Maiden StatementsText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMaiden Statements[Sitting date: 29 January 2014. Volume:696;Page:15652. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Maiden StatementsPOTO WILLIAMS (Labour—Christchurch East): Engā mana engā reo engākārangarangatangamahatēnā koutoutēnā koutoutēnā koutou katoa.[To the authorities voices and many callings greetings salutations and acknowledgments to you all.]Mr Speaker distinguished members colleagues friends supporters and family kia oranakotoukatoatoana roto I tearo’ama’ata o TeAtua. My parents came to this country in the 1950s to give their family a better life. We had a happy childhood amongst our widerwhānau and the children of other immigrant families. We did not have a lot but Dad always had a job we owned our home and we always had food. Buttimes changed in New Zealand and by the time I started working in the social services sector I realised that some families did not have it so good.On 4 April 1999Riri-o-te-Rangi JamesWhakaruru died from injuries sustained from severe and prolonged beatings from his mother’s partner. He was not the first child to die from the euphemistically described non-accidental injuries and he has not been the last but his story like no others before it left me with a deep sadness of the lives many of our children live. I return to him often to honour his short and tragic life and to reaffirm my commitment to our children. There is an image of James where he holds his face in the palms of his hands—a boy with a sunny disposition who in his darkest hours must have thought “What have I done to deserve this treatment?”. And what would be our response to him if he asked us why?A decent respectful society is one that shows the highest level of care for its most vulnerable and marginalised citizens and it enhances the mana of us all if when at their lowest ebb we show them the deepest of our love and care. Every member of this august House would hold that to be the sacred duty of the Government—to care for its people. However we may differ on how we achieve that and on who is the most vulnerable and therefore the most deserving. For me actively engaged in the very grassroots of community life the dream I have for my community is one where all of our people are housed in warm dry appropriate and affordable homes where families can put down roots and develop those social connections that enhance and sustain our lives. It is a place where none of our children go hungry where they are warm they are healthy and above all they are safe from the violence in their homes at the hands of those who are charged with their care.My dream includes ensuring that we all have the same opportunities the playing field is levelled and everyone has a fair go at reaching their potential. It is a place where when unwell health care is accessible and affordable according to our circumstances. It is a place where the wealth of the nation can be more fairly distributed to those who need it without discouraging those who earn it and where we all pay our fair share. It is also a place where a decent day’s work is rewarded with a decent living wage.In our current environment of a low-wage economy we have pushed the unwaged further and further into poverty. We require of them whether they are capable of it or not to jump through increasingly more difficult hoops in order to satisfy ourselves that they deserve the help we provide. I fully believe that it is a privilege to have the support of the taxpayer but it also has to be noted that if those who avoid paying their fair share were required to do so there would be more to go around. It has also become a place like no other time before where holding down a job does not guarantee that you have enough to care for the needs of your family even if you are working in more than one job.What I want is a place that listens to the voice of children; that provides support and care for them when they witness and experience the trauma resulting from violence abuse or neglect; and where we do not permit damaged children to go on being harmed but support them to become well whole and capable of reaching their potential.So what would this have meant for James’ mother? What outcome would there have been for him if she had had teenage pregnancy help and support for her mental well-being? What if bonding and attachment with her young baby had been encouraged and nurtured? What if she had had access to training resources and housing to raise her young child confidently? What outcomes for James then? He could have been a young man now embarking on training work or study. We will never know but surely it would have tilted the odds more in his favour.There is a direct correlation between the level of inequality in a society the haves and the have-nots and the level of social harm experienced by that society. Mentalunwellness teenage pregnancy suicide rates dependency issues poverty and poor health outcomes occur to a greater degree when that gap widens. Tax changes the living wage job creation a regional renewal programme—all these things contribute to a more egalitarian society a fairer society.I have actively