Maiden Statements 
Maiden Statements 
[Volume:651;Page:871] 
Maiden Statements 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Honourable members we come to the last of the maiden statements. As has been the practice for previous statements I ask that you limit your congratulatory messages so that the incoming member can conduct his or her maiden statement. 
LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 Mr Deputy Speaker congratulations on your appointment. Members of Parliament ladies and gentlemen friends and family I stand before you as a servant of the people of Taupo and of New Zealand. I am proud to be a National Party member of Parliament and proud to be a member of the Government led by John Key. On 8 November New Zealanders voted for change. They voted for better opportunities for the freedom to make choices in their own lives and for a Government focused on a brighter future. Today is my opportunity to introduce myself to share my journey to Parliament and also to share what I hope to achieve while I am here. I am Louise Upston; my maiden name was McGill. I am a fourth-generation New Zealander. When my family arrived here New Zealand was the promised land the land of opportunity. New Zealand was the chance for our forefathers to better themselves and their families. My father was born in Southland my mother in Selwyn. I was born in North Shore and raised in East Coast Bays. I first voted in Tamaki and had my first child in Mt Albert. I was married in Waikato but I chose to raise my children in the heart of the Taupo electorate. 
My father Ian who is here today and my late mother Norma shaped me. My parents taught me about hard work and determination. As I was the youngest of four my sisters and brother taught me a few lessons too. I learnt that I had to stick my head up to be noticed. I learnt to persevere when the odds seemed stacked against me and not to take no for an answer. These lessons had stood me in good stead when at the age of 19 I launched my first business. Since then I have been an employee an employer a manager a leader and a director. I have been in a range of industries including local government tourism education broadcasting and information technology. This is the breadth of experience that I bring to my electorate and to this House. 
Life has not always been easy for me; I have seen success and failure personally and professionally and I have learnt from it. Determination and a bit of guts have enabled me to overcome the challenges by getting over them around them through them or under them. 
Honourable members we all know the hard work it is to get a seat in this House. We work hard to get here. Getting a seat in this House has been a goal of mine for many years and many people have also worked hard to help me take my place here—in particular my husband Craig. Craig is an incredibly generous man who knows the importance of setting one’s sights high standing up for what one believes in and never giving up: Craig I could not have done it without you. To my children: Hamish my teacher; Mac my warrior; and Jessica my princess; my father my hero; and my late mother my guide; and to the many friends and extended family who encouraged me to follow my dream—thank you for your love and support; for your patience and your generosity. 
And I have the best “blue” crew in the country—we turned Taupo blue—they were as determined as I was to win the seat and worked incredibly hard with me to achieve the goal. I say thanks from the bottom of my heart to the National Party volunteers from Taupo led so well by campaign manager Simon Lusk and electorate chairperson Hilary Brown. Of course we have a very special Taupo resident—party president Judy Kirk who took this great party from its darkest days in 2002 to its brightest in 2008. 
To the Prime Minister the Hon John Key I say: “Thank you for your belief in a better New Zealand for your unwillingness to accept mediocrity and for your strength in these turbulent times. New Zealanders have put their faith and trust in you and I know they won’t be disappointed.” 
So why am I here? Because we need change—not change for change’s sake but real change that makes a difference to the lives of ordinary New Zealanders change that will give us a brighter future. First we have to change our attitude—dreaming big dreams setting big goals celebrating excellence acknowledging achievement and nurturing tall poppies. New Zealanders can do it. 
 Nelson Mandela once quoted Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Our unique Kiwi spirit has power. In recent times it has been suppressed. Political correctness has invaded our homes our lives and our minds. Mediocrity has replaced excellence and fear has replaced courage. We are all pioneers whether our waka arrived this decade or last century and no matter where we started our journey we are all pioneers. That is what makes us unique. 
The people of this country we pioneers are all different. We are all equal and we can all succeed at something. Every New Zealander can do well and as a Government we want New Zealanders to do well. National is determined to raise the bar. I am proud to be part of a Government that will expect more—more of ourselves more of our Government departments and more of the communities we represent. We will not sit back and watch this great country go backwards. We will face the challenges head on. We will move nimbly when needed and boldly when necessary. We all know we are in challenging times. Resilience and determination and the belief in better days ahead will see us through. 
First and foremost I am here to represent the people of Taupo. The mighty Waikato River connects the people of my electorate from the peak of Mount Tongariro to the horse studs of Cambridge; from the trout capital of Turangi to the forest land of Tokoroa; and from the tourist Mecca of Taupo to the finest dairy farms in Tirau and Putaruru. My focus is on the people of Taupo and representing them. I have heard too many stories of hard-working New Zealanders trying to get ahead and having to fight a system that is meant to be there to support them. It should be simple for people to get the assistance they need. There are too many rules and regulations policies and procedures and not enough common sense. 
My parents had lots of common sense: they valued education because it meant opportunity. That is why education is my top priority. Every New Zealander has the right to a great education because education provides opportunities. We need to give every New Zealander the skills and knowledge to succeed. Currently one in five of our children fail. At one of the schools in my electorate 20 high school students have a reading age of 8. Our education system has failed those children. If they cannot read or write their opportunities in life will be severely limited. We should be helping those children and that is why I am proud to be part of National’s crusade for literacy and numeracy. As a parent as well as a politician I know that education is the first step on the path to success. 
Teachers and principals are doing the hard graft: doing their best to provide an environment where our children can learn. They deserve the resources to get the job done and our support to let them make decisions about how best to do their job. With our support and parent support teachers and principals will teach our children to strive and achieve aim high and work hard. Excellence in education will ensure New Zealand has a brighter future. 
My second priority is keeping New Zealand safe again. In March this year over a thousand people gathered in Taupo at a Sensible Sentencing Trust event. I saw ordinary New Zealanders demonstrating their disgust at the murder of Karen Aim. They were claiming back their town and demanding action to make it safe again. There are simple ways to do that. By changing the laws around sentencing bail and repeat offenders we can reduce crime committed by known criminals. 
Let me tell the House about a family in my electorate; about an innocent young girl with her whole life ahead of her—Krystal Bennett. She was stolen from her family by a known criminal: a disqualified driver who was driving an unwarranted unregistered vehicle and was a repeat drugged driver. The offender was on bail. She was awaiting sentencing for a crime she had committed 6 months earlier and not far from this Chamber she crossed the centre line ploughed into Krystal and killed her. 
The suffering of her family the Barnetts their lives ruined by a career criminal was dramatically increased by the previous Government which seemed indifferent to the victims of crime yet frittered millions of dollars on criminals. The victims—Sharlene and Malcolm—lost their daughter. They had to fight to get justice when they should have been supported by a system that puts victims ahead of criminals. Our police need our support in their fight for safer communities. In the fight to reduce crime New York’s former mayor Giuliani understood that police supported by politicians are much stronger than those attacking them. Mayor Giuliani backed his police force to reduce the crime rate. 
It seems everyone is presumed innocent except the police. They act courageously and make terribly difficult decisions in the line of duty and we repay that by hounding them in the media launching immediate inquiries and subjecting them to intense scrutiny. Why do we not support our police? Why do we not back them? Are we going to have to implement Tasers with video cameras to prove the police are innocent? Let us not be mistaken: the police are good the criminals are bad. It is as simple as that. We need to support our police and not tie them in knots with bureaucracy. 
Like all honourable members I want to ensure that New Zealand has a great future; a future where education is valued and our communities are safe. I am ambitious for my country my community and my kids. In this House we talk. We need to do more than talk. We need to act with courage and determination and to work hard for New Zealand. There are challenges ahead and I am realistic about the size of them. I am excited about being part of a team that will deliver a brighter future to New Zealand. 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) 
: 
 Can I begin by congratulating Eric Roy on his appointment as Assistant Speaker. It is a pleasure for me to see him in the Speaker’s Chair for my maiden statement given the important role he played in my decision to stand as a National Party candidate. I thank him and give thanks to my fellow southern National members Jacqui Dean Jo Goodhew and the Hon Bill English for their support this year. Former member Katherine Rich also gave me guidance and I thank Katherine on behalf of the people of Dunedin for her years of service. May I also congratulate the Hon Dr Lockwood Smith and Messrs Tisch and Barker on their appointments as Speaker Deputy Speaker and Assistant Speaker respectively. Coming as I do near the end of a long line of maiden statements I am reminded of United States Senator George Mitchell’s comments about commencement speeches. He said: “I feel a bit like Elizabeth Taylor’s 5th husband. I know what to do but I am not sure how to make it interesting.” I will do my best to keep your interest Mr Assistant Speaker. 
I want to acknowledge and congratulate my National caucus colleagues and in particular those who have entered Parliament for the first time in 2008. Much has been made of National’s move to a more representative caucus particularly in gender and ethnicity. That focus detracts a little from the fact that these colleagues are remarkable individuals in their own right all of them and I feel privileged to be a part of the class of 2008. To all those accorded the honour of representing our people in the 49th Parliament congratulations. 
My own journey from hospital manager to member of Parliament has been by any measure a swift one. I am very mindful of the confidence placed in me by my party. I look forward to demonstrating that that confidence is well placed and I pledge my absolute loyalty to the National Party and commit to upholding its values and vision for New Zealand. The Hon John Key and the Hon Bill English are the most formidable Prime Minister - Deputy Prime Minister combination of the postwar era at a time when their skills in economic management are most needed and I am privileged to be a member of their caucus. I am indebted to the party membership in Dunedin and to those who supported my campaign as a candidate for Dunedin North in particular party president Judy Kirk; regional chair Kate Hazlett; electorate chair Sandra Christie; campaign manager Scott Mason; committee and campaign members; and so many others to whom I do a disservice by not mentioning. Thank you to those who gave their support as volunteers. It is through their efforts that a robust democracy is given strength and vitality. 
I want to pay tribute to my best friend wife and huge support Amanda. I am truly fortunate to have her in my life. Thank you for your unwavering support. My daughters Emily Isabel and Chloe have kept me grounded and given us more joy than they will ever know. They are my reason. They represent the future of this great country. Whatever demands are placed on me I will not forget my responsibilities as husband and father. There will be times when duty requires the sacrifice of time otherwise spent with them. I thank them for their understanding in those times. I am delighted they are here to share this milestone but slightly disconcerted at the fact that my children are far more excited at the prospect of meeting the Prime Minister than catching up with their dad. I dedicate this address to my late father Allan. I know he is watching and proud of this achievement even if he might tease my choice of party. I share this day with my mother Pat. I am honoured by her presence despite her own health challenges. There are many other family members watching here in Dunedin and around New Zealand and I thank them for their support. 
