Appointments — Assistant Speaker 
Appointments — Assistant Speaker 
[Volume:645;Page:14550] 
Appointments 
Assistant Speaker 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Leader of the House) 
: 
 I move  
That Hon Marian Leslie Hobbs be appointed an Assistant Speaker 
. With the resignation of Ann Hartley who is now pursuing a mid-life career on the North Shore City Council the House of course has the need to appoint a new Assistant Speaker to replace her. A process of consultation has occurred with other parties on the basis of the Government nominating the Hon Marian Hobbs to be an Assistant Speaker for the remainder of the term of this Parliament. 
I gather that there was widespread support for her appointment and I think that that is well-based. Marian brings to the job some extraordinary qualities and a great background. She of course is best known in this place as having been a Minister in the Government for a number of years but previous to that she was a teacher and a highly successful principal of Avonside Girls’ High School in north-eastern Christchurch—an institution not unknown to me from my own journeys to that part of Christchurch as a teenage boy. And anybody who can succeed at Avonside Girls’ High School can certainly succeed in keeping this place under control. 
There is one thing I need to warn members about. My colleague Ross Robertson has established a strong reputation for his formulaic approach to calling members—that is “I call the honourable member Ross Robertson.” or in his case it should be “H V Ross Robertson” which I long thought was some kind of honorific title acquired from some strange German principality but subsequently found out was actually his first two initials. I have to warn members that Marian Hobbs may not actually achieve that. She is well known in our caucus for simply calling people “Tuppence” or “Thingummy” so it is possible that on occasions when a member hears “I call the member Tuppence.” he or she must recognise that it is he or she who is being summoned at that point and not one of the other many Tuppences who happen to be around the place at that particular moment. But I have every confidence that Marian will do the job exceptionally well and I warn people that behind that very pleasant exterior that very soft velvet glove there is a fist of steel. 
GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) 
: 
 I am pleased to speak to the motion that nominates Marian Leslie Hobbs to be an Assistant Speaker and in so doing I will take a moment or two to consider just what the role requires. I will also indicate that it was the Government’s prerogative to make the nomination from its number or of someone in the House its members were prepared to give their support to. I guess that is where the Labour Party had some difficulty because we note that so far 12 of its number have said they are not coming back voluntarily another six have indicated they are thinking about it and 19 are actually terrified about the prospect of not being sent back. When we look at the situation that presents for the Labour Party now we see that the options it seems are somewhat limited. If we go through the list and look at who is likely to be returned in a seat—and please let me assure the House that we are not certain that any of these members will be returned in a seat—we see there is of course the Prime Minister. Assuming she does contest the election—and that appears to be somewhat in doubt—she would be returned in her seat but of course the Assistant Speaker position would not be open to her. 
Going down the list there is the Hon Clayton Cosgrove. Well he in recent days has become another “maybe” and is now in a very precarious dicey position. But he has also been elevated recently to the ministry and is now one of the great hopes for the Labour Party’s future. So to have him in a situation where his seat looks to be a little precarious cannot give anyone over there any comfort whatsoever—particularly those like young Darren Hughes. He was somewhat relying on Mr Cosgrove coming though as a sort of saviour for the Labour Party therefore giving him a longer political career than he might naturally expect. 
Mr Hughes himself was considered for the role of Deputy Speaker but recently he has been promoted into the ministry. He is now the Minister of Statistics and he takes that job very seriously. In fact members will see that he has on his desk a 24B exercise book. It is one of the ones he did not finish in his last year at secondary school—just a short time ago—in which he records all sorts of statistics usually about his colleagues. It saves him having to walk around with one of these volumes in his back pocket as he tries to calculate who will be the next leader of the Labour Party. 
There is also Ruth Dyson. She is a Minister so is no good for Assistant Speaker. Lianne Dalziel has been a Minister then was not a Minister then came back as a Minister. She also interestingly is in a seat that now looks to be under a little bit of pressure. 
Hon Members 
: Ha ha! 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Ah well—members laugh over there and they guffaw. But Aaron Gilmore is out there day by day knocking on doors and people are coming out to him and saying “Aaron we just need you sir in Parliament to represent us because we are not getting the deal we need at the moment.” 
