Warren-Clark AngieANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. Ngā mihi o Matariki te tau hou Māori. Mānawatia a Matariki. I'm really delighted to take the call. My voice is sounding a little bit deep today. That's probably because unfortunately I missed most of the celebrations for Matariki due to a cold over the break so I stayed at home and did what I was required to do. But I did feel a tremendous sense of pride and a tremendous excitement to see all of the things that were happening around the country. I got up early and watched the service that occurred at Te Papa—just amazing. What a time to be in this country. What a time for us to come together as a people. I'm not going to yell and shout across to the House about how wrong and different and all of those things—this is a time for us to celebrate in the depths of winter that we finally have a celebration that is uniquely ours.I thought long and hard about what I was going to say today and I thought about the wishing star—Hiwa-i-te-rangi. I thought about the wishing star and what would be my wish for this House and for our nation going forward at this time. I thought about what an interesting juxtaposition we had over the weekend and unfortunately because I was sick I watched a little bit too much TV about Roe v Wade. So I watched that and while on the one hand I was feeling tremendously proud of our nationhood and how we've moved forward I also as a woman felt the mamae of my sisters across the world. It was an interesting decision and one we had had flagged and we did know was coming but I took comfort from my Prime Minister the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern and her words. We knew exactly where our Prime Minister stood and I think her words bear repeating. She said Here in New Zealand we recently legislated to decriminalise abortion and treat it as a health rather than a criminal issue. That change was grounded in the fundamental belief that it is a woman's right to choose. People are absolutely entitled to have deeply held convictions on this issue. But these personal beliefs should never rob another from making their own decision."I have held the hand of a number of women who I've supported as they have made the very difficult decision. None of us here in this House is pro-abortion—none. We are pro-choice or we are pro-life. And I want to make it very very clear that for those of us here who stood and voted "yes" to take abortion out of the Crimes Act under the leadership of Andrew Little who's sitting here beside me today—when we made that choice—it was a hard-felt decision for all of us and not one of us took that decision lightly. But we took the choice and the decision that this was a health procedure—the only and last health procedure left in the Crimes Act—a health procedure which then enables us each and every one of us to make the choices alongside our family. And none of us should judge that.There are so many progressive things and I have this huge list of the things that we as a Government are doing and I feel like I've talked only about something that affects us across the world but I need to say this I need to talk about this decision because I feel fundamentally this brings into question—I have known this decision for 49 years of my 51 years and I am so very afraid and that is why I am so delighted that I sit in a Labour Government that is progressive that stands up for the person—the little person the women those who do not have a voice—and we stand alongside them. Thank you Mr Speaker."