MacLeod David; Brownlee GerryDAVID MacLEOD (National—New Plymouth): Tamarau nō runga i te rangiHeke iho ki raro ki te whakamarimariTē tatari ai ki te hurahangao te tāpora o RongoueroaTaku kuia e Taku kuia eTe ara o taku tūpuna i tohi ai auKo Te Ati Awa nō runga i te rangiKo te toki tē tangatanga i te rāTaringa mangō ko te kete ngēHue Hā! Hue Hā!Tihei mauri ora. [Tamarau from the heavens above came down to make loveand waited until he could haveRongo-u-eroa to wifeShe is our grandmother! She is our matriarch!This therefore is the consecrated pathway of my ancestorse Ātiawa from the heavens aboveThe adze of Tamarau which can remove the very sun from its axis.]Tēnei au e tū nei ki te takahanga waewae o ōku tūpuna o ōku mātua. Ka titiro whakarunga ki Te Waipounamu ko Aoraki te maunga; ko Ōtākou ko Waihora ngā puna karekare; ko Ōtākou ko Taumutu ngā marae; ko Kāi Tahu te iwi. Ka topa ake ki Te Tairāwhiti ki te urunga o te rā. Ko Hikurangi te maunga ko Waiapu te awa ko Tīkapa te marae ko Ngāti Porou te iwi. Ka huri whakateuru ki te tōnga o te rā. Ko Taranaki te maunga; ko Urenui ko Waitara ko Waitotoroa ko Kāpuni ngā awa; ko Urenui ko Ōwaiwhaitara ko Parihaka ko Wharepuni ngā marae; Ko Ngāti Mutunga ko Te Ātiawa ko Taranaki ko Ngāti Ruanui ngā iwi. Ka tau mai anō ki runga ki Te Upoko-o-te-ika a Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga ki ngā maunga whakahī ki Tangi-te-keo ki Whitireia; ki te hoenga waka o ōku tūpuna ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara ki Pipitea ki Te Aro ki Takapūwāhia. Ko Te Ātiawa ko Ngāti Tūpaea ko Ngāti Haumie ngā iwi. Puta atu rā ki ōku huānga o Ngāti Toa Rangatira e kōkōia e ara e. [Here I stand on the tramping ground of my ancestors of my forebears. I look to the South to the South Island Aoraki is the mountain; Ōtākou and Waihora are the rippling springs; Ōtākou and Taumutu are the marae; Kāi Tahu is the iwi. I soar to the East Coast to the headrest of the sun. Hikurangi is the mountain Waiapu is the river Tīkapa is the marae Ngāti Porou is the iwi. I turn towards the West to the setting of the sun. Taranaki is the mountain; Urenui Waitara Waitotoria and Kāpuni are the rivers; Urenui Ōwaiwhaitara Parihaka and Wharepuni are the marae; Ngāti Mutunga Te Ātiawa Taranaki and Ngāti Ruanui are the iwi. We come again to the Wellington region to the proud mountains to Mount Victoria and Whitireia; to the place my ancestors paddled their canoes to the Wellington Harbour to Pipitea to Te Aro and to Takapūwāhia. Te Ātiawa Ngāti Tūpaea and Ngāti Haumie are the iwi. I go out to my relations of Ngāti Toa Rangatira and the birds sing they have risen.]Mr Speaker may I first start by acknowledging yourself with the important role you have in overseeing the running of Parliament. My family friends supporters in the gallery and watching online and to my new work colleagues: ka mihi ki a koutou katoa. Greetings to you all.I have just started my speech with a Te Ātiawa ngeri. It speaks of Tamarau a son of Ranginui and Papatuānuku. Tamarau along with Rongoueroa consecrated the pathway of my ancestors—the ancestors of this place I stand today. I have also just taken you on a journey of my connections into Ngāi Tahu in the South on to the East Coast of Ngāti Porou and then back to Taranaki where I stand and represent in this House.This is my whakapapa from my mother's side of my family. She was one of nine children and her father Dr Edward Pohau Ellison I understand was the fourth Māori doctor to have qualified in New Zealand following Sir Māui Pōmare Sir Peter Buck and Tūtere Wī Repa.My great-grandfather Raniera Ellison was of Taranaki descent but born in Eastbourne in Lower Hutt his mother being one of many Taranaki-based Māori who joined the migration down to these parts in the 19th century. Raniera's father was an English whaler. During Raniera's lifetime he did well in prospecting for gold. In fact there's a place on the Shotover River called Māori Point named after him. Actually his dog found the gold. It swam across the fast-flowing Shotover River first and when Raniera got the animal across it was covered in gold specks. As they say a man's best friend is his dog especially on that occasion. With this new wealth Raniera married Nani Weller of the Taiaroa family and became a farmer based close to our family marae at Otakou at the Taiaroa Heads near Dunedin.My grandmother provides my connection to the East Coast and Ngāti Porou where our family marae Tīkapa is located closest to the ocean of many marae along the Waiapu River. This river begins on the slopes of Hikurangi and travels