There are others like Pete Hodgson. He has a reasonably solid seat down there in Dunedin but Mr Hodgson is one of the six who is on the list of “Maybe I will; maybe I won’t.” There are others here like the Hon Annette King. Under the circumstances I think her seat is now looking pretty dodgy as well. That is a seat that has long long promised to be a National seat. It is only her commitment to the right of the Labour Party that has kept her there. And as Labour goes back to kind and becomes a lot more left going into this election then I think we can expect that she herself will decline this opportunity. 
One of the things I cannot understand though is that Labour had an opportunity to appoint Lynne Pillay to this position. Lynne Pillay has a very solid seat out there in the west of Auckland and no doubt she will be one of the contenders for Labour leadership positions should the Labour Party survive in reasonable sorts of numbers beyond the next election. But for some reason she has been overlooked. I do not understand that. That is another one that surprises me a little bit. Obviously with so many leaving—12 going six considering and others still thinking about it—they are going to have to work at it a little bit. And there is Lesley Soper for example. She was last in and will probably be first back in. But no no consideration was given there. 
I know that Labour has a little trouble in the Maori seats at the present time. And I would have thought they might have turned to someone like Mahara Okeroa to put him in the Chair here and to give him the sort of status and gravitas that he needs because I know that the Ngai Tahu voting base have deserted him. It is all over. They are not going for Mahara any more. He is a nice chap they say but no—“We can achieve more for Ngai Tahu by voting for the Maori Party.” So I guess they have said to him: “No you’ve got to go out all around that huge Te Tai Tonga area and round up a few more votes.” 
Mita Ririuni is a list member so he would have had the time to do it. But no they do not want to let someone like that get in there. No—there are inexplicable reasons for that and I do not really want to go into them. There is someone like Dave Hereora who has recently been dumped as the chair of the Maori caucus in favour of Shane Jones who would have made an excellent candidate—an excellent candidate—but they have put poor old Dave on the back of the cross benches. He is a very capable fellow but is shut down at the present time because anyone with a shining light in the Labour Party at the moment is not given any encouragement whatsoever. 
So we come to the compromise candidate everyone’s friend Marian Leslie Hobbs. I want to reveal in the House this afternoon that I have known Marian Hobbs or known of Marian Hobbs for almost 30 years. Throughout that time I have seen her in numerous situations. She was once a firebrand unionist with the Post Primary Teachers Association. I remember her giving an impassioned speech in the late 1970s in which she persuaded the gathering to vote in favour of a particular strike action which was a little unusual. When the vote was taken and the result declared and after the chair of the meeting referred momentarily to Marian Hobbs she simply stood up and said “Thank you darlings. I’m proud of you.” In the vein of Michael Cullen’s warning to the House about names like “Tuppence” and I am told by people who serve with her on select committees that “Blossom” is another one I think we need to say to her— 
Sue Moroney 
: You won’t get “darling” Gerry. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Every time I see Marian Hobbs in the hallways she is a very pleasant person. She always smiles and she always says “How are you going today darling?”. I have never misconstrued that perhaps because I am so used to hearing it from people—I am not sure. But I have never misconstrued that. I just think that in the heat of parliamentary debate it would be a little inappropriate if people were called to their feet in that way. So with that small warning that small hint of reservation can we offer our congratulations to Marian Hobbs and our assurance that we will give her the respect that is due to someone who holds this sort of parliamentary office. 
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 That was all very interesting. Finally the member got to the point of the Government motion. I was wondering whether I was in the right debate at one point. 
I would like to say on behalf of New Zealand First that we are supportive of the Hon Marian Hobbs becoming an Assistant Speaker. A question that we perhaps would put to her is whether she really knows what she is getting into. I imagine that the Chair is not a very comfortable seat to sit in from time to time. It will call on all of her expertise as a teacher and as a high school principal. She will need it all from time to time. 