Although elected from the National Party list it is my privilege to represent the people of Dunedin in this House. I believe it is incumbent on all list members to be as active in representing a constituency as electorate MPs are be that geographical cultural gender-based or some other form of representation. Twenty-two thousand five hundred Dunedinites cast their party vote to my party and they have a voice in me. But of course my service is to all the people of Dunedin. I have blue and gold blood running through my veins and I will work hard for the south. I want to acknowledge the Hon Pete Hodgson MP for Dunedin North and the other Dunedin-based MPs. Despite differences in political philosophy we are all working in the best interests of Dunedin. 
Dunedin and Otago have a rich heritage one that my colonial ancestors helped fashion. My great-great-grandfather James Woodhouse emigrated from Lancashire and in 1862 discovered gold at the junction of the Teviot and Clutha rivers near Roxburgh. No great wealth was passed down however as he purchased the Bannockburn Hotel and fathered eight children. In those days in Central Otago churches were not permanently established and the pastors and priests maintaining the spiritual health of those pioneers were a transient group. Family legend has it that wife Mary was so keen to ensure her brood were christened that she used whichever man of faith was around at the time each child was born. Thus according to legend descendants of James and Mary were christened Methodist Catholic Presbyterian Anglican and so on. I am not sure how true this is but if it is then my great-grandfather was born when the Catholic priest was passing through. My maternal great-great-grandfather was Patrick Lyng an immigrant from Dublin and Lawrence’s first butcher around the time of the Gabriel’s Gully gold rush. 
I was born and raised in South Dunedin in a family of nine children the first eight of whom were born before the eldest had had his 8th birthday. This gave me some interesting early life experiences. Although not really conscious of it we were not well off. By today’s standards we might have been considered poor. But thanks to outstanding parenting and after surviving running battles and backyard rugby with five brothers a certain degree of resilience and self-sufficiency developed. That which today is considered a necessity but which was very much a luxury then had to be earned by working. Part-time jobs before and after school were the norm—up to three at a time while at high school. My mother is fortunate that so many of her children and grandchildren still call Dunedin home. Sadly that is not the case for many New Zealanders who fly thousands of miles overseas to attend the weddings of their children. Grandparents now need to learn how to use a webcam to talk to their grandchildren. We Kiwis have always yearned to travel and I look forward to working in a Government that yearns to bring them home again. 
Despite the economic downturn I have every confidence in the medium-term future. We are rich in natural resources and with practical and sustainable use of those resources our economy can grow at a much greater rate than has been the recent experience. Tourism for example has massive untapped potential particularly in the south. It is tempting to keep the richness of our tourist destinations to ourselves. Indeed the wonder of the recent increase in the tourist trade in Central Otago the Catlins and the Otago Peninsula is not that it is occurring but that it has taken the rest of the world 150 years to cotton on to what we have always known—that the south is amongst the most beautiful and dramatic regions in the world. 
However we are at risk of not fulfilling our intellectual and entrepreneurial potential. Our universities and in particular Otago University are founts of awesome knowledge and research capability. The challenge for government is to encourage them to increase their ability to harness and develop that knowledge onshore convert knowledge into commercially viable industries and overcome the tyranny of distance. By this I mean a targeted research and development support not an ill-targeted tax credits regime. National’s ultra high-speed broadband strategy has the potential to overcome the distance problem and create opportunities not even conceived. 
I believe it is the responsibility of government to create an environment wherein its citizens can aspire to achieve all they can and wish for. It is for individual citizens to seize that opportunity. When the fruits of effort are achievement and reward they should be congratulated thanked and celebrated for that achievement. That reward might not be financial but if it is that is also something to be celebrated not envied and criticised. I fear that in this country we are conditioning our young people away from such aspiration. I have led successful businesses but not actually owned them; I admire those who do. They operate in the face of personal and financial risk in a very complex regulatory environment. It was incongruous of the previous Government to claim to support the growth of industries and then drown them in regulation and red tape. It was incongruous to claim to respect the autonomy of its citizens and then seek to control aspects of their lives that Governments have no business being in. Fundamentally this comes down to trust. I believe it is government’s role to create the environment wherein businesses and individuals can aspire to fulfil their potential and then trust its people to get on and achieve. 
I also roundly reject the notion offered by some that conservatism and social justice are mutually exclusive. I will be a strong advocate for social justice. But social justice is not served by inaction in intergenerational welfare dependency increasing illiteracy rates family dysfunction and the poverty of spirit that pervades many sectors of society. I do not accept that those who are successful have somehow climbed on the shoulders of others. We have a duty of care to help those less fortunate but no good is served by the politics of envy. 
 Until recently it was my privilege to be the chief executive officer of Mercy Hospital Dunedin a private surgical hospital owned by Nga Whaea Atawhai o Aotearoa—Sisters of Mercy New Zealand. I thank my Mercy team for their huge support on this journey. The story of the sisters and their foundress Catherine McAuley inspires and challenges me and forms the basis of my leadership ethos. Reconciling the demands of highly technically-advanced healthcare organisations with compassionate care of the sick and vulnerable is not easy but it is possible following simple principles. One thing I understood implicitly was that none of the hospital’s funds could be committed to charitable work unless they were first earned. I also understood that the more we earned the more good we could do. I see parallels with the functions of government in that respect. In my time as Mercy’s chief executive officer and as president of the New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association I have presided over the growth in both demand for and supply of private surgical services. I believe that an ideological mindset has prevented better use of spare capacity in private hospitals and that has been to the detriment of the health of New Zealanders. I firmly believe that the future of this nation’s health is based on a strong and sustainable public sector. That said New Zealanders have a right to good information on what they can reasonably expect from the public system in order that they can make informed choices. If opportunities exist to better use the private sector to enhance the health of the nation they should be taken. I strongly support my party’s policy in this regard. 
Next week Mercy Hospital will perform 36 grommet and tonsillectomy operations on children languishing on the Dunedin Hospital waiting list. Medical staff will give their time for free and the private hospital will cover all other costs—hardly the actions of a profit-motivated private sector. This has occurred several times and is happening because of surgeons’ frustration at worsening public waiting times. It is time to re-engage the medical and nursing staff who feel increasingly disenfranchised from the decision-making process and to put the patient at the centre of healthcare delivery. We must accept with good grace that not all the needs can be met by the public purse but I do not accept that this is as good as it gets. The rest of the world is embracing new ways of delivering care using amazing new technologies and therapies. Back-office staff cannot make those changes; only a re-engaged medical and nursing staff can. Again it comes down to trust. 
Mr Assistant Speaker as you know I am very keen on rugby and have been a premier referee for many years. We have similar roles in a way: both penalising the offside and preventing the repeated infringements that spoil the contest. I use a couple of tools in refereeing—these red and yellow cards—that might be useful to you. I would be very happy to lend them for use with one or two worthy recipients. 
I will work to encourage policies of aspiration equity of opportunity the celebration of success and the compassionate of support of those who need Government assistance. The people of Aotearoa New Zealand deserve no less from us and I will work to the best of my ability as their representative to achieve that end. 
AARON GILMORE (National) 
: 
 About 25 years ago I sat in the living room of our family State house in Corhampton Street in Aranui. It was early August and freezing cold. It was night and we did not have enough money to put in the electricity meter to give us power. We had some light from some large candles that sat on the table and my grandmother and I were having Weet-Bix for dinner. The next morning we could not afford breakfast and I went hungry until a kind teacher of mine bought me lunch. That day and many others like it while growing up in the eastern suburbs of Christchurch taught me valuable lessons: the merits of hard work of a good education and of the freedom of choice over compulsion; and the importance of family. 
Today I stand before members in this wonderful House before many other talented New Zealanders. Some members are old enough to be my parents. Some are like me new young faces in this Parliament. I look forward to working with all members. In my career to date I have found that a good team will beat a great individual any time—and our Government is a great team. 
I represent the so-called Generation X. It is my generation who will soon take the torch and have the responsibility to lead New Zealand and look after those who raised us in better economic times. Too many of my generation have decided to make their lives in other countries. I took a stand to create a global business career here in New Zealand most recently working in the export manufacturing sector running new technology ventures for a major multinational. As a trained economist with a lot of time in the corporate sector I believe I have the necessary skills and experiences that this Parliament may require in these tough economic times—though someone said to me the other day that the purpose of astrologers is to make economists look good. 
I come to this House as its luckiest member this term—elected on our party list by fewer than 40 votes across the entire country. Sir Edmund Hillary once said to me in 1990 when I was a member of New Zealand Youth to Everest that it is funny how good luck follows those who are determined and work hard. I would like to thank 40 of my 56 cousins for voting for our party for the first time in 2008. A member needs only enough votes to get him or her here but I have no plans to remain the most marginal member of this House. 
Today is a good day to be a New Zealander with our National Government led by our wonderful Prime Minister the Hon John Key. I am honoured to be a junior member of this Government and under his leadership and I look forward to spending many years working with him. Of course I would also like to pay thanks to the Speaker for all the good work and sound guidance he has provided. There are a few other people I would like to thank: my campaign team the wisdom and wit of my regional chair Roger Bridge and the formidable determination and grace of our party president Judy Kirk. 
But today is also a great day to be from my home. Today for the first time in 154 years my community has a new voice in Parliament to represent it in our nation’s capital. I am humbled to be that voice. You see National has never until now in its proud parliamentary history had an MP from my community. Over that time my mother’s family who are from Tuahiwi have lived in eastern Christchurch while my father’s family comes from Taumutu. My mother Kay was expelled from two schools due to abuse experienced at home and was placed in foster care when young. She went on to a career as a seamstress and is well known through Parklands after 20-odd years on the school parent teacher association making uniforms for sports teams and being mum to three stroppy boys. My dad Garry suffered constant taunts from an abusive stepfather as the sole fair-skinned red-headed boy growing up in a Maori village so much so that he changed his name at 18 to Gilmore which is our family name today. He has spent most of his life working as a cobbler. 
