Ardern JacindaRt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): I think this is going to be one of those extraordinary debates where we hear tributes being paid to those who have paved the way for many of us in this place. I want to acknowledge both of the speakers who have gone before me in acknowledging that and our Minister for Women the Hon Julie Anne Genter in particular for the very practical way she is role modelling that as a mother herself in this place and becoming a mother as Minister for Women.I stand here proudly as the 99th woman to enter into this place and I have to say that seems astounding to me: a hundred years and I'm number 99. You know you'd think that those numbers might be higher and yet at the same time I think of how far we have travelled in that period of time. Those women when you showcase their profiles when you talk about who they were when they came into this place it's almost hard to fathom what it would have been like when they ran. But they were ordinary women who did extraordinary things. They were women who not only in some cases were championing the right for women to vote they then decided actually from the beginning that it wouldn't be enough to simply have the right to vote; there were issues that mattered such that they needed a seat at the table as well but it took time. You know it was 1893 when we were talking about getting the right for women to vote. It wasn't until 29 October 1919 that the Women's Parliamentary Rights Act passed through Parliament and that gave women in that election seven weeks from the time that Act passed—seven weeks—to then run and try to win. I know how difficult a seven-week election campaign can be. Sadly for those women—and I pay tribute to them as well: Rosetta Aileen and Ellen—they were all unsuccessful but they stood up and they led the charge for women to have a place here in Parliament.Ten more women tried and failed in that intervening period and it wasn't until 14 years later—14 years—that Elizabeth McCombs was able to successfully be elected here. It took another 14 years before Mabel Howard came into Cabinet and it wasn't until 1949 that we saw our first Māori wahine Iriaka Rātana successfully make it into this place as well. But what's the story behind each of those women? Elizabeth McCombs was not just a parliamentarian; she was a mother of two and she also is described as having raised two orphans. She was elected to Christchurch City Council where she convinced the council to build a creche and continued to be a huge advocate for women in here. Mabel Howard: before she was a Cabinet Minister she was the first woman to become a secretary of a predominantly male union. Iriaka Rātana: she held her seat for 20 years in this place and she was a mother of nine. Like I can't even fathom one of those on its own let alone the combination of the two. Iriaka was concerned with the welfare issues of Māori. She believed they could be solved—it's so described—through a caring Department of Māori Affairs with Māori welfare officers and a focus on things like the Māori Women's Welfare League.I also want to pay tribute to Dame Annette King the longest serving member in this place the one who had the ability to endure for the longest period of time—as a woman Mr Speaker—as a woman in this place. That is no easy feat. Even now it is no easy feat and she did so while sticking to her values and maintaining her sense of humour and maintaining the role as a mentor.In all of these cases—and there are many more examples the Minister herself mentioned—these were ordinary women who have done extraordinary things. And when I look around this House on both sides of this House I see the same still represented in the women who are here today. My hope is that those women continue on being extraordinary but that they will also continue on with their multiple roles. They are often sisters partners mothers and aunties. They are often counsellors teachers and advocates. As with the women that have gone before they are never just one thing in this place. They are many things to many people. My hope is that the leaders that we have out there right now our young girls and our young women they look in this place and they see a little bit of themselves and they know that this is an absolutely attainable place where they can be who they want to be—the exact kind of leader they want to be—here in this place and they can also be if they choose a mother. They can be a good carer a good partner a good sister a good auntie or a good advocate. And if they choose boys can maybe be Prime Minister too. This is my hope for the next generation of women. I pay tribute to those who have gone before us. Nō reira tēnā koutou katoa.