Worth Richard: General Debate 
Worth Richard: General Debate 
[Volume:621;Page:16814] 
RICHARD WORTH (National—Epsom) 
: 
 The arrival of the Unknown Warrior who lies state in the Legislative Council Chamber is an opportunity to reflect on the values that New Zealanders espouse. Most of us think little about these issues but I would say that the hallmarks of being a New Zealander include a commitment to tradition—both Maori and non-Maori share that value—a ruggedness and a self-reliance that characterise the settler tradition a belief in law and order a commitment to the family and in the wider context a commitment to friends and comrades. 
The present Government simply does not support those values and that is manifested in so many ways. It is seen in the pursuit of the social engineering agenda which the Government pursues relentlessly. The change is insidious. A good analogy is the fate of the frog: when it is dropped into boiling water it hops out substantially unscarred; when it is dropped into cold water and the water is then brought to the boil the frog is boiled alive. That is why these changed processes of the Government are so insidious. 
Social change is all around us. It is to be seen in the legalisation of prostitution which has removed the criminal sanction from that activity. It is to be seen in the steps that the Government has taken to advance the course of republicanism and I echo the statements that Tony Ryall made on behalf of National in that regard. There are a lot of indicators of that social change. There is the decision to stop appeals to the Privy Council when around the world countries are looking outside their jurisdictional boundaries to resolve disputes. It is seen in the degrading of the honours system. It is seen in the decision for no good reason that Queen’s Counsel should be renamed Senior Counsel. 
That is really only where it starts because in the context of the family the Care of Children Bill moves the focus away from parental rights and responsibilities to a wider group of caregivers who may have the most fleeting relationship with the child in their care. It seems the Government is determined to pass the Civil Union Bill which will provide State sanction for same-sex couples. It will allow people in marriages to reassemble their relationship as a civil union and it will mean that the responsibilities of married couples will be invested in de facto couples when de facto couples have deliberately opted out of the more formal structure of marriage. 
 We need to reflect on whether our traditions which are very much part of the New Zealand heritage are being advanced by the present social agenda. I think they are not and I would ask some questions which would include the following. Who really believes that the police should send taxis in response to 111 calls? Who really believes that it is not justified to take the life of an intending killer who enters a farm house? Who really believes that a criminal should be compensated for his or her experience in jail? Who really believes that the problems of a mother on the domestic purposes benefit are solved by having more children to serial partners? National does not. We stand against that. 
In most cases those who went to war and did not return left mourning families behind: wives sons daughters brothers sisters and parents. They died for a cause that reflected the traditional values that I have referred to. Whether they volunteered for reasons relating to the enthusiasm of youth or the duty of service they were on any view of it warrior figures who were prepared to commit their lives to the cause they believed in. I assert that the values of society over long time frames have an immutable quality and that that quality is worthy both of nurture and of maintenance. If we salute the Unknown Warrior we must also commit to perpetuate the values that that warrior stood for and that our society should unstintingly support. That is where National is.