Lubeck MarjaMARJA LUBECK (Labour): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. It's my first time speaking in the House after my maiden speech and it's such a privilege to rise here as a member of a very strong and committed MMP Government led by our leader the brilliant and passionate Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern. There's been a lot of negativity from the other side of the House but after their nine long years in Government we have now taken over to show we're serious about making a change for the better. Getting on with our 100-day plan we have already seen the extension of paid parental leave to 26 weeks to give our children the best-possible start in life and we have seen the banning of foreign speculators from buying existing homes as a first step to fixing the housing crisis. We have shown our commitment to equal pay by cancelling the flawed legislation that would have made achieving pay equity harder for New Zealand women. The changes show that we're making a Government that is not afraid to care and another very recent example of that was the announcement yesterday on the 38th anniversary of the Erebus crash of the commitment by our Prime Minister to a national memorial to honour the memory of those who died. The Erebus accident is still the worst aviation accident in the Southern Hemisphere and yesterday we remembered those who lost their lives 38 years ago when Flight TE901 with 20 crew and 237 passengers crashed into Mount Erebus on 28 November 1979. That was a day when all New Zealanders said they knew someone who knew someone who was affected by that disaster. Our Prime Minister has shown empathy and understanding of the ongoing hurt and grief of the families and friends of the crew and passengers who died on that fateful day in 1979. It's a terrible oversight that until now nothing has been done to establish a suitable national memorial to the Mount Erebus accident victims especially for the many families involved. Other more recent disasters have their own memorials including the Pike River accident and the Christchurch earthquake victims. In 2019 it will be 40 years since Erebus and that will be a very suitable time for the opening of a national memorial. Our Prime Minister has committed to talking with the families and Air New Zealand on how best to pursue this. There are several smaller memorials but there's no significant public place where all 257 names are displayed and where people can come together remember and have special times of contemplation prayer and reflection. One of those smaller memorials is a memorial garden close to Auckland Airport. On 28 November 2000 the 21st anniversary of the Erebus disaster work began on that memorial garden dedicated to the 15 flight attendants and five flight crew who died in the crash. The garden was opened the following year. The 20 names were recorded on a plaque set into a memorial stone at the centre of the garden and the words read: This garden is your special place". I was president of the Flight Attendants and Related Services Association (FARSA) the flight attendants' union for four years from 2009 and every year on 28 November we would lay a wreath and remember our colleagues who died at Erebus. Having this memorial garden so clearly shows the importance of having a special dedicated place to remember the families surviving spouses siblings and children of our colleagues and of having a place to come together every year to honour the memories of those who died on that fateful day and to feel for the families and their ongoing grief. In 2014 a special 35th anniversary memorial service was held. I would like to repeat the heartfelt words spoken at the time by our past president of FARSA Mary Webb who was also a crew member at the time of the Erebus crash. She said "The crew were not heroes. They were ordinary people like you and me. They went to work and they never came home." Repeating her words I can't help but think of another group of workers—29 men who went to work and never came home; the tragedy at Pike River mine—and I am so proud to be part of a Government that cares enough to appoint the Hon Andrew Little as Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry and to do all that is possible to provide closure for those families. I hope that the Pike River families can take some comfort from seeing how nearly four decades after the Erebus disaster we are still honouring the memory of those who died. They will never be forgotten. The debate having concluded the motion lapsed."