Leary IngridINGRID LEARY (Labour—Taieri): Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa. Tēnā koe Mr Speaker from Taieri an electorate way down south.Last year on talkback radio my former colleague broadcaster Marcus Lush put Taieri on the map when he launched a national debate about how to say this beautiful Te Reo word. It is frequently mispronounced Tiree which is an island off the coast of Scotland. Many of us whakapapa to Scotland down our way so it's easy to see how this happened. However I can assure this House that Marcus Lush was correct in his pronunciation. Our place is Taieri which speaks to our awa the fourth-longest river in New Zealand. So Mr Speaker I stand before you today humbled to be the new MP for Taieri.I was born in Germany and on my dad's side I whakapapa to the Irish immigrants who worked the scheelite mines of Arrowtown. My grandfather worked as a delegate for the Waterside Workers Union in the 1951 strike. My grandmother achieved dux of her school. After completing primary level she dropped out to look after her siblings as did so many girls in her day. My father knew what it meant to walk to school without shoes. However he also enjoyed a roof over his head the roof of a State house thanks to the Social Security Act of 1938 passed by the Labour Government under Michael Joseph Savage. When my dad won a scholarship to medical school in Otago he broke an inter-generational cycle of poverty and the hairy issues that can go with it. My mother's childhood wasn't easy either. Although born into wealth my mother knew the insides of underground bomb shelters and being ripped away from family because of war. You see my mother is a Dutch immigrant with Flemish and Jewish heritage. How those two lovebirds from opposite corners of the world found each other is a beautiful story for another time. What I can say is they worked incredibly hard to give my siblings and me the security that had been so scant in their lives. As I look to them in the gallery above me today I feel overwhelming love and gratitude especially knowing how much my mum hates flying—it took two flights just to get here and you've still got to get back Mum.It is my dad's working class values and work ethic and my mum's vision and compassion that inspire me about what's possible for Aotearoa. These values of my parents have also shaped my children. Last year my teenage son Marli made headlines when he courteously challenged his school's rules about tattoos and tā moko—a cultural taonga that he was told to cover with an arm bandage. When the school wouldn't change its stance he changed schools. Feiaksia Marli you make me proud. So that's why I swore my parliamentary oath of allegiance in the Rotuman language—for Marli my songbird daughter Lily and our Rotuman community. As a family we hold each other to a golden rule: no gossip. Taelyn the seven-year- old is the best at this. He mirrors his dad Danny who is the kindest person I know and like our children Danny's a true VIP—a very important Polynesian! Fa'afetai lava Danny. As whānau we also try to reach out to everyone as brothers and sisters and that's why my family have had the heart to let me do my mahi which has often taken me away from them and all over the world. My parents are obsessed with the news and I grew up to the soundtrack of Morning Report so it's little wonder I became a print and then broadcast journalist. I've worked across TVNZ TV3 Māori Television Fiji Television and with crews from the BBC. What an adventure it's been! I've founded my own production company and made many international documentaries. I've filmed with hidden cameras in the prisons of Cambodia. My proudest achievement was starting the first indigenous language show for Fiji Television when I worked there in the 1990s. That weekly programme Talanoa still screens today some 24 years later. My most harrowing assignment was directing a documentary on George Gwaze a black Zimbabwean vet who had immigrated to Christchurch and was tried twice for a murder" that actually turned out to be an HIV-related death. George was a victim of confirmation bias in our health system medical staff jumping to conclusions and then trying to prove themselves right and unconscious bias in the criminal justice system—institutionally racist procedures with ignorant disregard for how others view the world. George Gwaze was eventually found not guilty. His life and family were torn apart yet he never received an apology nor compensation. Mr Gwaze has never received justice and I want to use my time here to help ensure we never have another case like this. My studies may help in that regard. I completed an honours degree in law from Otago University and the legacy from my brief stint as a lawyer was setting up Russell McVeagh's pro bono section.While living in Fiji I helped found a university journalism programme and I completed a Master's in sociology. I've also served as chair of the Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation a role which included fighting to get HIV-positive people access to life-saving drugs.In my decade as director of the British Council in New Zealand and the Pacific I was privileged to work around East Asia and Europe with some of the finest people I have known advancing youth voice and women's rights promoting access to justice and the rule of law and setting up social enterprises and advocating for impact investing. I was employed by the British Government so I know firsthand how Britain cherishes its relationship with New Zealand because of our common values. Now I'm a member of this House in another role that once again frequently takes me away from my whānau and I thank them for their understanding and generosity.This year I stood for selection and then election because I felt that as a nation we faced a critical crossroad. I wanted to be sure that we resisted the tide of narcissism sweeping the globe and remained true to our values. COVID has demanded much of us. We've gone through lockdowns together and it has challenged us to become better people. As a nation I think we've chosen to put our most vulnerable first. I love the people of Taieri who cared for our seniors when they could not leave their homes to shop for food. We sprinkled some magic into the lives of our children with small gestures like the teddy bear hunt endorsed by our Prime Minister. You would be hard pressed to find an electorate with more soft toys peering out their windows than Taieri and many remain to this day. Not only do we have the most teddy bears we also have the largest ones. Created from hay-bales by the tireless farmers who kept New Zealand fed during the lockdowns those kaitiaki watch over State Highway 1 between Milton and Balclutha and that says something about our big generous caring southern hearts. So it is humbling to stand before this House as the elected member for such a hard-working community-minded place. Taieri's boundaries are new but the electorate has actually come full circle. The