Costley Tim; Brownlee GerryTIM COSTLEY (National—Ōtaki): Wairua Tapu kuhu mai nau mai ki konei. Wairua Tapu arahia kōrero mai anō tihei mauri ora.[Holy Spirit enter welcome to this place. Holy Spirit lead us speak to us again the breath of life.]E te Māngai tēnā koe. Mr Speaker congratulations to you sir on your new role. It's a privilege to serve with you and learn from you. Indeed it's a privilege to stand here today surrounded by friends and family both in the gallery and down here in the Chamber. A humbling experience and some might say an unlikely one—from the chubby kid that came last in the fourth-form road race the kid that hid in the music block for half of high school the kid that was told it's OK to dream about being an air force pilot but you really should think about being a maths teacher like your mum.My story is not one of getting everything the first time up at the plate but rather one of perseverance of determination of character refined in the fire of failure and forged through adversity in the truest sense of per ardua ad astra" and "nihil boni sine labore". My story has always been that you cannot tell the man from the boy and I stand here as living proof—troubled yet not distressed perplexed but not in despair cast down but not destroyed. I've been knocked back a few times but I've never given up.There have been a couple of challenges that have taken me two goes and an extra three years to get there with but I've found there are very few challenges that cannot be overcome with hard work with perseverance and most fundamentally with character which always plays the long game. If that chubby 14-year-old kid can go on to run a few marathons join the air force and deploy on operations all around the world then there must be hope for everyone.But first to quote the sadly now infamous song let me introduce to you myself to you. I was blessed to grow up with the most amazing parents. They were both schoolteachers. Mum stayed at home to look after the kids and it's a sacrifice that I'm eternally grateful for. I had a pretty standard 1980s upbringing—backyard cricket with my brother playing Care Bears with my sister. Just the things that we all did—OK maybe not. But look we didn't necessarily have everything but I can't think of anything important that was lacking.Mum demonstrated what true servant leadership looks like. She shaped my view of service and while she may never get the recognition that I think she deserves I want to honour her here today and on the special day—happy birthday Mum. [Applause] You're using up my time; I do not have this time to spare!Look I think Dad would be so proud if he was still with us. Proud—probably also annoying numerous people in the gallery with a ton of anecdotes from the previous 53 State openings of Parliament. But it was Dad that took me to air shows at Ōhakea as a kid that set me on the path that I followed and Dad set me on this one as well. But I believe it takes a village and I am a child of a huge village. I've been shaped by faith family and the forces. The village I started in encompassed All Saints' Church Winchester School Palmerston North Boys' High Boys' Brigade a whole host of music teachers and bands and I want to acknowledge all of those who shaped my first 20 years.I also want to acknowledge my National Party family particularly Lorraine Pollock Bruce Little and the entire team from Ōtaki. Now I'm here for every single person in our community but I know that I'm here because of you because of your trust your encouragement and your support. Thank you. Can I also acknowledge the previous 12 MPs for Ōtaki since 1893 in particular the Hon Nathan Guy and I'd also like to acknowledge the Hon Roger Sowry and the Rt Hon Jim Bolger.To our new Prime Minister absent though he may be today I want to congratulate him on his new role and thank him for his leadership his friendship and his guidance over a few years now. To Shirley Sowry the HQ team the board my fellow MPs Ben and the Young Nats everyone from National: thank you. I love being a part of our team anchored by the same values encouraged by each other and inspired by the opportunity we have to deliver for Kiwis. Can I acknowledge all the parliamentary staff who work who serve in this place with grace and professionalism and the entire class of 2023 from across every party. We are here to serve and what better example of service could we ask for than the women and the men that I served with in our Defence Force in New Zealand through the Pacific into Asia and Europe. Sailors soldiers and aviators who do not seek war or conflict but their service is such that they are willing to operate in those environments in order to bring about a lasting peace. E ngā toa o Te Ope Kātua [To the warriors of the Defence Force] to my fellow warriors of the Defence Force tēnā koe. Kei te mihi. [I greet you.] I acknowledge all of you and the life-shaping journey that you've taken me on for the past 23 years.In Afghanistan I served with decorated heroes like Lance-Corporal Leon Smith. Now Leon paid the ultimate price in full and I want to acknowledge—[Hon Chris Penk passes a glass of water]—thanks brother—all of my brothers that I served with who lost their life while serving their country whether in New Zealand or overseas. Leon Nick Muddy Diesel Ben and Dan. E kore rātou e kaumātuatia. [They will not grow old.] They shall grow not old but I will not forget them. In my service I seek to represent all of those who preserve our democracy but don't always get to practise it: our Defence Force police fire paramedics every first responder. I pledge to be your voice in this House and enough of you have my phone number to ensure that I never forget.During my service I was privileged to work for their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales. It was a role that like being an MP it doesn't make me special but you get to work with some really special people and do some really special things. On one occasion I remember we were leaving the museum at Wigram and as the Duke and Duchess got dragged away towards the cars I noticed a girl down the end of the line that didn't get to give her flowers to the Princess. So as the motorcade was waiting I raced over there and I knelt down next to her and I said "Would you like me to take those flowers and give them to the Princess for you?" It's always the Princess. "Oh yes please" she said and I took them and was able to pass them on. Someone said to me afterwards "You know Tim what's the point? There are thousands of kids around New Zealand that never got to give their flowers to the Princess. You can never make a difference." I said "Yeah you're probably right. But I bet it made a difference to her."You know one person is always enough. I've always believed that the ones matter; they add up they multiply they have this rippling effect. In the Air Force it was one tourist on Mount Arthur; it was a hunter in the Ureweras; it