championed communities to be empowered to decide for themselves what is in their best interests. This can be achieved to benefit communities if they are provided with the right information to make informed choices. There is no doubt that in Canterbury the extraordinary times require extraordinary responses but I for one have always felt that you should bring the people along the road with you when decisions are made that impact them their assets the places where they live and how they live their day-to-day lives.So why are communities where I live in a period of the most significant and profound change of their lives—of an entire generation most likely—not able to make decisions for themselves? When we measure our responses as I believe we should to the plight of our people in the most difficult of times we have experienced in our recent history will the examination of our conscience make us proud or ashamed?Here I must pay my respects to my predecessor Her Worship the Hon Lianne Dalziel who has taken her formidable skills to now lead our city into a more stable and positive time. I look forward to working with you and thank you for the opportunity you have provided to me. Many of your supporters have said that I have large shoes to fill. At least I start with a healthy footprint.I would like to take this opportunity to honour the people of the Christchurch East electorate who believe me are not shy to tell you what they really think and who have high expectations for their representatives. Their needs are fairly simple and specific—the opportunity to be heard for their views to be considered the ability to be fully participant in the decisions that impact their lives and above all a fair go.For you the electorate I will champion affordable housing that meets your needs and is fit for purpose. I will also champion inclusive democracy in decision making and the speeding up of processes that have stymied your opportunity to move on from the quakes. To the battlers of you out there keep battling on. Let us get our homes repaired and rebuilt and let us get our community and families reconnected and enjoying the most naturally beautiful part of our city.As the third anniversary of the 22 February quake nears I want us all to reflect on the impact that 3 years of stress and unresolved trauma have had on the people I represent and the resulting ill health alcohol and substance abuse rates of violence in the home high divorce rates and separation. We have had help to combat the medium-term effects but as funding for these services is relinquished later this year the NGO sector will likely pick up an increase in demand with no resulting increase in resource.All international literature on the impacts of major disasters states that it is post the third anniversary that levels ofunwellness truly escalate and our ability to cope diminishes. It would appear that vulnerability can be determined by a date and that after 30 June we will no longer need earthquake support to the level we currently receive. We have had to bring in large numbers of workers to cope with the level of rebuild activity for our city and I would like to think that we are able to provide opportunities for our young people—very many of them unemployed and not in training—with the chance to be therebuilders of our city. This takes commitment by us to invest in their training in the trades and associated services.Hand in hand with this is the commitment to invest in activities that create jobs not just for Canterbury but across the country and in particular regional New Zealand. Onesuch activity will beKiwiBuild—Labour’s commitment to build 100000 homes for New Zealand families. Families build communities especially if they are able to secure long-term tenure in their homes The relationships and networks that develop are the very threads of a strong social fabric that supports us in our times of need and shares with us in our times of joy and celebration. Our young people could be involved in building the nation’s homes—homes that they may have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own themselves. However affordability can be achieved only through the Government’s ability to build in quantity and the ability to access its favourable finance terms.Today is one of great honour to my family. My loved ones have joined me today and I thank them for their continued support and love and advice. It is an important day for the Cook Islands and Pacific communities as well and here I want to acknowledge Alfred Ngaro for being the first Cook Islands member of the New Zealand Parliament.I have the honour of being the first Cook Islands woman in the House of Representatives the first Cook Islands elected member of Parliament and I am also the first Pacific representative from Christchurch and from the South Island. I have colleagues and friends here from Christchurch East including Pacific leaders without whose support and encouragement and very hard work I would not be celebrating with you today.MeitakiMa’ataFaafetai LavaMaloAupito.I want to conclude with a Cook Islands saying: “Me kai koei tokou poke e uri to aro kimanavara.” Never forget that you do