Money—or rather the lack of it—has always been a hot topic in our house and in our wider family and that has driven me to be careful with it. We have always as a wider family worked together to share our meagre resources to make sure no one goes without for too long. I will bring the same focus to Parliament. 
Named after the great Elvis Aaron Presley I am the son of Kiwi battlers. My parents worked 18-hour days for years to save enough money to buy our small family house where we and my two brothers Craig and Nigel lived. 
The two communities my parents were from were founded by the survivors from the greatest military loss in our history. This was not from the killing fields of Europe but from the greatest loss of life in one day for the people of Aotearoa which occurred in 1832 at Kaiapoi Pa north of Christchurch. In one day the largest single population of Maori in New Zealand at that time was massacred. Over 3000 people were lost and only a handful of survivors remained to tell the story. This tragedy is one that needs to be taught about in schools and to be rated alongside that of Passchendaele Gallipoli and the Somme which are honoured in this House. 
The electorate I come from is my home. It is where I was born and raised attending my then local primary school decile 2 Parkview School and becoming its first-ever MP. I recently spoke to some 5-year-olds from my old school. I hoped I would offer them the inspiration and the ambition to break through the glass ceiling put before them that I experienced. I also attended Shirley Boys High School in Christchurch and in its 51-year history I am its first MP as well. I will not be the last MP from my old schools. 
 Christchurch East was historically one of the poorest electorates in New Zealand but no longer is that the case. It is one of large contrasts. Some of the poorest people in New Zealand are still there and have progressed little under previous Governments. As well as having many new suburbs with many affluent people it is rural in the north and urban in the south with the heavily polluted Avon River running near its bottom. The eastern suburbs like many growing areas need more schools roads and jobs and lower pollution and crime. The lack of broadband is a laughing joke in the area. National will actively work to fix many of these things while it is in Government. 
I returned home 4 years ago. I am a loyal Cantabrian. Our beaches our forests our rivers and above all Canterbury’s people are what I love. The fact that I can now help people in my community makes me happy. To get this far has been an effort combining family members friends and teamwork and it has been a triumph over obstacles. All my life people have said I will not make it. As a kid I experienced poverty; I did not like it. In recent years with hard work and wise investments I have experienced relative wealth; I liked that better. I have stayed in $2000-a-night hotels in India. They were quite nice but not as nice as sleeping under the stars on a warm summer’s evening beside Lake Sumner in the Southern Alps with some friends—that was free. I have lunched with billionaires and beggars and learnt something from both. 
More people can achieve the same wonderful contrasting experiences if they too get a good education and work hard. I was lucky to have the love and guidance of my late grandmother Doreen Kennedy-Spiers-Humm who pushed me to read widely to go to school and to go to university. By going to university I achieved something no one in my family had ever achieved before. My parents Garry and Kay instilled in me some great values which I hold true today: integrity honesty openness respect for others hard work a love of the outdoors determination and a good sense of humour. Representing young families I also hope to be an example like many others in my caucus that people from disadvantaged backgrounds can with hard work and determination succeed against significant odds. 
I acknowledge my biggest supporters today. Jenny the love of my life and the best woman a man could have is my rock in the often turbulent waters of our hectic lives. And of course to my beautiful children Blake and Evelyn I say Dad loves them more than they can imagine. 
I want to be an example of what other kids out there can achieve. Ours is a Government of ambition and aspiration for all. Together we need to ascend to the heights of our aspiration. When I was 10 I was told I would never finish school and would only be trouble. I proved those who said that wrong and went on to complete two university degrees. The street I grew up on was deemed by the police to be one of the worst in New Zealand 2 years running due to insidious gang violence. That is not an excuse to fail; it is an opportunity to succeed. When I was 19 I was told I would never make a living doing what I wanted to do in New Zealand yet I have done well enough in New Zealand to be resented by some and labelled a rich prick. When I was 25 I was told after contracting a rare eye condition called keratoconus that I would never see again but today with the miracle of modern New Zealand - developed technology I can. 
Those who know me well know I am also passionate and loyal. I like to live my life by a saying that I understand comes from Mario Andretti: “If everything seems under control then you just aren’t going fast enough.” 
Sir Jack Marshall in his maiden speech many years ago spoke of four parts of liberalism. I identify with much of what he said. The one pillar that we are still a long way from achieving in New Zealand is the one that we should be most concerned about: the pursuit of economic liberty. New Zealand in my lifetime has gone only backwards on the goal of achieving economic liberty. We need to fix that by giving people greater freedom to grow the economy with less intervention by improving productivity and by having a smaller Government and a smarter investment in people and technology. 
New Zealand can be the most prosperous country in the OECD—at the top not in the top half. We need to be a nation that is more than the world’s farmer; we need to create wealth from our minds. We must work smarter to compete on the world stage. We must be prepared to take new risks on young people and on technology. We are blessed with natural resources and smart people. Let us use them to our advantage and not lock them away or encourage people to go to other places. Let us embrace technology for the good it can do and not shun it in fear. Let us dream a little of a New Zealand that I think we all want: a New Zealand that is safe clean prosperous and of course fun; one where people from all walks of life have a quality of life second to none; and one that is a melting pot of the world’s cultures. 
I have worked in 11 nations and I have seen good and bad in all of them. We should model ourselves on the best bits of them but retain our unique Kiwi identity. We are ourselves a nation of immigrants from many of those places. I myself am an amalgam of many races—Irish Scottish Danish and a little bit Maori—but I am 100 percent Kiwi. New Zealand should be the same—the best combination of the world today. But today that is only a dream. Too many people define themselves by their race and not by our nationality. We need our kids to aspire to greatness whoever they are and wherever they come from. For too long we have said that people cannot succeed due to poverty the colour of their skin or where they live. We are one small nation; we just need to work together. The comedian Billy Connolly had it right when he said: “New Zealand wasn’t the end of the world but you could see it from there.” So more than any other nation we all need to paddle in the same direction or we will sink. 
Our nation is great at sport. Eastern Christchurch today may be middle New Zealand but it is home to many of New Zealand’s greatest sportspeople. But I want our kids to aspire to more than just sporting greatness. We need our kids to aspire to be a Richard Branson as well as a Richie McCaw. We need our schools to be the best in the world so that more poor kids can improve their lot. Low-decile schools like those that I attended are not what they used to be. Kids in these schools do not achieve. Education as we have heard many times in the last few weeks is the pathway out of poverty to prosperity. Large numbers of young people are still leaving school with insufficient skills for the global economy while too many of our most talented choose to leave New Zealand and never return. We need more people to have high-income jobs in New Zealand driven by high technology and good old-fashioned hard work. We need our country to be safe so that only the criminals feel unsafe. We need a country where we are compassionate and care for the old the poor the sick and the infirm; and where our natural areas remain international examples of splendour that we cherish and do not pollute. 
Today that is all a faraway dream. Well when I was a child eating Weet-Bix by candlelight in my grandmother’s State house I realised that dreams come only to those who work to make them happen. Now the challenge we have together becomes to deliver on my dreams. My only fear is that there is not enough willingness across this House to deliver a New Zealand that we all want. So I say to members the words of George Patton: “Lead follow or get out of the way.” 
JOHN BOSCAWEN (ACT) 
: 
 Firstly I congratulate Mr Speaker and his colleagues on their appointments as Speaker Deputy Speaker and Assistant Speakers respectively. I acknowledge the Hon Wayne Mapp and Phil Twyford fellow contestants for the seat of North Shore and I thank them for the manner in which they conducted their campaigns. I also acknowledge and congratulate all other new members of Parliament and I wish them well in their careers. 
I too am humbled privileged and honoured to have been elected an ACT list member of Parliament and to have been given the opportunity to serve. To all those who supported ACT throughout New Zealand I say a very sincere thank you. 
I have a vision of New Zealand as a country that is safe rich and prosperous and once again enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the world. Our problems are man-made and if we are as a first step to lift our living standards to the level of those in Australia we need to break the cycle of dependency and create an environment that encourages rather than discourages hard work thrift and enterprise. We need to reduce taxes increase productivity and improve our international competitiveness. 
Education will be absolutely fundamental to achieving this vision—not just in ensuring that every child leaves school able to read and write but equally important in changing attitudes. Kelvin Davis said in the House last week: “Educational engagement and achievement is vital to Maori greatness and prosperity. We will achieve more with one full generation of highly educated Maori than we will from the last 168 years of grievance.” I totally agree. During my time in Parliament I expect to play a part in making my vision of a prosperous inclusive country a reality. 
Throughout life our parents teachers mentors and experiences shape our philosophies values and beliefs. A maiden speech is an opportunity to publicly acknowledge and thank those who have contributed to making us who we are today. My late sister Leanne and I were privileged to grow up in a loving two-parent family. My early memories are of my father Owen who was a schoolteacher while my mother Beverley Wheeler—who with my partner Jane is sitting in the gallery today—sacrificed her early career to stay at home and raise Leanne and me. I am deeply indebted to both my parents for the start in life they gave me and for the values they instilled in me. 
My father—who sadly passed away last November—had an unparalleled association with Otahuhu College that spanned over 60 years. He was a pupil a head boy prefect a teacher in the 1950s and 60s a Fulbright scholar and finally the job he coveted most: principal of Otahuhu College for 14 years from 1972. My father was highly regarded by most in education circles and he devoted his life to the school and its pupils. He was constantly pushing teachers and pupils to excel and to achieve their maximum potential be it academically in sport or in other ways. 
Just a few years before he suffered a stroke in 2001 he gave me a copy of the interview notes that he had prepared over 25 years earlier for his 1971 interview as principal for me to use in writing his obituary. I was surprised to read that as early as 1971 he was calling for the teaching of the Maori language at Otahuhu College. He then learnt Maori through correspondence school and because of the shortage of Maori language teachers taught it himself to fifth form School Certificate level in addition to performing his duties as principal. Maori culture is one of the things that surely makes New Zealand and New Zealanders unique and gives us all a sense of identity. Who in this House is not moved by the many waiata and haka from the public gallery that have followed so many of our maiden speeches? 
