Pallett Sarah; Mallard TrevorSARAH PALLETT (Labour—Ilam): Ahumairangi maunga Te Āti Awa tangata ngā tāngata whenua o te motu whānui tēnā koutou. Tātou ngā mema Pāremata te Tiriti o Waitangi nāna te motu nei i whakapou. Māku koe e hāpai. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Greetings to Ahumairangi mountain to Te Āti Awa people and to all indigenous people throughout the country. To the members of Parliament and to Te Tiriti o Waitangi the document that underpins this country I will uphold your values. Greetings one and all.]I begin my speech as I have begun every part of my personal journey here in Aotearoa New Zealand: in te reo Māori. You might recall that I took my affirmation in this place as a member of Parliament in te reo. Several years ago I also took my affirmation of citizenship in te reo. It's important to me to acknowledge Māori as tangata whenua of this land and to mark my personal commitment to upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi.Mr Speaker may I also add my voice to those before me who have congratulated you on your re-election to your role. I fully support the heartfelt words of my colleagues but on a more personal note thank you for being one of the first senior MPs to offer support and a kind word to this rookie candidate.In my previous role as a midwife I became used to dealing with unexpected arrivals. However perhaps one of the most unexpected arrivals of my career was myself in this place. It will come as no surprise that this happy delivery could not have taken place without an amazing team but my very first thankyou must go to the people of Ilam who have put their trust in me and given me this opportunity. That trust is no small thing. To them: I promise that I will serve you to the best of my ability and always work hard for you all. I also acknowledge the Hon Gerry Brownlee for his time spent representing the electorate since it was created in 1996. Mr Brownlee you spoke in your maiden speech of the pride and humility that you felt upon being elected to this place for the first time. I echo those sentiments. I'm sure that in future we will disagree on many matters but at this particular time I extend my genuine and grateful thanks to you for your 24 years of service to Ilam.No campaign is ever successful without the efforts of a wide group of people working toward a goal they believe in and so my heartfelt thanks go to my incredible Ilam campaign team. What the team lacked in size it made up for in energy and enthusiasm and I'm proud and honoured to have had you all working by my side. John Sullivan Anthony Rimell Alex Seren-Grace Merav Benaia and my campaign manager Matt Seren-Grace you all rock. To everyone who agreed to have a hoarding on their fence or waved a sign by the side of the road made a phone call delivered a leaflet baked a muffin staffed a table donated a dollar held a home meeting or tooted their car horn in support of our team I thank you. Huge thanks too to our amazing Labour campaign team and the team at Fraser House and of course our wonderful president Claire Szabó and women's vice president Fleur Fitzsimons.On a more personal note Dad watching I know it was a shock initially to find that I was on the red team but thank you for your unconditional support and love. I love you. My two daughters Alex and Bea—strong fearless relentlessly intelligent and loving—never forget who stands behind and beside you. You fill me with such pride and love every single day. Gloria Clegg also watching you have loved me and my daughters like a mother. I love you and miss you darling. Megan and Amy my extra daughters I am so blessed to have you in my family. Andy my best friend my biggest cheerleader my partner in everything thank you for being exactly who you are the man that I love and can't wait to be married to—and thanks for asking by the way. You often have more faith in me than I have in myself and I know that you always have my back as I do yours. I'm a better person in every way because you're by my side.If you've ever visited the University of Canterbury—moving on—seen the lions and giraffes at Orana Wildlife Park or flown into Christchurch Airport then you've visited Ilam. Ilam is also home to Kate Sheppard House Te Whare Waiutuutu. Standing in the garden of her home in September 1893 she read the telegram announcing that women had achieved the right to vote. In December last year when Te Whare Waiutuutu was opened to the public I was proud to stand in that same garden as the first woman MP for Ilam. Standing there I felt what I feel now: not the thrill of power but the weight of responsibility to the people I serve. I welcome that responsibility.I'm well aware that I am here because of the inspirational women leaders who have gone before women leaders who have climbed the career ladder and then tied it off firmly for those who were coming up behind them rather than kicking it down. I would like to acknowledge the Rt Hon Helen Clark Hon Lianne Dalziel Hon Dame Ann Hercus and Hon Ruth Dyson in particular for being truly extraordinary examples of this style of leadership. And I stand here because of the inspirational women around me: the Canterbury Labour women's branch a group of exceptional women who will do and are doing great things to support women; the amazing women I see in this place—too many to mention but I want to acknowledge my Canterbury colleagues Hon Dr Megan Woods Hon Poto Williams Jo Luxton and Dr Tracey McLellan. I'll also sneak in a mention for Dr Duncan Webb—clearly not as a woman but as a feminist ally—and of course our Prime Minister the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern. Prime Minister in a short time you have changed the conversation about what it is to be a genuine leader and had the courage to bring compassion and kindness back into leadership. I am often frustrated by how kindness is conflated with weakness when rather to lead with kindness takes enormous courage. In the best possible way Prime Minister you have set the bar higher for us all.I stand here too because of two particular women in my family. The first of these women is my great-grandmother. She all but ran away from home to serve as a nurse in the Boer War much to the horror of her family who had raised her to be largely decorative rather than useful. I was told that she resisted orders and used her designated rest time to treat soldiers who she was forbidden to help in her official duty time. In at least one case her actions saved a young man's life. She was disciplined at the time but her actions were later recognised by Queen Victoria. She was a woman of courage and strong belief in helping