not succeed by yourself. At times of your greatest achievement and celebration we must acknowledge those who have provided the opportunity and support that brings you to this reward. And most especially we must acknowledge our ancestors our heritage and those who have passed on. Therefore to my parentsNahora and Marion Williams my brother AaronMarsters and my guiding light JamesWhakaruru I saymoemoeraaererameitakima’ata.I hope that all these things bring honour to your memory and serve as a marker of what can be achieved when we stand on your shoulders and raise the expectations for our people who come after us. I leave you with this challenge: to find within you that guiding light like JamesWhakaruru is for me—the inspiration to make our country the best place for us for our children for our families and for our community. Mr Speaker I thank you.WaiataJOANNE HAYES (National): Keiāku nui kaiākurahi keiākuwhakateitei ki te whenuaākutamarahii terangitēnā koutoutēnā koutoutēnā koutou katoa. I rere maiingāpātūwatawata otōku matua aPaikea Ariki Apanui katirotironoa kingāpae maunga oHikurangirāua koWhetūmatarau hei manutaikō hei manutaki ongā wai ora oWaiapūrāua ko Awatere heiorangamōngā uriwhakaheke oHineruperāua ko Awatere. Keitakutua keitaku aroākuwhakaruruhau tewhānauTūwhakairiroarāua ko tewhānau TeAotaihīkua ekenoairungai te waka oHorouta he mihimaioha ki a koutou katoa. Te kuku otōkumanawa TeWhanau Apanuirāua ko TeWhānauRangihunangā uriwhakatipu oPorourangitēnā koutou katoa.I rere maiingāpātūwatawata otōkuwhaea a TeArorangi Karaitiana Kate katirotiro hoki kingāpae maunga oRangitūmaurātou ko Ruapehu me Tararua hei manutaikō hei manutaki ongā wai ora oRuamāhangarātou ko Whanganui me Waipoua heiorangamōngā uriwhakatipu o TeOreorerātou ko Te Puke meĀkura hoki. Keitaku aro keitakutuaākuwhakaruruhauNgātiHāmuarātou ko TeUenuku meĀkurakua ekenoairungaingā wakaKurahaupōrātou ko Aotea meTākitimu he mihimaioha ki a koutou katoa. Te kuku otōkumanawaRangitāne o Te Wairarapa TeĀtiHaunui-a-Pāpārangi meNgāti Kahungunu-ki-Te Wairarapa ka mihimatakuikuianō hoki kingāuriwhakatipu tewhānau Karaitianarātou ko tewhānau TeWhareponga me tewhanau Herewinitēnā koutou katoa.[Greetings to my superiors my numerous my illustrious to the country and to those of mine in heaven who can speak for me salutations and acknowledgments to you all. I came from the fortified villages of my fatherPaikea Ariki Apanui which gazed randomly upon the mountain ranges ofHikurangi andWhetūmatarau primary and significant sources of health-bearing waters for theWaiapū and Awatere rivers which sustain the well-being of the descendants ofHinerupe and Awatere. To the families ofTūwhakairiora and TeAotaihī members of theHorouta canoe who support heed and shelter me affectionate greetings to you all. To you TeWhānau Apanui and TeWhānauRangihuna love of my heart and descendants ofPorourangi greetings to you all.I came from the fortified villages of my mother TeArorangi Karaitiana Kate which gazed randomly upon the mountain ranges ofRangitūmau Ruapehu and Tararua primary and significant sources of health-bearing waters for theRuamāhanga Whanganui and Waipoua rivers which sustain the descendants of TeOreore Te Puke andĀkura as well.NgātiHāmua TeUenuku andĀkura as well members of the canoesKurahaupō Aotea andTākitimu affectionate greetings to you all. Love of my heartRangitāne of Wairarapa TeĀtiHaunui-a-Pāpārangi andNgāti Kahungunu at Te Wairarapa and a joyful salutation as well to the relatives and the Karaitiana TeWhareponga and Herewini families. Greetings to you all.]Mr Speakertēnā koe and thank you for inviting me to speak my first words in this House. I am privileged and I am humbled that I am able to do this in front of my superiors and my peers mywhānau and friends here and at home and surrounded by the taonga that represent the many wars the people of this nation fought on behalf of us so we could live in peace in our whenua Aotearoa New Zealand.Prime Minister the Rt Hon John Keytēnā koetōku rangatira I am ecstatic to be joining the National caucus team under your outstanding leadership. I bring to you and the National caucus my can-do attitude my loyalty and my ability to work diligently within the team and for the people of this country.Mr Speaker I wish to mihi to our coalition partners my whanaunga co-leader of theMāori Party the Hon Tariana Turia co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell and the Hon Dr Pita Sharples; the leader of United Future the Hon Peter Dunne; and the leader of ACT New Zealand the Hon John Banks. I also want to mihi to the leaders and members of Parliament from the Opposition benches and to the press gallery.Mr Speaker I started my life in the small rural town ofEketāhuna the second child of PK and Kate Apanui. My father worked on Te Hoe station inAlfredton and played rugby forEketāhuna and the under 21 Wairarapa Bush side. When I was a child my parents moved fromEketāhuna to the yet smaller rural town ofRangiwāhia. It was there where I spent my childhood. Both my parents dedicated their lives to ensuring that we had kai on our table clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads. We were poor in money yet