through Ruatōria on its way to the ocean.My father was Pākehā with his ancestors from his father's side arriving from a small village called Shawbost on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. His mother was of English descent with her ancestors arriving here from Adelaide Australia. It was in the small township of Manaia in South Taranaki that my parents first met. My mother's family moved there when her father acquired the local medical practice. My father being born and bred there was starting his dairy farming career on his family's farm halfway between Manaia and Kāpuni.I'm the seventh of eight children. My parents were sociable and loved meeting and accommodating people from all over the world including overseas hitchhikers that my dad sometimes brought home such was the trusting nature of my mother and father. Visitors became lifelong friends with many being contacted by my parents when the chance arose during their various overseas trips.My father had some governance experience. One of my most valued treasures was a page of A4 paper where he wrote me several bullet points of advice. I review his words of wisdom often—they keep me grounded. He was a great communicator and if I'm only half as good as him I'll be happy.My mother was a loving caring person gently spoken with a warm personality. No guest ever left our house hungry or thirsty. Our family remained well-connected to wider family with many gatherings and celebrations. I have relations the length of New Zealand and I'm extremely proud of their many successes.I can only imagine how proud my parents would be of me standing here especially my father. He was true blue. In fact he was one of former MP and Minister Venn Young's original nominators. Venn is the father of Jonathan Young and also the father of a woman who's been peering down on this House from that press gallery for some 30 years: Audrey Young. In fact I'm pretty sure I've a photo of Audrey holding me in her arms at my christening. I'm guessing she doesn't want to re-enact that any time soon!Apart from New Plymouth City our constituency includes the township of Waitara at its most northern boundary and continues around the Taranaki coastline to our most southern settlement of Ōpunake. In the New Plymouth electorate I stood against incumbent Labour MP Glen Bennett. I thank Glen for the way in which he campaigned and debated with me and other contenders.I am proud to be New Plymouth's member of Parliament but I know I'm only here due to the hard work of many—they all volunteer their time to the cause. Firstly I want to thank the New Plymouth National Party electorate committee for their studious management over many years. A big thanks goes to my campaign team of Mike Kinnell Joel Zimmerman Rachel Donald Casey Martin Marie Collins Kevin Murphy and Roddy Bennett for helping run such a strong campaign. To the many volunteers who performed all the various tasks required of a solid campaign: thank you. Special thanks to Lloyd and Barb Butler who contributed more than I could ever have asked including human hoarding—the last task that they were ever going to perform on my campaign but they still did it so thank you to you.Campaigns are fuelled by many people being involved but you also call on the generosity of those who can help pay for things. I have been blessed by many on that front. Thank you to all of them. To Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and deputy leader Nicola Willis our party leadership you were a big part of my decision to stand. Confidence in leadership is an absolute in a well-functioning entity and you both provide that in many ways.I've had an interesting career. After attending Hāwera High School I qualified as an electrician working for my brother-in-law. When I was 23 a local businessman invited me to become part owner in his company indicating that I was his succession plan. He mentored me and then he gave me the reins to grow the company to a multi-disciplined operator with about a hundred tradespeople servicing all Taranaki. I sold that company recently. I had a 22-year career on the Taranaki Regional Council with the last 15 as its chairman. I've spent more than two decades as a director of Port Taranaki. Other significant directorships include the large Taranaki Māori incorporation PKW or Parininihi ki Waitotara; Fonterra Cooperative Group; Predator Free 2050; and the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge. That experience will assist my contribution to this coalition Government's various challenges.As one of Taranaki's