Cosgrove Gerry Eckhoff Dover Samuels Phil Heatley Janet Mackey and Harry Duynhoven. I know I was the butt of quite a few jokes for you guys at the time but the reality was that you kept me sane during that period. It was a very tough time for me and you were there for me. I will never forget that. Thank you. In fact working for the Primary Production Committee was always a highlight for me. I enjoyed the work I enjoyed the people and I enjoyed the committee staff. Bob Bunch Mary Hay Steven Mitchell: my thanks to you. I will miss you guys. It was a great time. It was the highlight of my time in Parliament in many ways working in that select committee. 
Having said that I also have to say that I am convinced you got parts of the scampi inquiry badly wrong. I believe you shot the messenger and allowed the real culprits to get away with perpetrating one of the biggest frauds and one of the gravest injustices in New Zealand history. I really struggle with the suggestion from some people that there was no evidence of wrongdoing. There clearly was. Affidavits are sworn evidence. Affidavits have convicted murderers in the past. I agree with the argument that if there is a whole sequence of events and if we go through the sequence of events and find a causal relationship between each event then we can prove that the beginning finished up at the outcome. If there is a break in the chain then we cannot prove guilt. But there is another way of looking at evidence and that is to say that it is like a jigsaw puzzle. If we have enough of the pieces and they all interlink even though a few pieces may be missing we can still see the overall picture. 
In this case I believe that there is a very clear picture of premeditated offending. And please do not forget the evidence of those people who made submissions to the Primary Production Committee but who because they were alleging criminal behaviour had their evidence returned to them. It was returned because it was outside the scope of the inquiry—I accept that. But one cannot then say there was no evidence. There was a considerable amount of evidence. 
If the next Government whichever colour it may be wants to follow up on the scampi issue—and I really hope it does because that would restore some of my faith in the political system—I suggest that a good place to start would be with Helen Cull QC. She was the lawyer who convened the State Services Commission inquiry that ran in parallel with the Primary Production Committee one. She got it right. She knows pretty much what happened but she was also constrained in what she said because her terms of reference were limited to looking at the Ministry of Fisheries and not at the offenders. I believe she should be asked to publish her real findings and that the people guilty of raping and pillaging the scampi fishery should be brought to account. 
I think that the incoming Government—again whatever colour it is—should also heed the words of former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer when he said that the criticism of the Ministry of Fisheries by both inquiries was the most scathing criticism of a Government department in New Zealand history. I agree with that. But what has happened? Did anybody get sacked? Did anybody get moved sideways? Did anybody get rapped on the wrist with a wet bus ticket? No nobody did. At the time the chief executive officer of the Ministry of Fisheries put out a press release to say that his staff had been vindicated. They had not been vindicated. He should have been falling on his sword not continuing the fantasy that the ministry is a law unto itself and can ignore the rulings of Parliament the High Court and the Court of Appeal. I believe that the Ministry of Fisheries should be made aware of its responsibilities under the Fisheries Act and under international treaties and that it should address the social and economic well-being of coastal communities. It is simply unacceptable surely that small fishers in fisheries like cockles whelks geoducks paddle crabs pilchards and others including scampi can be put out of business and their lives destroyed by the whim of ministry officials. The quota management system is a tool in the tool-box of fisheries management. It is not an end in itself. It is most certainly not there for the purpose of hugely enriching a small number of people at the expense of others and of the ecological sustainability of the fishery. 
Enough of the serious stuff. I want to talk about the people I will remember from my time here in Parliament. Perhaps it would be easier to talk about the people I cannot forget. There are lots of characters here whom I would like to thank. I cannot possibly mention you all but I do really want to mention a few. The first one has to be my colleague Doug Woolerton who has the good sense not to be here. Doug is the joker of the Primary Production Committee—the master of the one-liner. How can I forget him? I am sure other members will not be able to forget him either. He kept us in stitches with his irreverent humour. I do remember a few incidents that I would like to share with you. At one time we were discussing surveying errors—we deal with land information as well as other things in the Primary Production Committee—and it became apparent that Mark Peck had had a dispute with his neighbour over a boundary. When it was surveyed it was found that the boundary was 9 metres in Mark Peck’s favour—in other words he had a 9-metre bigger property—at which point Doug said: “Geez Mark that must be a real bugger for your wife when she has to mow the lawn.” Then there was the time I asked him what it was like working with Winston Peters. Perhaps I should not tell this one. Doug said: “Look he’s like a racehorse. For 10 minutes every day his eyes are bright his ears are pricked and his nostrils are flaring. He races around the track and just hates to be beaten. But after the roar of the crowd dies down for the rest of the day he’s just like the other horses. He’s back in the stalls snoring and farting and rolling in the hay.” Sorry Doug! 
Who else will I not forget? It will be a long-term regret of mine that I did not keep all the notes that Clayton Cosgrove passed to me. To call them irreverent is probably praising them up. I just wish I had kept them to give to Helen or the media. That would have been the end of that political career for a start. Michael Cullen—I will not forget you either. You deliver a very boring Budget but your general debate speeches are gold. Thank you. They are fantastic. 
Simon Power 
: Oh come on! 
IAN EWEN-STREET 
: Simon’s are not too bad either. 
Mike Ward my mate here from Nelson: when he was elected in 2002 I invited him to come and stay in my apartment for a couple of weeks while he found some permanent accommodation. Three years later he is still there and now he complains that I gave him the small bedroom. But Mike really is a character. He lives the Green philosophy in a way I could never aspire to. He is a cycler and a recycler of considerable repute. Thank you Mike for your friendship and your support. I really do appreciate it and I think the planet also owes you a debt of gratitude for your decades of dedication to its survival. 
For entirely different reasons I will never forget David McGee. What a treasure that man is to Parliament. Dave thank you for your advice particularly during the scampi inquiry and the traumatic times I was having then. I really appreciated your advice your kindness and your friendship. Go well. 
Before I close I would like to say a few words about genetic engineering. There is good science and there is bad science. It may well have potential for the future but at the moment genetic engineering is indubitably bad science. To release alien species—and that is what GE species are—into our unique ecosystems is folly of the highest order. At this stage we simply do not know enough about the technology and we need to be cautious. We need always to err on the side of caution. In the meantime of course we have to be aware that ours is a market-driven economy. The market signals are very clear. Our consumers in our elite markets simply do not want to buy GE food. We already have a market made in heaven. It is one of the greater miracles of my 6 years in Parliament that we were fighting against GE when I first came in and we are still GE free. Hallelujah to that! We are still nuclear-free as well and hallelujah to that except that I think Ken Shirley wants to have a nuclear power station in his backyard. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: No not in his backyard—in somebody else’s backyard. 
IAN EWEN-STREET 
: He wants to have one in somebody else’s backyard. 
Parliament has given me much more than I have been able to give in return and I thank you all for that. This has been an experience to treasure. But the greatest gains to me personally are two women who are sitting up there in the gallery. They are the reason I am standing down at this election. They are the two people who have rejuvenated my life and given it new direction. Ysabella who is my first and only child is the most amazingly gorgeous wee—[ 
Interruption 
] Hello! That is her up in the back corner there. She is gorgeous—I am slightly prejudiced maybe—and everybody who meets her loves her. She is my pride and joy and the apple of my eye. Sue her mother—I did not know I was capable of loving somebody so much. At last I have a soulmate and I just cannot wait to spend more time with her. 
Thank you all for your friendship and your support. I shall miss you very much.