For most of his last 6 years my father was treated with dignity and respect by the hard-working and generally lowly paid staff of ParkHaven Hospital in Mangere. I thank them. I believe that their families can enjoy higher standards of education through greater choice greater certainty of health care and higher standards of living as a consequence of ACT’s policies and that is one of the reasons why I have come to Parliament. 
My mother sister and I also attended Otahuhu College. I now follow the Rt Hon David Lange as the second old student of Otahuhu College to enter Parliament. My father taught us both. 
My maternal grandmother Mona Wheeler was the most selfless kind and loving grandmother any child could possibly have. She was absolutely devastated as we all were when Leanne died as a result of a car accident at the age of 20. Leanne was an outstanding sportswoman outgoing a Rotary exchange student and she packed more into her short life than many do in a normal lifetime. 
As children my mother tried to encourage in us a sense of thrift. Each week my sister and I were given initially 2s 6d then 25c as pocket money. What was left at the end of the week my mother doubled and it had to be banked in our school bank accounts. I soon worked out that 100 percent interest over a week was a very good return and for several years my passbook showed weekly deposits of 50c. With a savings culture ingrained in me as a child I was instantly attracted in 1995 to ACT’s policy of significant tax cuts with a portion dedicated to compulsory savings. The Rt Hon Winston Peters eventually incorporated most aspects of ACT’s policy into his own referendum on compulsory savings which was sadly lost in 1997 by 93 percent to 7 percent. In my view this was a major lost opportunity for New Zealand and New Zealanders. 
I congratulate the Hon Dr Michael Cullen on the introduction of KiwiSaver and I hope that the recent changes reducing the minimum contribution to 2 percent will see even greater numbers of ordinary working families participate. This will hopefully provide the foundation for the scheme to become compulsory sometime in the future. In my view nothing will give ordinary New Zealanders greater freedom independence and certainty than knowing that in retirement their living and medical expenses will be adequately covered. While those not working or with inadequate savings will need to be provided for this must surely be better than relying on future generations of politicians to bid for the votes of the elderly as they do now. 
My parents also encouraged my entrepreneurial efforts. For many years as a child I would get up early on a Sunday morning and ride my bike around the streets of Papatoetoe and Otara collecting beer bottles. At university I developed a miniature golf course at Mt Maunganui which my father helped build and my mother and grandmother ran during the summer holidays. Following my graduation with a BCom from Auckland University I worked initially as an accountant at UEB Industries then at Eta Foods. Like a lot of people at this time I borrowed heavily to invest in the stock market and lost everything and more in 1987. I fought off the threat of bankruptcy at the age of 30 and after 5 years of insolvency and with the support of both my parents I eventually emerged as the developer and outright owner of the 100000-square-foot K-mart Plaza Shopping Centre in Hastings in 1992 which I fully debt funded. 
I was lucky however. I was young hard-working and committed with more than adequate time to rebuild financially. I contrast my situation with that of a large number of New Zealanders in their 60s 70s and 80s who have lost all or part of their life-savings through recent finance company failures. This is a tragedy as most of these people unlike me will have little chance to rebuild their savings. The fact that so many can lose so much with no government intervention is in my view a disgrace. 
Developing the K-mart Plaza in Hastings was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it has changed my life in so many ways since 1992. Firstly it has enabled me to travel extensively throughout the world and to have the privilege of experiences few New Zealanders enjoy. For example I found it impossible to stand inside Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben Island or in its limestone quarry without having enormous respect for all that he endured and achieved. Alternatively when visiting eye hospitals in India I constantly asked myself why the elderly in New Zealand must wait for cataract operations when advances in technology in recent years should have made this a relatively simple quick inexpensive and on-demand operation. 
During this time I have been free to support various philanthropic causes. I am a member of the Rotary Club of Downtown Auckland and I am proud that Rotary International a worldwide organisation with over a million members has been instrumental in virtually eliminating polio from the world over the last 25 years. The love of music and culture instilled as a child sees me a trustee of the Auckland Philharmonia Foundation and I take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of the Hon Judith Tizard and all that she did in promoting the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Bill last term. 
I have also been able to devote considerable time and resources to the ACT Party. I first stood for ACT in Epsom in 1996 and like so many of ACT’s candidates in 2008 I had no expectation of being elected; rather my role was to help get others into parliament. For those who did the same for me this year I am sincerely grateful. I acknowledge all those ACT MPs who have come before me and in particular the Hon Rodney Hide and the Hon Heather Roy who have kept the party together over the last 3 years; the selfless contribution of the Hon Richard Prebble; and Dr Muriel Newman who through her website first alerted me to the Electoral Finance Bill last August and the ease with which I could make a submission. I have the greatest admiration for the Hon Sir Roger Douglas and the foresight and courage he showed in addressing the country’s problems during the fourth Labour Government. Without his encouragement I would not be here today and I will regard it as a privilege to work with him over the next 3 years. 
In addition I acknowledge and thank so many others: our volunteers our electorate committees our parliamentary staff our party and campaign staff and all those who supported us financially. Special thanks go to the board our party president Gary Mallett and our vice-president and my North Shore campaign chairman Michael Crozier who is with us this afternoon. I also want to make special mention of ACT’s longest-serving and most selfless tireless and committed individual: Brian Nicolle. 
I now turn to the Electoral Finance Bill which was introduced into this House last July. Incredibly the Government sought to regulate virtually every form of political expression for the full election year. Anyone who wanted to express any form of political opinion was to be required as a minimum to sign a declaration before a justice of the peace before they spent a single dollar expressing their view. Worse still the Government’s own lawyers the Crown Law Office thought this was perfectly acceptable and not in breach of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. It is hard to imagine a more Draconian attempt to muzzle free speech. If New Zealanders disagreed they needed to say so. The contempt with which the former Government treated the public was in my view unbelievable. I am sure members know the story well. 
Thankfully the Human Rights Commission strongly disagreed and described the bill as a “dramatic assault on two fundamental human rights that New Zealanders cherish” and said that the bill “was inherently flawed”. They along with the New Zealand Law Society and others called on the Government to withdraw the bill and start again. I travelled from Auckland to tell the members of the select committee that they should regard the commission’s submission as my submission and if they did not withdraw the bill as recommended I would consider running a campaign against the Electoral Finance Act. The rest is history. Over the ensuing months over 7000 people joined me in protest marches throughout the country. I am tremendously indebted to all those who joined me in speaking out on an issue that goes the very heart of our democracy. 
I believe that in passing that legislation the former Government was trying to restrict our democratic rights to criticise it in election year. Although I am sure this is not the only issue that contributed to its defeat I certainly believe that it contributed to a change in public attitude to the Labour Government and to the size of its defeat. Accordingly I believe that it serves as a lesson to all future Governments that hopefully this generation of politicians will never forget. I congratulate the Hon Phil Goff on acknowledging Labour’s mistake and the Rt Hon John Key and National on their decision to repeal the Act. How ironic that at the beginning of the parliamentary sitting—on the first day of the new year—I stood in the gallery in silent protest and early next year I will be in this House voting for its repeal. 
However I also note that the Electoral Finance Act is not the only piece of anti-democratic legislation on the statute book. In 1995 Parliament passed legislation making it illegal for political parties to use their own money to purchase broadcasting time. For example in the most recent election Labour and National were given around $1 million each in free broadcast time while the Greens and ACT had just a fraction of this. I believe that it is only fair and democratic for all parties to have the right to use their own funds to purchase additional broadcasting time up to the largest allocation. 
Finally to my partner Jane I say thank you for all your love and support and to the current and past pupils of Otahuhu College I say “Kia tama tane”. 
DAVID GARRETT (ACT) 
: 
 In the 1980s my colleague Roger Douglas presided over an economic revolution in this country and it was sorely needed. Imported goods were rationed and supplied only by the fortunate holders of import licences which were issued to them by their mates in the then Government. Farmers were subsidised in every area of their endeavours and for things that had nothing to do with farming— subsidies that were paid for from high taxes paid by everyone including those on low incomes. In the words of the late great journalist Frank Haden the “gummint” as he called it has no money. It gets it from the people. 
Although they have been much criticised by many—and some of those who formed part of that Government are still in this House—none of the major economic reforms of the 1984-87 Labour Government have been reversed in the past 20 years. Today largely thanks to the reforms introduced by Sir Roger and those who came after him the incoming Government at least had a reasonable idea prior to the election of the serious economic problems it would face. 
I come to this House firmly believing that a revolution of no less a magnitude than the economic revolution of the 1980s is required to repair our broken justice system. Consider where we have come as a society in the 50 years since I was born. Measuring homicide rates per 100000 of population allows us to compare New York with New Plymouth and Dunedin with Düsseldorf. Until the beginning of the 1970s New Zealand’s annual homicide rate per 100000 of population was about 0.5 per year. Today our homicide rate is about three times higher than it was in 1970; it is about 1.5 per 100000 per year. That is a threefold increase or 200 percent compared with 40 years ago. 
Let us personalise it. Seven men are currently serving time in New Zealand jails for their second homicide. In other words they have already completed one sentence for culpable homicide either manslaughter or murder and killed again when they got out of jail—seven. Of the other killers currently in prison 78 had at the time they committed the killing for which they are now incarcerated served at least three previous sentences of imprisonment for serious violence. In other words 78 people would be alive today if at the time they were killed New Zealand had a three strikes law of the kind ACT is promoting. Some of the survivors of those victims are in the gallery today. 
It is not just homicide that has increased exponentially. In the past 9 years alone violent crime generally—stabbings serious assaults and aggravated robbery—increased 47 percent. No amount of spin from either politicians or officials can disguise that reality. Spurious explanations such as a greater reporting of crime are just that: spurious. Homicide and armed robbery have never been under-reported in this country at least not since we have had newspapers and a police force. 
The nature of crime has fundamentally changed in 40 years. A researcher today could pore over newspapers from 40 years ago searching in vain for stories about drive-by shootings gang members killing rival gang members’ children and contract killings; none of those things appeared until the 1970s or later. The fact that scum like samurai sword murderer Antonie Ronnie Dixon go about armed with automatic weapons is no longer remarkable in the literal sense of that word. One does not remark upon it because it happens if not every day then every other week. That is an appalling indictment on us as a society and sadly on this House as the place in which ever more liberal policy has been transformed into law. 
