Roy Eric: Maiden Statements 
Roy Eric: Maiden Statements 
[Volume:651;Page:740] 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: Order! 
PAUL QUINN 
: —are the same as those facing all electorates— 
Hon John Key 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am sorry to interrupt the member’s speech. There is a longstanding convention that members’ maiden speeches are not interrupted and members can take it on the chin from time to time if a member wants to make a comment. If Mr Mallard cannot control himself I suggest that he goes back to his office. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Speaking to the point of order— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: I do not need any assistance; please sit. I did chastise the member. It is a long-held tradition; there will be no interjections. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It is not a long-term tradition. There have been points of order on maiden speeches on many occasions and they occur on the occasions when individuals breach their responsibility to be non-controversial. That member did that then. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: Certainly it has been my experience in this House which goes back to 1993. It is the first experience I have had of it and I would ask the member to contain himself. 
PAUL QUINN 
: The issues confronting residents in Hutt South are the same as those facing all electorates; that is a desperate lack of front-line services. In Hutt South that translates into 3000 residents not having their own doctor because of the general practitioner shortage. Violent crime is on the increase businesses are closing and unemployment is rising. I have no doubt that the policies this Government campaigned on to address these and other challenges facing this country are the right ones. 
I believe that the second primary role members of Parliament have is to provide the leadership necessary to ensure New Zealand is once again acknowledged as a pre-eminent member of the world community. Bookend comments attributable to a very senior member of the previous administration both made within the precincts of this building to me encapsulate everything that was wrong with its oversight of the country. The first made in August 2000 was the words “We won. You lost. Eat that!”. That sneering comment set a reference point for what was to prove a downward-spiralling series of behaviours that oozed negativity and did not engender the leadership necessary to capitalise on years of economic opportunity. The other bookend comment made as the country was winding up in readiness for this year’s election was words to the effect that the election was a fight for power. A fight for power is a fight for control which in turn is a fight to have command over our lives. It is what ordinary New Zealanders refer to as the nanny State. The annals of history will record that the people rejected that style of administration at the ballot box this year. 
Instead the people of New Zealand have opted for the National Party leadership model one based on a value set that provides equal opportunity for all protects individual freedoms embraces choice encourages innovation and enterprise and inspires aspiration. Everyone is encouraged to achieve his or her potential. That is why I am proud to stand today as part of a National Government and acknowledge the already outstanding leadership of our Prime Minister and I look forward to contributing under his leadership to the team effort. That team effort includes a partnership with the Maori Party—a partnership that I welcome. Nga rangatira tena koutou kei te mihi ki a koutou. 
[ 
Greetings to you esteemed ones; I acknowledge you 
.]  
There has been hysterical denunciation of this partnership in some quarters. This denunciation is an affront to freedom of choice as have been the accusations levelled at the Maori Party last week by the Opposition during the passage of the Taxation (Urgent Measures and Annual Rates) Bill through its various stages. Labour members accuse the Maori Party of selling Maori short when under their watch the average income of Maori has gone from being 84 percent of what Pakeha earn to 77 percent. The facts speak for themselves. Under the previous administration most Maori socio-economic indicators deteriorated. No wonder “closing the gaps” disappeared from the vernacular. 
For some time now I have publicly stated my view that the Maori Party is a natural coalition partner for the National Party. Why? Because our value sets are aligned. We are both fiercely protective of property rights. We are both focused on aspirational pathways. We are both determined to provide a framework whereby everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve his or her potential. All the paradigm advances that have occurred to move Maori forward in this country’s short history have in my view occurred under a National Government: the setting up of Apirana Ngata’s land reforms; the introduction of wananga; kohanga reo; Te Mangai Paho; the Te Reo Maori Television Trust; the fisheries settlement; the first Raupatu settlement; and subsequent Treaty settlement processes were driven by a National Government. I welcome the Maori Party as a team member in this Government and I look forward to working with them in advancing the cause of Maoridom—kia kaha. 
Of particular interest to me in this regard is expediting Treaty settlement processes. It is but one specific reason why I now stand in this House. It is my response to the total lack of leadership provided by the previous administration in getting on with the job particularly when it was obvious that there was a better way. I note that it magically found that better way some 6 months out from an election. Another concern is getting the Crown to abide by the commitment to partnership set out in Treaty settlements once those settlements had been agreed. By way of example Ngati Awa has had to go to the High Court and the Court of Appeal to demonstrate that the words in their deed of settlement finally executed in April 2005 mean what they say. One would think after four comprehensive defeats and no victories the message might have got through particularly given some of the findings in the judgments but sadly not. I look forward to the leadership my friend and colleague the Hon Chris Finlayson will bring to this portfolio in ensuring enduring settlements are expedited in the spirit of partnership. 
I now return to the value proposition. This Government has committed itself to going for growth in the knowledge that only through real economic growth will our country once again be able to provide the aspirational pathways that improve the lives of every New Zealander. The great moments of history were achieved against a simple focused vision: Abraham Lincoln set out to abolish slavery and unite a country; John F Kennedy challenged his country to send a man to the moon before the decade of the 1970s arrived; and Bill Gates took the computer to the home. Of course we have our own icons to look up to. Lord Rutherford and Sir Edmund Hillary are but two. A third is Sir Peter Blake and Team New Zealand who benchmarked everything they did against one simple test: will it make the boat go faster? Our partnership with another of our team members the ACT Party calls for the closing of the income gap with our near neighbours by 2025. It is a laudable goal but what happens if Australia slips back or if we pass them by 2015? Whatever we agree on we need to be ready to respond to the challenges of the world. That will take dynamism energy enthusiasm and a fair degree of business smarts. That is what today’s modern National Party brings to New Zealand at this critical time. 
There is one other very important member of our Government team that must be acknowledged and that is the Public Service for it is the Public Service that helps the Government do its work. I have no doubt that under this Government the mana of a neutral Public Service will be restored so that it can in complete confidence give free and frank advice. My one reservation is that at times a silo mentality can be adopted by some departments. We must move past this by bringing greater cohesion and have all departments each day challenge themselves with the question: “How are we contributing to growth today?”. I am proud to be part of a Government that is going for growth. Everything I do as a member of this House will be benchmarked against that and everything we do in this House should strive for the same. That is what this Government’s leadership is focused on and that is what must drive the Public Service. Our guardianship of this country is in relative terms for a short time. Our responsibility is to leave it a better place for those who follow. 
My arrival in this House is not the end of a journey but the beginning of a challenge. In concluding I have already acknowledged Ngati Awa my family and their support for me. I now take the opportunity to acknowledge the National Party and its Wellington metro branches and in particular its president Judy Kirk who has encouraged and cajoled me in moments of doubt. I also take this opportunity to record my indebtedness to certain other people: Ursula Quinn the Sisters of Compassion Therese Pimley Peter McCormack Rose and Bernard Grant Rolland O’Regan and Reg and Geraldine Power. Without their care and support I would not be standing here today. But most of all I thank my wife Viv who although initially a reluctant participant has none the less been prepared to put her own outstanding career on hold and to unselfishly support and allow me to pursue what I believe in. She is my beloved my confidante and my conscience and I thank her. No reira tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa kahuri. 
Waiata