She has been a hard-working member of this House. The New Zealand First members have known her since she came to the House. We all arrived at the same time—new boys on the block together. We know she has a great sense of humour and she will sit there with some trepidation and with a sense of fair play. It is fair to say that we believe that the honourable member has all the qualities to do a first-class job in the role but perhaps one quality will be tested. We know she has an abundance of tolerance but does she have the patience to deal with this House when it really shows its wild side? New Zealand First will support the member in her role. We will give her our best shot—that is a promise we make. But we also make another promise: that from time to time we will add a little bit of spice and make her life as interesting as possible. Thank you Madam Speaker. 
NANDOR TANCZOS (Green) 
: 
 The Green Party welcomes this Government motion for the Hon Marian Hobbs to become an Assistant Speaker. Unlike Mr Brownlee I did not know Marian Hobbs before I came to this House but ever since I have been in this House she has always been a very warm pleasant and very human person and that is a trait I particularly value in this place which can become pretty hostile at times. 
I have had a working relationship with Marian Hobbs only since the Waste Minimisation (Solids) Bill has been before the Local Government and Environment Committee. During deliberations on that bill she has made a very valuable welcome and important contribution based on her experience as Minister for the Environment and I thank her for that. Let me say that judging by the speech made by Mr Brownlee I think that a commitment to waste minimisation will be incredibly important as an Assistant Speaker. It will be most useful to try to minimise some of the waste in this House. Mr John Carter has often talked about resource recovery and I think Mr Brownlee’s speech in particular demonstrates the difference between the need for waste minimisation and the need for resource recovery. I am not sure that there was much resource to be valued or recovered from his contribution. 
We welcome this motion. We welcome particularly seeing another woman in the role of an Assistant Speaker. We think that is enormously useful and we wish her all the best in the role. 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Tena koe Madam Speaker. Kia ora tatou i tenei po. When this Government notice of motion appeared on the Order Paper I noticed an increased interest in the proceedings of the House from the honourable member for Te Tai Tokerau Mr Hone Harawira. For someone who enthusiastically studies the Standing Orders I can say that Standing Order 30 really got him going. It describes the criteria for the appointment of an Assistant Speaker as being limited only by the constraints that no member who is a leader of a party or who holds office as whip is able to be appointed to this role. In the case of the Maori Party that meant we had only one potential nominee for the role Mr Hone Harawira. I come to the debate today obviously disappointed that the expertise of Mr Harawira has been overlooked but also on behalf of the Maori Party to express our best wishes to the Hon Marian Hobbs for the opportunity she has been given to hold office during the remaining term of this Parliament. 
In doing so I want also to convey our appreciation to Ann Hartley for the contribution she made to the Chamber when she negotiated cajoled conducted and directed the proceedings of this House. We wish her every success in her role as a North Shore City councillor. Her experience as a former Mayor of Birkenhead and her last 8 years in national politics will no doubt be of huge benefit to regional politics and we wish her and her whanau well. 
Regarding the motion the Maori Party is happy to support the proposal for Marian Hobbs to take the role of an Assistant Speaker. It is always interesting for me as a former school principal to see the influence of educationalists in this Chamber. As I understand it Marian has been involved in playcentre management she has been a principal of girls’ colleges in Christchurch and Wellington she was a co-founder of the Four Avenues Alternative School she has been a member of the Canterbury University council and has also been involved with countless community ventures. I believe that presiding over the debate in this Chamber will pretty much come as a breeze to anyone who has been charged with motivating secondary school students to stay awake during class. 
We have watched Marian working alongside Mr Mark Blumsky on Wellington issues such as the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary and hope that the capacity to put aside party political positions will be a priority for her in her role as an Assistant Speaker. We hope too that the varied life experiences she brings to the floor including her association with the Chippenham commune and the Quaker movement will be influential in encouraging peaceful and respectful debate in the House. 
Tena koe Marian. Nei ra nga mihi o te Torangapu Maori ki a koe kua eke ki tenei taumata o te Whare Paremata. Maku a Hone e korero kia tau tana wairua kia ngawari ai te ngau o mamae na tana kore whiwhi i tera o nga turu. Kia kaha ra. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Congratulations Marian. These acknowledgments to you from the Maori Party for reaching this pinnacle of Parliament House. I will speak to Hone to settle him down and to ease his disappointment at not securing that seat. Best of luck. 