So just how did our society become so altered? One of the favourite explanations offered by many academics and others is unemployment. The only problem with that theory is that it does not fit the facts. We have recently come out of a period of 7 years or so of full employment. The former Prime Minister who has just joined us was quite correct when she said a year or so ago that everyone in New Zealand who wanted a job had one. Our unemployment rate in 2007 of less than 4 percent is regarded throughout the Western World as full employment. If unemployment causes crime why then did violent crime rise over the past 9 years by 47 percent during a period of full employment? 
If we go back much further in history to the Great Depression of the 1930s unemployment then was more than 20 percent and there was a minimal welfare safety net. People literally starved in this country. In 1932 there were food riots in Queen Street in Auckland. The rioters were not looting shops for camcorders and plasma TVs; they looted because they needed food to keep them alive. If unemployment is a major cause of crime why then did violent crime actually go down in 1932 in the midst of this deprivation and misery? The usual riposte when this little problem with the “unemployment causes crime” theory is pointed out is: “Well we were all suffering together back then.” Wrong! Disparities between rich and poor were actually greater 70 years ago. I have seen photographs of the members’ stand at the Ellerslie races in 1932—the same year as the riots. It is full of well-dressed people and the car park is full of large American cars with uniformed chauffeurs standing beside them. 
It is often said that we have the society we deserve. I quite agree with that sentiment but not for the reasons those who overuse that cliché usually have in mind when they say it. I firmly believe that we are reaping what we have sowed. We are reaping a harvest from a focus on rights without consideration of responsibilities by considering criminals as also being victims who just require the right kind of therapy in order to become decent citizens and by making our jails places to which some people are quite happy to return. 
A criminal with a record recently held up a bank in Te Puke and then waited outside to be arrested. His lawyer told the judge that he was not coping financially so he wished to go back to jail—back to a place where there are no bills with three square meals a day paid for and cooked by someone else and a cell with a plasma TV and underfloor heating. The story was not even on the front page. It is no longer remarkable but those who doubt me can check the  
New Zealand Herald 
 of Saturday 6 December. 
People opposed to the views of groups such as the Sensible Sentencing Trust tell us—and they probably actually believe it—that our society has become much more punitive. That is nonsense. It is quite difficult to get sent to prison in New Zealand today. Prison populations have risen sharply simply because we have become a much more crime-ridden society. I recently read a biography of Sir Elton John which included a reference to an incident in New Zealand in 1974. John Reid Sir Elton’s then manager assaulted the well-known journalist Judith Baragwanath pushing or knocking her to the ground and then hit a man who came to her aid. It was a pretty ordinary assault at least by today’s standards. No weapon was used. Reid was sentenced to and ended up actually serving a month in Mount Eden Prison—not a month of home detention or 10 hours’ community work but a month in the cold stone castle. A month in jail for assault—how terribly terribly Draconian. I have been unable to ascertain whether Reid ever reoffended upon his release. Thirty-five years later it all makes rather quaint reading given what is now commonplace in the criminal courts every Monday morning. 
I have learnt from those who have gone before me that an essential ingredient of the good maiden speech is an explanation of why one comes to Parliament. It should now be obvious that my chief reason for coming to this place is an abhorrence of how our society has changed in regard to personal safety and a passionate desire to do something about it. Anyone who considers standing for Parliament must carefully weigh the effects on one’s life and family against what one hopes to or might reasonably achieve. 
For me it was also necessary to satisfy myself that standing for the ACT Party as opposed to simply voting for it or being a member of it fitted with my personal philosophy. In that regard I reached a turning point when I realised that what I thought was simply an electioneering slogan was in fact a core part of the ACT Party’s constitution. Clause 3 of the ACT Party’s constitution states that the first duty of any Government is to protect the safety of its citizens. That is utterly in accord with my personal beliefs about the function of government. It is also a function that successive Governments have been failing to perform. They have been failing to perform it for a generation with the degree of failure becoming worse. 
As naive and idealistic as it may sound I am here to try to play a part in changing that sad state of affairs. It is my firm belief that we can turn this mess around and once again become a country where children can walk to school without their mothers fearing for them. We can become a society where when she is older my daughter can—as my sisters did—go out for a walk on a hot summer’s night without fear of being raped or worse; a society where when the residents of a State housing block in Gisborne go to the beach they can leave their house not only unlocked but also open so as to benefit from the cooling breeze flowing through the house from the open front and back doors. I know this is true because I was there. That is the environment I grew up in. 
When one talks about this to New Zealanders under about the age of 35 they think that such a society is but a utopian delusion or if it ever did exist it must have been 100 years ago. It was as older members and members of the audience know only a little more than 25 years ago. A senior member of the Labour Party said in this House last week that there was in fact no golden age. Not true. In the New Zealand of the 1960s just like in the New Zealand of the early 2000s we had full employment and all of the components of the welfare State. We had most of what we have now without the crime. 
If I did not believe that we can once again become a society where law-abiding people go peaceably about their business and criminals are treated like the criminals that they are then I would not be here. I firmly believe we can return to that real and not illusory golden age albeit with licensed restaurants lattes and mobile phones. 
I believe that we can return to a system where a sentence of 5 years in jail means 5 years not 2 years; a system where a judge can sentence our most odious murderers to life in prison without parole; a system where prisons are humane but otherwise stark and cold places to which no one with half a brain would wish to return; a system where violent criminals get a second chance but not a third; and a system where three-time violent offenders go to jail for 25 years to life. 
 Having said that I say that we need to face up to the fact that our prisons contain many mentally ill offenders who should not be there. They are there because we have attempted over the past 25 years to treat all our social ills with imprisonment. The place to treat mentally ill offenders is in institutions set up to do so. We have secure units to treat the mentally ill; we should be using them. 
Those who say that our prisons are five-star hotels are exaggerating. Wanganui Prison New Plymouth Prison and Paremoremo west all of which I have visited are one-star at best. But those who say that they are hellholes are exaggerating much more. We have moved from a penal regime where prisoners worked in the quarry behind Mount Eden Prison before retiring to a cold cell to a system where work is voluntary and prisoners retire to a centrally heated cell with plasma TV. This change has coincided with the destruction of our once civil society. Whether those two phenomena are causally related no one knows for sure although there is convincing evidence from other countries that imprisonment does work but we just do not hear about it much. 
It is time to say “Enough!” to the ever-more liberal penal policies of the last 40 years and to try another tack. As someone in this House said last week only a fool expects different results from doing more of the same thing and that is exactly what we have been doing with penal policy for 40 years. But there is no quick fix and no one answer. If the policies I advocate were to be introduced as a package tomorrow their effects would not be seen quickly. It has taken us more than a generation to reach the sorry state we are now in and it will take us a generation to change it. We now have an entire generation of thugs who have grown up in the knowledge that there are no real consequences for bad and criminal behaviour. We need to raise the next generation knowing that they unlike their fathers will be held to account and will be punished for bad behaviour. 
Finally I will say a brief word to my family. Talamonuu ki hoku mali mo ’eku fanau faka’ofo’ofa ’a ia ’oku nau ’i heni fakataha mo au. Malo ho’o mou poupou’i au ’i he konga fo’ou mo fakato’aloto ko ’eni ’o ’eku mo’ui. Fakamalo ho’omou ’ofa’i au. ’Oku ou fakatauange ko ’eku mavahe mei he feitu’uni te mou ongo’i neu fai ha ngaue lelei mo tokoni ki hono fa’u ha sosaieti saiange ma’a moutolu. In my best but imperfect Tongan I sent greetings to my wife and family who are here with me today. I thank you for the support you have offered me in this exciting new part of my life and for the love you have all given me. I hope that when I leave this place you will feel that I have done some good and helped to create a better society for you my beautiful children. Thank you and I love you. 
STUART NASH (Labour) 
: 
 First and foremost I offer my congratulations to you Mr Assistant Speaker on your election to a most esteemed position in this House. 
I decided very early on not to raise the ghost of a past Nash who is long buried in time and memory but whose footsteps still haunt this place for even though he wandered these halls for 40 years that was after all 40 years ago. However as I make my way around the corridors of this wonderful old building I cannot help but notice that the giants of past eras have never been laid to rest as their photos are there to inspire us encourage us and to remind us of the proud legacy that we carry as a Labour Party team dedicated to always asking as Harry Holland the first leader of the Labour Party did “Is it right?”. Harry Holland realised that if it was right for the people of New Zealand it would be right for the New Zealand Labour Party. This underlying principle of whether it is right for the people of New Zealand has guided all our Prime Ministers from Joe Savage to Helen Clark and I hope in fewer than 3 years’ time Phil Goff. 
It is with a sense of honour and pride—but also I must admit a degree of nervousness and trepidation—that I start my parliamentary career. I hope I can live up to the memory and expectations of past members for the privilege of being a Labour Party MP is one that has a very proud history. 
Numerous paths lead to this Chamber but none of us would be here without the patronage and support of those who encourage and mentor us to this position. First and foremost I must convey my thanks to the Hon Dr Michael Cullen for without his support I would not be here. I acknowledge this and I hope he knows that it is greatly appreciated. But behind every successful man there is a surprised woman and I am sure Michael’s partner Anne Collins would agree with that statement. To Anne Raewyn Barry Tom Wilson Geoff Braybrooke Bill Sutton Guy Wellwood and all those who have supported and encouraged me I salute you and thank you with all my heart especially as my rival in Napier reminded me around 18 months ago of a Winston Churchill quote. When the great man was asked: “Doesn’t it thrill you to know that every time you give a political speech the hall is packed to overflowing?” he replied: “It’s quite flattering. But whenever I feel that way I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged the crowd would be twice as big.” 
Napier is also where my story begins a little longer than a little while ago so it is nice to come here and be called a young fresh face—and who said the media is all bad? My family history in Hawke’s Bay begins in around 1865. My daughter is actually the fifth generation of our family to attend Napier Central School; our family’s attendance goes right back to its founding over 130 years ago. Napier is without a doubt one of the best if not the best city in New Zealand. It has the climate the fruit the wine the beaches the art deco architecture and a rugby team that has beaten Waikato the last four times the two teams have played against each other. The only thing it does not have is a Labour constituent MP—but we are working on that. 