others no matter the personal cost to herself. The other is my mum.I was born in Jersey in the Channel Islands. Jersey is nearly 19000 kilometres away and only has a population now of 100000. As I grew up my mum was a nurse and midwife working permanent nights so that she could see me before and after school. My dad was a shop manager. We didn't have much money but I always had a roof over my head and I never knew what it was to go hungry. Earlier in her life Mum had been a midwife who rode around the East End of London on a bicycle catching the babies of women who were living in the extremes of poverty. The stark realities of life for people living in those conditions were made clear to me in the stories she told. So while I had a privileged upbringing in many ways my mum was always quick to remind me that the purpose of privilege and later of power is to advocate for elevate and support those who have less. My dad's stories were of his childhood lived under Nazi occupation in the Second World War of the bravery of his father in acts of rebellion that would have resulted in his removal to a labour camp at best had he been caught. But Dad's childhood wasn't a simple story of good versus evil but one of good people that were just following orders; of people not standing up against fascism when they had the chance and before the opportunity was lost. It was another important lesson for me that good intentions have to be backed up by actions or they are meaningless.When I was 21 my mum died of breast cancer. She was just 53—the same age I am today. She was first diagnosed when I was eight and later on the symptoms of what I now know were metastatic bone cancer were written off as just being in her mind. For years she was referred to a psychiatrist instead of an oncologist. Suffice to say that it's left me with strong feelings about how women's pain is commonly dismissed.Following Mum's death I moved to England got married and had my two amazing daughters. When they were very young I ran my own small business—a cloth nappy laundry service—endeavouring to balance employee welfare the financial bottom line and whole-of-life environmental costs and benefits.My then husband and I made plans to emigrate to New Zealand in 2003. However this was not to happen as we'd hoped as I was diagnosed with breast cancer myself aged just 36. But I was one of the lucky ones. The cancer was caught early. Prompt diagnosis and State-funded treatment undoubtedly saved my life yet cost me nothing. Personal experience should not be necessary to understand the benefits of universal healthcare but it does tend to focus the mind when you are facing the possibility of leaving two small children motherless.A few months after my successful treatment we completed our move to this beautiful country and made Ōtautahi—Christchurch—our home. With hindsight it's somewhat ironic that we chose Christchurch because we felt that the earthquake risk here in Wellington was too great—good one!We settled quickly although there were a few hiccups along the way. On one memorable occasion in true Kiwi tradition I was asked to bring a plate to a party. Ever helpful I literally took along not just one but a dozen empty plates. If one plate was needed surely 12 plates would be better but apparently not.I also had to teach my daughters that Goldilocks did not in fact have three beers"—that is far too many beers for a small child. It took me a while to get used to Kiwi vowels. Soon after I decided to take a new career path and joined the amazing women and men who are able after years of study to call themselves midwives. As a midwife I've been blessed with the trust of women and their whānau through the best of times and the worst of times. I've seen life at its most beautiful and ugly. I've seen the unmitigated joy on the faces of new parents perhaps after years of infertility. And then I've seen young people pregnant and traumatised by years of abuse the empty cupboards that greet a new family returning home the bruises that a mum can't hide the pain of addiction across the spectrum of rich and poor the kids that I sneaked into the hospital to get their first hot shower for months—their parents couldn't afford to turn the water heater on ever—and the baby being admitted to hospital with a preventable respiratory infection caused by the mould and damp in their home. Moving home was not an affordable option. These are all things that are not too far away from the stories that my mother told me of her experiences as a midwife 60 years ago. Many of these experiences involve women and systemic inequities. They resonate through many aspects of women's lives and in to the lives of everyone around them. They resonate across generations and when they are eliminated we all benefit. According to family legend my first word was "No". This will not come as a surprise to those who know me best. It does seem to be a trait in the family. My great-grandmother said no to orders and treated injured soldiers; my dad's family said no to accepting Nazi occupation and resisted; and my mum said no to poverty and deprivation and spent her life trying to help others. Just like them saying no is for me not enough without taking action and trying to make a difference which is why I stand here now. I will bring my ethic of hard work and hopefully some of my mum's boundless strength fearsome determination and relentless compassion to say no to policies and values that keep people in poverty no to systemic injustices and no to systems and processes that leave many at a disadvantage through no fault of their own. And I will say yes to the values that this Labour Government brings yes to achieving gender equity yes to warm dry affordable houses and yes to a robust health system that cares for us all. I'm here to work hard to make the greatest possible positive change for the largest number of people and to advocate for elevate and support those whose voice is smaller.I am honoured that the people of Ilam have elected me to be a part of this Government of strength and kindness one that sees cares wants to make changes and is now getting on with it and I will back up my promises to them with action in this place.In closing I'd like to share some advice that was given to me by a very good friend—wise advice to guide me through my time in this House. "Be yourself" they said "and don't be a deck."—I've got a lot better at those Kiwi vowels. Huri noa i tō tātou Whare tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa. [Applause]SPEAKER: Could I ask the people who were here to support Sarah to now move out so the next crew can come in please? Thank you. Waiata"