] 
Finally Madam Speaker I want to take this opportunity to welcome the new list MP to this Chamber Louisa Hareruia Wall. Ko Tongariro te maunga ko Taupo te moana ko Tutemohuta te hapu ko te Pakira te marae. Ko Ngati Tuwharetoa te iwi ko te Heuheu te tangata. E te uri o Ngati Tuwharetoa o Tainui hoki nau mai hara mai. He kitenga kanohi ka hoki nga mahara ki to matua ki a Les ki o matua keke a Nick a Te Whakapumautanga ara ko ratou kua ngaro atu nei ki tua o te pae. 
Hoi ano waiho ratou kia moe. Ko koe tenei e whai nei i o ratou tumanako. E te uri o Tutemohuta e rarau nau mai. Nau mai e te Rau Hiriwa nau mai e te Rau Pango. Kua tau mai ki roto i tetahi kahui toa mo te hakinakina a he mema Paremata ano hoki. Ara ko Te Rangi Hiroa tera toa o Aotearoa o te motu mo te peke tawhiti. Ko Puti Watene kapene o te tima riki o te motu. Ko Ben Couch ratou ko Grahame Thorne ko Chris Laidlaw o te Tima o Pango. A Tutekawa Wyllie no te tima Maori a Paul Adams taraiwa motoka nei. Tae ra ano ki tenei Paremata ara ko Colin King toa mo te kuti hipi mo nga wa e toru. Ko Bob Clarkson o te tima hoki me te toa o te motu mo te taraiwa waka whiroki nei. Ko ahau hoki ara mo te tima o te motu o nga whare wananga tima o te motu mo nga kura mahita mo te whutuporo. Ko te tima hoki i raro o te tekau o Ngongotaha. Kei te mihi atu ki a ia kua eke ki nga taumata o te motu a-hakinakina nei kaua mo te wa kotahi noa iho engari mo nga wa e rua. 
No reira e te Whare koi nei te mihi o Te Torangapu Maori ki nga mea e rua ara a Marian Hobbs mo tana ekenga ki tera taumata otira ki tenei kanohi hou kua tau mai ki roto i te Whare Paremata. Tena korua tena korua tena korua. No reira ka hoki ra ano ki te kaupapa korero he mihi ki tenei ki a Marian Hobbs he mihi ano hoki ki tenei kanohi hou kua tae mai ki roto i te Whare Paremata. Otira ki a Louisa Wall mo tana ekenga mai ki te Whare Paremata. No reira tena korua tena koutou kia ora tatou. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Tongariro is the mountain Taupo is the lake Tutemohuta is the subtribe and Pakira is the marae. Ngati Tuwharetoa is the tribe and te Heuheu is the man. To the relative of Ngati Tuwharetoa and of Tainui as well welcome welcome. To see the face brings back memories of your dad Les your uncles Nick and Te Whakapumautanga all of whom have passed beyond the veil. 
Enough leave them there to rest. It is you indeed who is present here pursuing their aspirations. Welcome the descendant of Tutemohuta draw near. Welcome the Silver Fern welcome the Black Fern. You have landed here amongst a band of former champions on the field of sport as well as members of Parliament such as former MPs Te Rangi Hiroa a New Zealand long-jump champion; Puti Watene captain of a New Zealand rugby league team; and people like Ben Couch Grahame Thorne and Chris Laidlaw all former All Blacks; Tutekawa Wyllie former Maori All Black; and Paul Adams a New Zealand Rally champion. And down to this Parliament to Colin King three times New Zealand Golden Shears winner; Bob Clarkson an Olympic hockey champion and seven times winner of New Zealand titles in dragster racing; myself included as well as a New Zealand universities and New Zealand teachers representative in rugby right down to being a Ngongotaha under-10s representative. My congratulations to her on achieving national status in sport not once but twice.  
So I say to the House the Maori Party acknowledges these two Marian Hobbs for becoming an Assistant Speaker; the new member as well taking her place in Parliament. Greetings to you two thrice over. Again I go back to the purpose for this address which was to congratulate Marian Hobbs and Louisa Wall. So greetings to you two greetings to the assembled and us 
.] 
Motion agreed to. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: May I congratulate the Hon Marian Hobbs and welcome her to the position of Assistant Speaker.