My father Hal Nash is a wonderful man who practised the principles of social democracy during a long legal career better than anyone I know and my mother Jenny Nash had four children under 5 at one stage. It is a testament to her strength of character and fortitude that she is still completely sound of mind. I had a wonderful upbringing when the summers were long hot and sunny and schooldays at Napier Central School Napier Intermediate School and Napier Boys’ High School were fun. 
They say that politics is in the blood but I do not believe that. Politics is in the heart and in the soul and in our family it was around the dinner table. But perhaps the one person who first shaped my political leanings was that great social democrat Elvis Presley. It was not to do with his unique solutions to prison reform or his yearning for social justice and equity in the ghetto or even for animal rights for bad dogs. No unfortunately for me he died on the very same day that the Rt Hon Sir Robert Muldoon delivered a Budget and the day before I had to present a news item in front of my classmates. Five 9-year-olds spoke about Elvis Presley; one poor chap spoke about the Government’s fiscal plans—thanks Mum! I have bad memories of Mr Muldoon for a lot more reasons than most in my party. 
The advice my father gave me when I showed a real interest in politics was to get educated and get some experience to take into the House. So a few universities later and some experience in a couple of industries I am here living my passion and my dream. However when my father was asked just recently whether he was proud of me he said it was a dreadful job that I had chosen. I did not come here looking for a job but because of a calling. I liked the line of my fellow newbie Phil Twyford who said “some of us will be remembered but most of us will not.” To be remembered is not what motivates us. If I can leave this House for the final time in the knowledge that my party’s legacy has made a positive difference to the lives of all New Zealanders who call New Zealand home I have accomplished my goals and ambitions. That is why Helen Clark Michael Cullen and all of you who have served in the fifth Labour Government will be talked about fondly by future scholars historians and New Zealanders alike around the dinner tables and barbecues. My beautiful daughter Sophia and my wonderful son Charles are growing up in a better world due to the tireless work energy and legacy of this wonderful party I am proud to be a member of. 
This place is not called a House for nothing. We spend an inordinate amount of time here. There is a bed in my office there is a kitchen outside my door and the father of the House is in the room adjacent. I wonder whether the senior whip Darren Hughes was trying to tell me something when he allocated me my office but I then realised the message was not actually very subtle at all because within the first 2 weeks we have been obliged to be here until midnight on most nights. But the Labour caucus is a family not just because we live work and eat in the same house and under one roof but because our differences unite us in a common belief and philosophy that forces us to always ask: “Is it right?” and then to do what is right. 
In a previous life I travelled overseas for business. Although I enjoyed the job I found that international travel was a real tonic for the soul and I say that because whenever I flew into Auckland Airport I realised just how lucky I was to be living in this wonderful country. Our beaches are pristine our skyline is visible our fields are green our different-coloured children play together in our many parks and our families interact side by side regardless of socio-economic status and enjoy a champagne lifestyle regardless of what is in the chilly bin or on the barbie. 
I see myself first and foremost as a public servant employed by the people of New Zealand to represent this country and its citizens. I am available to help all those who either request or desire my help regardless of sex race age or political affiliation. I am also a proud social democrat who will work hard to develop a regulatory environment that encourages sustainable economic development and growth through increasing our international competitiveness. This will be done by developing trade partnerships and models that not only promote our companies but also encourage them to seek further offshore opportunities. That will allow New Zealand’s competitive advantage to be clearly articulated and understood by all of those whom we seek trade alliances with. That is nice politics-speak but what it actually means in plain English is that the No. 8 fencing wire mentality and the “she’ll be right” attitude that we have prided ourselves on to date are no longer good enough in the 21st century. To reach the top these days we need to be very smart exceptionally well prepared intensely focused and willing to stand up and fight for what we believe in with all our energy. Handing out replica All Black jerseys is no longer good enough to clinch the deal. 
I also know that unrestrained and unregulated economic growth can have a negative effect on a country’s well-being. For example this can occur when those in the workforce have diminished or oppressed rights—and we have seen this in the very first week of this Government—when investors and markets are being deliberately or negligently misled or manipulated and when scarce resources are exploited. It is the philosophical mandate and governance role of any social democratic party to ensure that the negative social and moral effects of economic growth are mitigated through information communication sound policy justifiable regulation and wise legislation. But Pat McGill a community hero who spends his days advocating for prison reform and helping and supporting those outside Napier Prison who need his help and support just wants to know that we are still asking ourselves Harry’s question: “Is it right?”. 
A friend of mine said to me recently that the time has now come to adopt a new economic model. However the time is not right for simple adoption but for the invention and development of a new economic paradigm that takes into account the expectations of 21st century New Zealanders. Friedman is dead. The economic philosophies of the laissez-faire practitioners have finally been laid to rest and cremated in the ashes of the current economic crisis. That is why I was so disappointed with the Speech from the Throne. It talked about aspiration yet there was nothing substantive to deliver it. It mentioned productivity yet there was nothing concrete to drive it. It was not visionary at a time when we are beginning to develop our own global identity and struggling to a certain extent to understand our place on this earth. 
History has proven that the only party to really deliver significant gains for the people of New Zealand is the New Zealand Labour Party. We are and always have been a party of social evolution if not revolution. We work to build to empower to create and to practise fiscal accountability as well as social responsibility. We work as a collective and are more powerful as one than we can ever be as individuals quite simply because we always ask: “Is it right?”. 
I am very optimistic about the long-term future of our party because when I look around our caucus room I see an awesome array of experience mixing helping and mentoring the new. But quite simply we are just 43 New Zealanders full of energy competence and a belief in the principles and philosophies of social democracy and with a willingness to work hard and create a better New Zealand. It is the most aspirational team I have ever had the humble pleasure to be part of. 
I finish by quoting what John F Kennedy wrote shortly before his assassination because I think it sums up this Labour caucus and its leadership under Phil Goff and Annette King: “If we are strong our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak our words will be of no help.” And believe me this caucus and its leaders are strong. Thank you. 
CARMEL SEPULONI (Labour) 
: 
 Mate atu he tete kura ara mai ra he tete kura. Nga mihi maioha ki nga iwi o tenei rohe karanga mai mihi mai. Ki nga tini totara kua hinga atu moe mai ra. Ki a tatou e hui nei tena koutou katoa. When an old frond passes a young shoot sprouts to take its place. Warm greetings to the iwi of this area. To all those great totara who have passed rest. To everyone gathered here greetings. 
Tulou i le paia fa’atafafa o le Maota Fono. Talofa lava. Malo le soifua. My greetings and acknowledgment to all esteemed members of this House. Greetings to you all. Tapu moe ’afio ’ae ’Otua ’i hotau ha’oha’onga. Tapu moe ’Eiki Sea ’oe Falealea. Tapu moe ’Eiki Palemia. Kae’uma’aa ’ae hou’eiki Minisita. Pea tapu moe toenga ’oe kau fakafofonga falealea ’oku mou me’a heni he ’aho ni kae ’ataa mu’a keu fakahoko atu ’ae fatogia ko ’eni kuo fakakoloa ’aki au he ’aho fakahisitolia ko eni. Io “kuo ta kau he lau pea lau kuo ta kau”! 
God who is in our midst honourable Speaker of the House honourable Prime Minister honourable Ministers and also members of the House who are here today. It is indeed an honour for me to be here at this historic event for today we the Tongan people are finally part of this New Zealand Parliament and today everybody knows that we are now included. 
I have entered Parliament at a wonderful and opportune time despite the fact that we are in Opposition. With incredibly strong and supportive senior Labour Party MPs and an exciting new intake of 13 energetic diverse and committed newcomers I am truly privileged to be a part of this team. I feel honoured to serve the Labour Party alongside the distinguished and inspiring Rt Hon Helen Clark and the esteemed and respected Hon Dr Michael Cullen. We are fortunate that their track record of superior leadership continues under the direction of the Hon Phil Goff and the Hon Annette King. 
I have the privilege of being the first of Tongan descent and the youngest and the most recent member of the already robust Labour Party Pacific caucus. My respects must go to our senior Pacific member and MP for Mana Luamanuvao Winnie Laban; to our MP for Mangere Sua William Sio; to our Tahitian MP Charles Chauvel; and to our new Indo-Fijian colleague Rajen Prasad. I pay tribute to our former Samoan member of Parliament and strong Pacific advocate Vui Mark Gosche. Vui leaves a legacy of achieving results for our Pasifika communities. I thank him for the constant words of advice and guidance. I also acknowledge my political adversary but fellow Samoan National Party MP Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga. 
I greeted the House first in te reo Maori out of respect for tangata whenua. There is an inextricable link between Maori and all of our Pasifika peoples. We are linked geographically historically linguistically culturally and most important through our shared whakapapa. I pay respects to Nga Iwi Maori and in doing so I acknowledge our shared ancestors for they are responsible for our existence and our collective achievements. 
 Secondly I spoke in Samoan my father’s first language. This is a language we were not raised to speak; my father thinking at the time that it was best for us to learn only English. Thirdly I spoke in Tongan my grandfather’s first language. Eight out of nine of his children were raised in Samoa and were not raised to speak in Tongan. Only the one sibling who was born and raised in Tonga has retained this language. It is so very easy to see how quickly a language and the elements of identity that language carries can be lost if not nurtured. 
It is only appropriate that I reflect on the journey that has brought me here today. I had a quintessentially New Zealand upbringing with my father working at the Waitara freezing works and my mother working at the Swanndri factory and later as a kiwifruit picker and packer. My maternal grandparents were sheep farmers in Stratford. Growing up I saw the most wonderful display of contrasting political views. 
Although my mother did not have strongly formed political views her parents were resolute Tories. My father was at the other end of the political spectrum and a staunch supporter of the Labour Party. I was fascinated by their opposing political views and have vivid childhood memories of the ways in which these would be manifested. I can remember sitting down at the kitchen table with my grandparents listening to my grandfather grumble about the Labour Party as he listened to his wireless. I recall one time interrupting his grumbling session to say: “But grandad the Labour Party looks after the poor people.” His response to that was: “Just eat your ruddy Weet-Bix.” 