rich in love and support for each other. Yes I come to Parliament from a tight-knitwhānau with a background of hard work and an attitude that nothing is insurmountable. My father believed that if one worked hard one would reap one’s just rewards. He knew that our world would be so different from his and so he instilled thewhakataukī “Etipu erea” [grow up and thrive] from ourtūpuna and one of the firstMāori MPs Sir Apirana Ngata. Those words encouraged us to take hold and learn the ways of thePākehā world while holding on to ourMāori world. My father modelled thatwhakataukī throughout his life. He wanted our future to be one of reaping the rewards that we all worked hard for.In 1997 my father succumbed to cancer and is buried atĀkura in Masterton. I miss him dearly because I was his wild child turned good. I am fortunate to have my motherin the gallery this afternoon along with mywhānau and extendedwhānauhapū and iwi. Mum was the disciplinarian and educationalist of my parents. Today she is a nan and also a great-nan a kuia for Wairarapa and a member of the Wairarapakaumātua group. Kia ora Mum. Kia orawhānauwhānui.It was not until I left home that my life changed dramatically. At age 22 I became an unmarried mother on the domestic purposes benefit with little to no education qualifications. It was this fright that changed me for ever and I adopted the saying “If it has to be then it’s up to me.” I started a successful re-education programme that persists. Along the way I met my soulmate a man who took me and my son into his life and has believed in us a man who at times says little but does a lot a man whom I am proud to have by my side and one whose side I am proud to stand by. We are equal partners in everything we do and I love him to bits. Mr Speaker please meet my husband Pat. Kia ora Pat. Our sons Mat and Ben who are unable to be here today have brought immense pleasure and pride to our lives as we have watched them and guided them towards adulthood. They are now men of the world with all the lessons that that brings. Thanks to my daughter-in-law Shan for producing two beautiful mokopuna Carter and Eli for it is they who carry the future of all our tomorrows. I know they are watching.Nani J loves you.I have been blessed with a number of opportunities in my life but these would have been for nought had it not been for the people whom I have met along the way. There are too many to mention here but you all know who you are and I thank you for your support and your guidance. To my friends who have come here today to support me and to those watching at home I thank you all for without you even knowing it your influence and support for me has been invaluable. As you can see I come to Parliament having walked many roads and learnt many lessons yet still I want more because I have not finished yet. My past has shaped my future my family is my foundation my mokopuna keep me real and my friends continue to support me on the many journeys I have made and are yet to make.Today I take the road less travelled than others and one where I can utilise my skills and experience and learn new ones. I come to Parliament after contesting the 2011 election in the Dunedin South electorate and winning the party vote a historic feat for the National Party and one that I am most proud of. I thank the Dunedin electorate teams and send my heartfelt thanks to Robyn BroughtonPippaNewstead the Young Nats and volunteers. I bring a wealth of experience both community and professional. I was one of the first school board trustees to take on the Tomorrow’s Schools challenge serving for a number of years at our local primary schools as chair and treasurer and then later as deputy chair of FAHS—Feilding High School.I bring my professionalism in the sectors of health education welfare business and the rural sector. I have worked in the community and for the community I have worked for Government agencies and local government and throughout my career I have taken people with me as the journey has not been about me alone. I am proud to be a member of National and I want to thank our party president PeterGoodfellow; the board with a special mention to KateHazlett and Roger Bridge; the regional chairs with a special mention toEleLudemann and MalcolmPlimmer; the electorate chairs; and the service centre staff for all their hard work. Most important though I pay tribute to the many volunteers and party supporters who make this party a great party to be a member of and to be a servant of the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.As the newest National MP I bring a rigid determination to make a difference for all people of Aotearoa New Zealand and to be an outstanding hard-working National member of Parliament. Kamututakukōrerotuatahii rotoitēnei Wharenā reirakoutoukuarāminemine maiirungai tewhakaaro kotahiarā te Wharetāwharauneitēnā koutoutēnā koutoutēnā koutou katoa.[So ends my maiden speech in this House. Therefore to all of you who have assembled here with the one thought in mind about this House of shelter I greet salute and acknowledge you all.]WaiataSitting suspended from 5.59 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.