former electorate of Dunedin South first began as Taieri based in Mosgiel during the 1870s before women could vote let alone stand for Parliament. It evolved into a very special seat for Labour: a champion for workers and the unions that founded our party. In my view Taieri remains our social conscience especially with MMP which can force politics to the middle.As the first woman MP for Taieri I acknowledge all the wāhine toa who made today possible: the Rt Hon Helen Clark who in 2005 awarded me a New Zealand Bravery Medal for my services to journalism after the Asian tsunami in Banda Aceh. Ka mihi for supporting my election campaign Helen. Our incredible Prime Minister the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern whose relentless positivity inspired me to take the first step on my journey. Former Dunedin South MP the Hon Clare Curran—I'm so delighted to see you here today—who served her constituents so fearlessly and was thoroughly generous in her handing of the baton. My Dunedin-based colleague MP Rachel Brooking it's an honour to serve with you. Maiinga my namesake aroha nui.As a breadwinner for my family I pledge to all our women of Aotearoa when it comes to pay equity sisters I will have your back and I will fight for the rights of all workers who receive less pay linked to their ethnicity. I also salute Sir Michael Cullen in what is an esteemed whakapapa in our Taieri branch. Thank you for joining me on street corners Sir Michael. Thank you too to former Dunedin Cabinet Minister Stan Rodger and his wife Anne for your unwavering support and guidance and for travelling to be here today. Pamela and Dennis tautoko for your wisdom. To Jim Kelly my union the Rail and Maritime Transport Union and to the meat workers whose hard graft contributed to my campaign thank you. Most especially to the Labour Electorate Committee campaign committee and volunteers who got me here you blow me away; thank you. I feel the gaze of all you good people upon me and I will not let you down. Taieri is urban and rural. Some of us experience heartbreaking poverty yet you don't often hear about that because well we're staunch and we may seem far away. We need more houses more jobs better access to health services and more support for our rural communities; yet I'm excited. Dunedin's new hospital will transform our region not just through healthcare but because of the social impact approach of the Labour Government. We are uplifting our whole community through training apprenticeships jobs and community outreach linked to the hospital. Last month I began my first street-corner clinics bringing politics to the people in Milton and Balclutha. To Waihola Henley Waipori Falls Benhar Kaka Point Middlemarch Waitahuna Lawrence you're also on my radar. As for Kaitangata—well just so it finally gets said in Parliament and written into Hansard—Kai rulz. To everyone in Taieri regardless of your politics I am your MP I'm here for you and I'm listening to you and helping are my parliamentary colleagues Nadine Warren and the amazing Larissa who helped secure an election win of more than 12000 votes to prove that Taieri never was a so-called marginal seat. I am honoured to work alongside them and all the dedicated staff who so ably serve this House.I feel proud to be in a Government that is working to keep New Zealand safe and accelerate our economic recovery and rebuild better than before. Economic justice is my kaupapa. I will fight for the widow in the Taieri retirement village who was forced to pay $10000 just to move into the smaller unit next door after the death of her husband. I'll seek creative solutions for our Muslim community who can't access the housing market because our New Zealand banking models don't align with some of those in our faith-based communities. May I acknowledge here that the royal commission's report into the March 15 terrorist attack has become public today and that our thoughts are with the Muslim community. Al salam alaikum. I'll insist on climate and economic justice for the 10000 people who live on the Dunedin flats. I'll advocate to futureproof South Dunedin from flooding in ways that create warmer greener houses ignite the local economy and inspire our young people to stay living locally. Now that this House has declared a climate emergency we have a massive imperative to get this right and lead the world on climate adaptation. I will promote social enterprise. It's a new story where buying and selling becomes about wellbeing where the financial ecosystem supports those who can prove benefit to their communities not just through targets but through contracts where iwi can provide by Māori for Māori and for others too.I will advocate for impact investment. It's a story where banking becomes a force for good creating impact at scale and creating change because investors care where their money goes. Let us be bold in acknowledging our wairua—our spiritual and cultural selves—so that our whole selves are not lost in the economy. I believe New Zealand has the heart and the imagination to make this happen. The Aotearoa Circle is already leading the change and I commend their work likewise the Ākina Foundation the Pacific Business Trust and many iwi businesses.To all tangata whenua in this House I acknowledge that the inequities you challenge are painful and profound and that your kaupapa are urgent. Regardless of where you sit in this House I respect Te Tiriti and I will continue to walk across the bridges that divide us even when that is uncomfortable. New Zealand is the best place in the world to be right now and the eyes of the world are watching us. Therefore we must continue to uphold truth and sanctify the rule of law. I want to see civics taught in schools so that my children can vote with confidence and integrity. I want the Pacific home to my children's tipuna promoted through fair systems that promote climate resilience and women's rights. We must stand for our values of kaitiakitanga tino rangatiratanga and aroha. As the geopolitics around us change we must assert our independence like we did with nuclear free. We can continue to role model to all our global friends east and west wellbeing protection from hate speech fair and sustainable trade and evidenced animal welfare. We can prove to the world that inclusive evidence-based policies create greater prosperity for everyone. Internationally it is our time to shine.All these dreams I bring to this House today and every day along with respect for democracy staunch loyalty to my Labour team and the aspirations of the people of Taieri who will ultimately hold me to account. Thank you for the opportunity to present myself today.Moa ta pulou ka 'uaf ta pulou—that's a Rotuman proverb meaning change comes when we work together. I challenge all of us in this House and you watching at home to be the change that we want to see in the world. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Applause]WaiataSitting suspended from 6.12 p.m. to 7 p.m."