was a school teacher in the Tararuas; it was a family in rising floodwaters; a soldier whose life was in danger in East Timor; a mother and a baby in the Solomon Islands. In my career in my service in my life one person has always been enough and I'm painfully aware of my limitations. I know that inevitably I'm going to say the wrong thing and I'm going to do the wrong thing. I have no silver bullets. I know I can't change the world but I do believe that I can make a world of difference to the ones that I meet in Foxton in Levin in Ōtaki Waikanae Paraparaumu and everywhere in between. They may be just one but people matter to me and one is always enough.Imagine if you will a community of people inspired and motivated by the ones. I believe our country is at its best when we do community well. Too often these days people look for community online but all we find are echo chambers that reinforce a narrow view of a diverse world. Community calls us to reach out to cross divides to grow in empathy and understanding not division and intolerance; to celebrate our differences not try and eliminate them. I want to work as an MP to break down division be that between urban and rural young and old between ethnicities or religions. Community is the long game that will heal those divides. And so often we expect the Government to provide every solution for every need and want. Well I believe in limited government; that actually we all hold solutions to many of the problems we face; that we are at our best when the community response can lead the Government response. Community balances the utilitarian perspective against the needs of those that live in the margins the few that feel they will never be a part of the many. That's why I love National's social investment approach: because it's about outcomes; it's about targeted results for those that would otherwise be left behind. It's acknowledging that we don't all have the same start line in life but we all deserve an equal shot at the same finish. So I believe in a community where we can have compassion for those at the extremes but we can still value personal responsibility competitive enterprise and reward for good old-fashioned hard work.So I come to this place motivated by people inspired by service passionate about community. But most of all I just love this country. I've been privileged in my service to see how respected and coveted our nation is abroad but I wonder sometimes if we've lost a sense of—as the great philosopher Fred Dagg said—a sense of just how lucky we are how amazing our people how incredible our backyard. As much as I want to build a road to Levin—and I really want to build that road to Levin—as much as I want to see our culture shift from compliance to judgment to focus on effectiveness and efficiency not just process and publicity; actually deep down I really want to see us united as a nation the way that Kiwis unite at Eden Park and London pubs and in conflict zones around the world. In those places we rally around the national identity not based on geography or ethnicity but grounded in our shared ideals the Kiwi way of life and the belief that everyone deserves an equal opportunity in Godzone. Maybe that can be the starting point for this difficult conversation.I don't pretend to have all the answers but this country matters to me and it matters that we acknowledge our past that we right wrongs that we celebrate our differences. But it also matters that we are defined by the kind of people that we are and most fundamentally of all we are all Kiwi. My style of politics is anchored by the belief that that which is common to all of us is a powerful gravity—far greater than that or those who would seek to divide. That's why I wear the kiwi as a visible and outward sign of an inward and invisible bond that we can all share. That same symbol was painted on artillery and aircraft that my grandparents fought in and on during World War II.For 23 years I had the privilege of carrying that symbol that patch on my uniform and on the aircraft that I flew. In this one small image lies an indisputably strong brand; an immediate point of difference from our nearest neighbours that reminds me that we shouldn't try and be the best small version of another country but the biggest and best version of ourselves.So I finish where I started. I still believe that the boy does not define the man. Our past does not define our future. Where we are today does not need to limit where we could be or what we could achieve. I stand in this place with hope with genuine hope that greater things are to come and greater things are still to be done in this city in our regions and throughout this land. And if those words don't resonate or reflect our current reality then my work here as part of a strong National Party team is to join those dots and to serve in such a way that that hope is fulfilled; that all Kiwis have the quality of life the public services the education and the opportunities that we all deserve no matter our current circumstance or starting place.Finally if I can to my girls. Lucy I'm inspired by your willingness to give anything a go. Not enough for me to try eating salad but I'm inspired by your attitude. Becky sometimes your determination challenges me. I know I try and pretend it comes from your mum but actually it is your empathy and your compassion that challenge me the most and I seek to replicate a little of that in my service. Alice I love the way that you find such unhindered joy in the everyday. I wish you'd find a little bit less of that after your bedtime but we all need more of that in this tall poppy world. And to Emma you have borne the brunt of it over the last few years as we embarked on this crazy adventure. You have kept the ship afloat. You have parented alone. You've put up with every sigh every eye roll every tantrum every argument over what to wear and that was all just from me. You're the yin to my yang you're the tonic to my gin you are the glue that holds it all together and I love you. And so I care about our country our community our people and service. I hope that at the nexus of those four things we will find a country that not just these young women up here but every generation to come will be proud of. E kī ana mā whero mā pango ka oti ai te mahi. Nō reira e ngā mana e ngā rangatira kua whakarauika mai nei i tēnei wā tēnā koutou tēnā koutou mihi mai karanga mai mihi mai tēnā tātou katoa. Kia ora.[As the saying goes with collaboration will the work be done. Therefore to the authorities to the noble leaders who have assembled here at this time thanks and greetings thank you for your welcome greetings to all of us. Thank you.] SPEAKER: Can I just let the House know that following the speech by Tākuta Ferris who will be called shortly the House will set itself aside for the dinner break. We are clearly going to go past 6 o'clock but we'll just wait till all your people are in place."