representatives I want to take particular interest in monitor and survey the progress of forthcoming legislation especially that having particular impact on my home province.My priorities as an MP chair of the Environment Committee and a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee include local government—such a critical partner in the delivery of quality outcomes for our communities—the upcoming changes to the Resource Management Act which require a careful balance between protection of our environs and enabling timely progress; and energy. New Zealand exports more than 80 percent of its products to the rest of the world primarily because we can manufacture goods the world wants in a reliable sustainable and competitive way. Let's make sure our country's energy profile doesn't disrupt that as well as making sure we keep our lights on. Let's allow farmers to get on and do what they do best: farm. Let's make sure any bureaucracy added to their workplace first fits the context of the operation it passes cost-benefit analysis and adds value to their business. Good science is essential to improve our lives and understand the world around us; it helps our competitiveness and teaches us valuable skills. We need to ensure it is delivered in an efficient and an effective way.I'm also hoping that hui of recent weeks and the upcoming Waitangi celebrations go some way to reassuring Māori that the National Party are not here to remove te reo off the landscape of New Zealand that we do value Te Tiriti as our founding document that we will uphold and respect all Treaty settlements and that we want better health and education outcomes for Māori along with every other Kiwi. These are just a few matters that are currently prominent with me. There are more but 15 minutes won't allow that.Now for those who think I've missed the people closest to me in my life I haven't. I've left them to the end because they are the most important part of my speech. I am blessed by the wonderful love and support of my wife Leasa and three amazing grown-up children Reuben Phoebe and Isaac. It was with them I had my first conversation about becoming an MP. I was adamant I wouldn't proceed unless all supported the idea. They said No."—for all the reasons you may imagine. I accepted their decision but a couple of days later they said they didn't feel right standing in the way of the opportunity. They felt that my career had evolved to where I could contribute strongly and they wanted me to give it a shot. But I can also tell you if you want to get rid of your children go into politics. All three of our children are experiencing their OEs and enjoying the big wide world and I couldn't be happier for them. I am proud of the confident young adults that they have become. I'm looking at the camera—kids although you challenge my temperament at times I love you and I'm always here for you.To my wife Leasa: what can I say? Firstly I couldn't ask for a better companion with whom to traverse this crazy thing called "life". You are an amazing wife incredible mother exceptional friend to many and a great supporter of my career. You have always been there for me in my most challenging times and you have always been there beside me when I've needed you. I'm a far better person for having you as my life partner and I can't thank you enough.So Leasa Reuben Phoebe and Isaac: the meaning of life for me is you. I love you and deeply care for you all. If you truly need me I will always be there above anything else. That's absolutely on public record now isn't it?Mr Speaker and my fellow MPs: we in this House are but guardians of this beautiful country of ours. We are in these roles for just a moment in time. It is our daily activities and behaviours that will decide how good a guardian each of us are. Time will measure that. What is in our control is how we work how we behave and how we relate to one another. Let us all realise our individual potential and use these privileged positions to the best of our ability. Our country is relying on it. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Applause hongi and harirū]SPEAKER: Can I ask that members conclude their congratulations as quickly as possible. We're coming to the end of the Address in Reply debate; there is one speech to come because of some time overruns. But to make it formal I seek leave of the House for Camilla Belich to make a four-minute maybe 3½ minute speech to conclude our Address in Reply debate. I put that leave. There appears to be no objection. Can we just move that along a bit if we can."