On the other side was my father. His first job in New Zealand was at the railways at Stratford and he would later work for 18 years at the Waitara freezing works. He came to New Zealand speaking only Samoan but quickly picked up a very colourful version of the English language quite commonly spoken on freezing works floors. It was always entertaining to watch him employ this colourful language in his rants and raves at the mere glance of Sir Robert Muldoon or later Jim Bolger during the evening news. As a child one knew not to move during these moments unless the command was given to turn the “beep” TV off. It was my own personal critique of their arguments for why they supported their respective parties and my own upbringing in Waitara that would cement for me my political allegiance. 
The new member of Parliament for New Plymouth mentioned Waitara in his maiden statement but there is a side to Waitara that did not gain mention. Waitara is a place of historical significance to this country. As the place where the first battles of the New Zealand land wars were fought it is a place where much blood was shed and lives were lost and it is a place where thousands of hectares of land were confiscated unlawfully. There is a wairua to Waitara that stems from its history and the battles that have been fought. There is an aroha amongst the people that continues to thrive despite the immense challenges that have been faced. During my own upbringing in Waitara I observed and experienced some of these challenges. In this town of 6000 people 1500 jobs were lost over the course of the 1990s. Perhaps we should call those years the decade of no jobs and no money. 
My dad was a union delegate and was involved with the intense and ongoing strike action of the early 1990s. The freezing works which at its height had employed over 1000 people began progressively to make people redundant until its closure in 1998. In 1994 my own father was laid off for the second time. Although he looked he could not find another job. He contemplated moving to Auckland but found it difficult to reconcile the likely reality of a pitiful minimum wage of $7 an hour—not enough to look after a family. I look back on this time with sadness as a once thriving town went silent. Things were tough and money was tight. 
To this day I take personal offence when I hear negative rhetoric proclaiming the unemployed as dole-bludgers and/or when it is implied that people are too lazy to get out there and find a job. This was not the case in my family nor has it been the case for the vast majority of people I know who have at some point in time needed to draw on Work and Income entitlements for support. 
During the 1990s I saw the political and economic climate of the time pull the rug of dignity out from under the feet of hard-working New Zealanders. There is very little that can match the degradation felt when men and women are unable to provide for their families. Unable to cope with the miniscule weekly sum that my father was allocated to look after his family he made the decision to leave us and seek employment in Australia. Yes he migrated to Australia in 1995 not 2005. 
I observed a National Party Minister sarcastically reciting in the House the other day: “I remember the 1990s.” in a disdainful tone. Her banter signalled National members’ tiredness of being reminded of their wrongdoings from the past. However let me draw on a well-known whakatauki. “Titiro ki muri kia whakatika a mua”—look to the past to proceed into the future. This may be a Maori proverb but it is a concept that is shared by Pacific peoples. The memories of our Pacific peoples are very long indeed. We strongly believe in looking to our pasts to find our presents and to inform the decisions we make going into the future. With that in mind it is of little wonder that the vast majority of Pacific peoples remain Labour voters—the dawn raids under the Muldoon Government and high unemployment rates and low wages of the 1990s have ensured this legacy. This is reinforced by the list of achievement for Pacific people attained under the leadership of the Labour Government over the past 9 years. 
Is it not ironic that I discuss the appalling employment conditions of the 1990s under a National Government in light of the response by the new National Government to the recession that we now face? In the early stages of the 1990s the National Government introduced the Employment Contracts Act which was to impact negatively on the rights of workers. Now in late 2008 the introduction of the 90-day bill which also serves to negatively impact on the rights of workers hails the beginning of another ominous National Government term. 
I have lived in Auckland for the past 13 years stepping away only for a year to teach in Samoa and connect with my family. I have worked in the tertiary sector as a literacy educator a student mentor adviser an equity manager and a Pacific health research project manager. I have seen the very best and the very worst of Maori and Pacific in education. There have been times when I have felt immense levels of anger due to the unnecessary failure of the education system to adequately cater to our people’s needs. Conversely I have seen some incredibly innovative teaching and learning practices and the positive impact that this has had on individuals and whole groups of people. I have had the privilege of meeting teaching and mentoring some of the most inspiring Maori and Pacific people both young and old. I have been inspired by their success in navigating their way through tertiary study to achieve at the highest levels. 
There are always two sides to every story and it frustrates me that when it comes to our Pasifika people 80 percent of the time the focus seems to be negative. I have learnt through my own experiences and the experiences of others around me that our young in particular can quickly begin to self-stigmatise when the media and society stigmatise them. When the media portrays only a picture of a ghettoised poverty-stricken group of troublemakers then our youth can resign themselves to the fact that this is what they are. They may even take pride in this prescribed image because it provides them with a level of attention and status that although negative is attention and status none the less. This perspective only adds to the perpetuation of the problems that exist. 
I deplore the deficit lens being held so intently over our Pasifika communities. Although there are issues that must be addressed I strongly believe that their resolution can come from adopting and adapting best practice where our people have successfully overcome challenges and there are many. 
I thank my parents Fa’atalii Kamisi Sepuloni and Beverley Anne Jordan for all that they have done for their children and grandchildren. Both had very limited educations but encouraged us to work hard in school. They would wake to 6 a.m. starts and take every opportunity to work overtime so that they could provide for my father’s siblings and parents in Samoa as well as for us their three daughters. We never had much but we always had food on the table and whatever we required for school. I am thankful for all that they have given to us and I am indebted to them for their role in all that I have achieved. I will never forget my father’s words when growing up: “Go to school so you can get a good education and help our people.” It is this aspiration to serve the collective that continues to drive me in all that I do. 
The future of New Zealand Pasifika people is promising and positive. We have experienced a 10 percent increase from 2000 to 2007 in the numbers of our Pasifika children enrolled in early childhood education. There has been a 13.7 percent increase from 2003 to 2007 in the number of Pasifika students leaving school with National Certificate of Educational Achievement level 2 or higher. In 2007 there were almost four times as many Pasifika people aged 25 to 64 years with tertiary qualifications when compared with the 1996 figure. On top of that our unemployment rate has dropped from 13.5 percent in 1999 to 6.5 percent in 2007. I acknowledge the previous Labour Government for its leadership role in this. These achievements need to be built on so that even more of our people can get the benefit of a good education. 
In recent times Pasifika communities in New Zealand have highlighted the need to retain guardianship over our cultural and spiritual inheritance: the languages values and beliefs that are our ancestors’ legacy and our birthright. The Labour Party is notable for its support in recognising the place of Pasifika peoples in New Zealand and in honouring the ties our country has in the Pacific. I hope to support and nurture initiatives in these areas during my time in Parliament. 
As a member nation of the ocean continent in which we reside New Zealand can play a crucial leadership role. Over the past week I have sat quietly at the back of the House listening to the debate about climate change global warming and sustainability and New Zealand’s role in addressing and leading the world on these issues. These are urgent issues and New Zealand must lead the way. Here in the Pacific the repercussions of rising sea levels can already be seen. Take Tuvalu: its highest elevation is only 4.6 metres above sea level but most of Tuvalu is not more than a metre above. Even if Tuvalu were not completely flooded it faces the escalating risk of storms and cyclones which due to changing weather patterns are increasing in strength. Tuvaluans are contemplating the possibility of the loss of their land culture language and way of life. I cannot comprehend why the National Government and its partners continue to prevaricate over our national response to this international crisis. 
My role in this House is no different from the role I have had in every other job I have worked. It is to listen and advocate to educate and to empower. The difference between this job and any others I have held is that I am privileged now to be at the ultimate of decision-making tables. Whilst at this table my commitment is to advocate for the vulnerable promote social justice and equity provide perspectives on issues affecting Pasifika and highlight the great potential that exists in our communities. I do not claim to be an expert on all things Pasifika and I will rely on Pasifika communities to keep me informed. Having been born and raised in New Zealand I also want to be involved in the wider issues affecting New Zealand and I look forward to being able to engage and contribute. 
Without wanting to close this maiden statement like an acceptance speech for a Grammy award I would like to make some final acknowledgments. I acknowledge my friends and my extended family for their love faith and support. I acknowledge my mother father and Uncle Tevita who are here today. I acknowledge the support I have received throughout my campaign from the Tongan community particularly the Mangere Tongan Labour branch under the leadership of Pastor Moi. I pay my respects to Anapeta Mau Hola Taue Salote Lilo and Semisi—thank you for your love and support. I pay my respects to the Labour Party’s Pacific sector for it is through this body under the passionate leadership of our chair Jerome Mika that this has all been made possible. 
I acknowledge my late grandparents with the only sadness of this occasion being that they cannot be here. From Vava’u and Niua Toputapu in Tonga came my paternal grandfather Fa’atalii Sepuloni. He embodied the true sense of humility hard work and love for God and for family. From Vailele in Samoa came my paternal grandmother Masae Sepuloni. She passed away before I had the opportunity to meet her but having listened to my dad talk about her all my life I feel as if I know her. My maternal grandparents were Wilfred and Peggy Jordan. Despite their initial reservations at having a Pacific Islander as a son-in-law they loved their afakasi granddaughters as they did all of their grandchildren and I am eternally grateful to them. 
My final acknowledgment is to my 10-year-old son Bailey—thank you for your patience and unconditional love. The campaign and this entire journey has been as hard for him as it has been for me. I love him more than anything else. 
Malo ’aupito. Fa’afetai tele lava. No reira tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. 
Hymn 
CHRIS TREMAIN (Junior Whip—National) 
: 
 I seek leave for the House to sit beyond the normal 6 p.m. rising to allow completion of the maiden statements. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker) 
: Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? There being none leave is granted. 
CAROL BEAUMONT (Labour) 
: 
 Karanga mai rau rangatira ma me nga hoa hoki. Te Whare e tu nei te papa takoto ki waho tena korua. E nga mana e nga reo e nga tangata o te wa tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
To the many chiefs and colleagues also extend your call of welcome to us. To the House that stands before us and the courtyard that lies outside greetings to you two. To the authorities languages and the people of the moment greetings to you greetings to you and greetings to you all 
.] 
Having paid my respects in the first language of our nation I now acknowledge the Treaty of Waitangi as the founding document of this country. Mr Assistant Speaker Barker I acknowledge your appointment. 
I am aware of the privilege and responsibility that being a member of Parliament bestows on me. It is a great honour to represent my fellow New Zealanders and to serve and be accountable to them. I will undertake this role passionately seriously and with integrity. I will work constructively with all of the people MPs and staff of this House which occupies the central place in our democracy. 
