Hipkins ChrisCHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka): We are now into the dying moments of this the 51st New Zealand Parliament and judging by the looks on the faces opposite it is clear we are in the dying days of this National Government. If Mr Brownlee's speech was anything to go by it was all backwards looking. It was like one of those best hits albums that is reproduced multiple times after the band has run out of material to use. But I have got a message for the members opposite when they huddle back to their offices and watch the 6 o'clock news tonight: we are just getting started and we will spend every moment in the next 5½ weeks fighting for every single vote. We will win the confidence of the New Zealand people over the next few weeks by convincing them that New Zealand can be better. This is not as good as it gets. We can provide housing for everyone. We can clean up our rivers. We can deliver healthcare to those who need it and we can meet the challenge—the massive challenge—of climate change. We can upgrade our schools and provide kids with genuine 21st century learning. We can eliminate child poverty in this country in New Zealand. And we can raise incomes and provide opportunities for all New Zealanders and jobs for all those who need them.It has been quite a week for me in this House. I just want to put a few rumours to bed. I do want to make it absolutely clear that the rumour that I have been drafted to prove that half of this week's Bledisloe Cup Wallabies team are in fact New Zealanders is patently untrue. I have had quite a week and I do want to reflect somewhat soberly on that for a moment. It is difficult to stand in front of the New Zealand public and the Parliament and admit that one has made a mistake. I have had to do that this week. I am not afraid to admit when I have made a mistake and I did make a mistake earlier this week. I want to thank my colleagues for their support and their tolerance of that. It is not easy to front up and say that you have done something that you should not have done. I did that and it was not easy and I want to thank people for their tolerance and their willingness to move past that.As we enter the final moments of the Parliament I would like to take an opportunity to thank a few people and one of them is you Mr Speaker. I would like to thank you for your collegiality particularly outside the House if not so much inside the House and the good humour with which you have approached the job. I would like to thank Chester Borrows and Lindsay Tisch who are both leaving for their fair chairmanship of the House particularly in the Committee stage. It is difficult to be a Chairman of the House when the Opposition is getting stuck into you but we have certainly appreciated your willingness to humour us on occasion to give us a fair hearing and to protect the rights of the minority in this House which is one of the very important roles that presiding officers take. We have appreciated the fact—Kris Faafoi: Why don't you mention Trevor?CHRIS HIPKINS: —that you have done that. I will not mention Trevor no. I would like to acknowledge all of those members who have delivered valedictories and who are not returning to Parliament after the election: my colleagues Sue Moroney and Clayton Cosgrove and my very good friend and work mother the Hon Annette King whom I will certainly miss the company of.I want to acknowledge all the members opposite who have given their valedictories and I do want to particularly acknowledge the Hon Hekia Parata who has been my sparring partner in the House on more than one occasion over that time. While I have disagreed with many of the decisions that she has made as Minister of Education and while we have certainly had some robust exchanges in the House and in the media I want to genuinely acknowledge her passion for education and for the children of New Zealand. It is a very difficult job that you did for 5 years and I do wish you all the very best for the future whatever that may be.I also want to acknowledge a group of people who do not get acknowledged in this House often enough and that is the families of members of Parliament. We do a difficult job. We are in the media. We get scrutinised a lot. We put ourselves up for that; that is part of it. But our families pay an enormously high price for that—all of them pay a high price for that—particularly so when we are in a little bit of trouble as I have been reminded of over the past week. But I think it is important that we acknowledge that whilst we enter this House and we put ourselves up for scrutiny they pay a huge cost for us being here—all of them. I want to acknowledge the families of all members of the House and thank them for their willingness to make that sacrifice as we endeavour to make New Zealand a better place.I want to thank all of the cleaners the parliamentary staff the Office of the Clerk the Chamber and gallery staff the people who work in the leader's office all of our executive assistants and our electorate staff. I would like to thank the whip's team who worked with me when I was the chief whip and who now work with my colleagues Kris Faafoi and Carmel Sepuloni—in particular Emma Williams and Peter Hoare. Peter Hoare is a fountain of knowledge around Parliament and he has certainly I think helped us to lift our game in the House and I want to thank him for that.Finally I would like to end with thanks to one person who is also leaving Parliament and whose departure from Parliament should also be marked today. She is someone who has given 42 years of service to this Parliament without any fuss and without ever being acknowledge properly and that is Sheryl Grace who is a member of the Parliamentary Service security team. She is up in the gallery this evening. I think all of us around the House would acknowledge that we are incredibly well served by the people who work in this place the parliamentary staff. Sheryl on behalf of all of us thank you for your years of service and we wish you all the very best for whatever the future may hold for you as well.That is the totality of the contribution I intend to make in this speech. I look forward to seeing members back after the election. Good luck to all for the next 5 weeks. Happy campaigning.