Let me acknowledge all members. Ours is not a well-respected role. We have a shared responsibility to work to improve the way in which MPs are regarded by New Zealanders as attacks on politicians have the insidious effect of undermining our democracy. 
I want to acknowledge my family and friends especially my mother Barbara for her unconditional love; my stepfather Ray who is watching at home; my sister Alison for her consistent support and friendship; and my wonderful nieces Keriana and Emma who keep me focused and for whom I want to see a better future. I also acknowledge my partner Robert for his support his friendship and his love. My friends and union colleagues are also important in my life: my thanks to you too. 
I acknowledge with pride our new Labour leaders Phil Goff and Annette King and also our previous leaders who provided outstanding leadership for this country—Helen Clark and Michael Cullen. I am proud to be part of this determined and principled Labour caucus and I am proud of what Labour has achieved and delivered for New Zealanders not only over the last 9 years but over our long history. I particularly acknowledge the role of Helen Clark as someone who has inspired me since 1981 when she was elected as the member for Mt Albert. I acknowledge Helen’s strength intellect integrity and commitment to our country and to the cause of peace and social justice globally. Like many others I have been enormously proud of Helen as our Prime Minister; history will confirm the significance of her contribution. 
I stand before this House as a passionate advocate for social justice and human rights who believes in fairness opportunity prosperity and sustainability for all New Zealanders. I want an Aotearoa New Zealand that provides hope and ideas for social justice in our region and globally. 
Social justice means equality of opportunity. I proudly identify as a trade unionist and as a feminist despite the unthinking stereotypes some feel compelled to promote. In my experience union officials are people who care and who want to make a difference. I acknowledge in this House the valuable work they do. 
Social justice means being fair. I grew up in a family where we struggled to make ends meet. I understand the stress that puts on our families. My parents believed in a fair go working hard and education—values that have shaped my life. My late father Ron who would be so proud to see me here taught me to speak out against injustice and fostered my love of debate but also showed me injustice firsthand. My dad despite leaving school at 12 became a tradesman mechanic and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. That may have been natural but what even as a child I knew was not right was his dismissal of my dreams as being unsuitable for a girl. 
Social justice means educational opportunities for all. My political activists grew from my time as chairperson of the Melville High School student council. While at school I was also a cleaner and a member of the cleaners’ union. My sixth form history teacher Marjorie Barrows fundamentally changed my life course by persuading me not to leave school but rather to go to university. 
 Education is a passion of mine. Education is transformational—for individuals as it was for me and for our society as a whole. Our social and economic development relies on improving the educational levels of our people. I can only imagine the impact of low literacy levels on individuals—on their job opportunities their employment security and their exclusion from vital parts of our collective life. Imagine not being able to help your children with their homework to decipher prescription instructions or to read the newspaper. Imagine the impact that improving literacy could have on the individual families and society. 
I trained as a teacher a role we do not value highly enough and have been an adult educator working with those already in the workplace. The focus on workplace learning given that 80 percent of the workforce of 10 years’ time is already in work is something I believe in strongly. For the concept of lifelong learning to have real meaning requires our workplaces to be places of learning. This is not suggesting an impost on employers but a cultural change by all concerned. I was very proud of the huge increases in industry training under the Labour-led Government and the proposal to provide workers with the right to a retraining allowance. I commit here to promoting measures to ensure that lifelong learning is a reality for all New Zealanders. 
I will stand in this House to champion the cause of social justice and human rights. Human rights are both individual and collective. Our rights are mutually dependent and as the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 recognised individual rights must be placed in the context of economic social and cultural rights. 
When the declaration was signed Dr Colin Aikman speaking on behalf of New Zealand said: “Experience in New Zealand has taught us that the assertion of the right of personal freedom is incomplete unless it is related to the social and economic rights of the common man. There can be no difference of opinion as to the tyranny of privation and want. There is no dictator more terrible than hunger. And we have found in New Zealand that only with social security in its widest sense can the individual reach his full stature. 
Therefore it can be understood why we emphasise the right to work the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being and the right to security in the event of unemployment sickness widowhood and old age. 
Also the fact that the common man is a social being requires that he should have the right to education the right to rest and leisure and the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community. 
These social and economic rights can give the individual the normal conditions of life which make for the larger freedom. And in New Zealand we accept that it is the function of government to promote their realisation.” 
Assuming the inclusion of women too this remains true 60 years later. Unfortunately some see human rights only in terms of self or see any talk of rights as “political correctness”. I believe in a strong rights-based framework and I will defend human rights for all. 
Workers’ rights are human rights guaranteed by international and currently domestic law. I pledge here to fight each and every attack made on workers’ rights including on workers’ collective rights to union representation. Unfortunately we have already seen workers disadvantaged in this forty-ninth Parliament with the reduction of KiwiSaver entitlements unfair tax changes and the removal of rights to fair treatment for new employees in most workplaces. 
Poverty and increasing inequality are among the most serious human rights issues facing the world today. In New Zealand inequality grew in the late 1980s and 1990s and the much referred to gap in wages between Australia and New Zealand grew exponentially. Last year for the first time in two decades the gap between rich and poor narrowed due in no small part to a deliberate redistribution of income by Labour to low and middle-income families. Who benefits from inequality? Not the suffering families struggling to make ends meet. Not the children who go hungry. 
Inequality is not only simply wrong in a comparatively rich country like New Zealand; it is unsustainable. The health and educational outcomes of poverty impact on our whole country economically and socially. Global poverty is a proven destroyer of individual and societal potential and a grave threat to peace security and sustainability. 
Increasing provision for social justice depends on a healthy economy. Our economy faces a number of key challenges that can be met only by a highly skilled workforce developing smarter products and services. To continue to improve our valued public services and standard of living we must be aware of not only wealth distribution but wealth creation. I am committed to sustainable economic development. We need to be deliberate smart cooperative and strategic to strengthen our economy to cope with offshore volatility. New ways of working together and the clarification of the roles of Government business and yes unions have been a worthwhile development in the last 9 years. 
An important aspect of social justice is the right to work. In recent years we have achieved some of the best employment outcomes of any Western country. Now there are major challenges ahead with unemployment forecast to rise rapidly. Work is of huge individual and society importance. The Council of Trade Unions and Business New Zealand have started discussing what the workplace of the future would look like. I support the Council of Trade Unions’ view that its attributes must include high wages and high value high skill levels and fairness and that it must be located in a strong industry and be healthy and sustainable. High-skill high-wage and highly productive workplaces cannot occur without productive employment relations with decent wages and conditions of work where workers’ rights to a collective voice are respected. 
The attacks of the 1990s on workers were not the way to go. There is still a low-wage legacy from that era. Low wages lead to low capital intensity and people working longer and longer hours to make ends meet. Low wages and low skill levels contribute to low productivity. 
Families are the basic building blocks of our society and the implications of long hours and low wages on them are huge. We must focus on our children who are our future. We must ensure their access to quality public education and health and we must challenge any family violence that threatens to mar their future. I will firmly support initiatives in the area of family violence reduction and I take this opportunity to acknowledge all those working to eliminate this huge problem. 
Investing in people supporting them throughout the life cycle and ensuring they have the ability to participate to their full potential are essential for our success as a country. Social inclusion needs to be deliberately fostered. It benefits none of us if new migrants to our country are not able to participate to their full potential or if young Maori and Pasifika people are overrepresented in the unemployment and educational underachievement statistics. 
Small countries like New Zealand have a greater opportunity to build consensus on what sort of future we want. A number of successful small countries have created “social partnership” approaches to ensure that workers businesses and the Government all play a crucial role in economic and social development. 
This brings me to my final point: only healthy democracies can ensure successful fair societies. Democracy is something we value highly as New Zealanders. It is something we have fought for and have led the world in achieving. For democracy to thrive our people must have the will and ability to participate. Many New Zealanders do not participate in democratic processes and some attribute this to apathy. I believe the reasons to be more complex and include lack of knowledge language barriers disillusionment with political processes time constraints and a sense of powerlessness. Whatever the reason the alienation of some is a loss to us all because not only is their vote lost but so are their ideas and their commitment to common values and goals. We must all work to lift genuine participation. 
As a Labour MP I will be based in the Maungakiekie electorate where I live and where I was our candidate in the recent election. I acknowledge and thank my campaign team and the large group of Labour activists who worked so hard. Let me acknowledge the Hon Vui Mark Gosche the previous MP for Maungakiekie. Mark has always been a strong advocate for the values of Labour the people of Maungakiekie and working people generally. Mark has inspired many people through his obvious integrity and the courage he displayed through huge personal tragedy. I know that the people of Maungakiekie will miss him as their MP. I want to acknowledge both Mark and Carol Gosche for their support friendship and encouragement. I also acknowledge Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga as the MP for Maungakiekie and indicate my willingness to work with him constructively on local issues where possible. 
Maungakiekie is a vibrant and diverse electorate. In the course of the campaign I saw the huge number of people who work for community good in sports groups on marae in youth groups in community safety groups in churches and in community development initiatives. They are ambitious people. It is important to reflect on the meaning of the word “ambitious” because recently it has been used by many only in the context of the individual. It is more than that. I consider myself ambitious and have always wanted to use my skills in roles that challenge me but my real ambition is in wanting to make a difference for others. As my friend Helen Duncan a former Labour MP said in her maiden speech: “I believe … that people are not driven solely by the pursuit of individual goals and ambitions and that the welfare comfort and happiness of others can make a difference to our enjoyment of our own lives.” I commit to being ambitious for Aotearoa New Zealand and all our people and I will seek to ensure that we measure what we are doing by considering the economic social cultural and environmental impacts of our actions. 
I believe that most people want to do the right thing that they want a better future for future generations. It is about being clear about the future we collectively want and determined to make the necessary changes. In the words of Sonja Davies a pioneering woman union leader and member of this House: “Nothing is ever too difficult to achieve. Only inertia can defeat us.” No reira kia kaha kia toa kia manawa nui tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa.  
[ 
Therefore be strong be brave be stout-hearted. Greetings to you greetings to you and greetings to you all 
.] 
Sitting suspended from 6.12 p.m. to 7 p.m.