Election of Speaker

I nominate myself for Speaker.

Margaret Anne Wilson was elected as Speaker.

Honourable members of the House of Representatives, may I thank you for the honour and privilege you have done me in electing me as Speaker. In this election I follow a line of distinguished men who have held this office. I am, in fact, the 28th Speaker to be so elected by our House of Representatives.

New Zealand has a long and proud tradition of parliamentary Government. We are, in fact, one of the longest continuously operating national legislatures in the world. The strength of our parliamentary democracy has been the flexible way in which it is responsive to the will of the people. New Zealand is one of only three countries that do not have a written constitution, yet this lack of a formal document has not prevented us enjoying stable government. The reason for this remarkable achievement is undoubtedly complex and the subject of academic research. Two factors, however, stand out. Firstly, the people of New Zealand value their Parliament and actively participate, through elections, select committees, and public comment, in its performance. Secondly, those elected to represent the people in Parliament respect and understand the trust that has been placed in them. Rod Donald, who tragically died on the weekend, understood better than most what that trust meant, and he dedicated his parliamentary life to the service of the people he represented. His parliamentary service is an example to us all.

It is the role of the Speaker to ensure that the business of Parliament is conducted in an orderly manner, so that it is fair to all parties represented in this House. I follow in the path of many distinguished speakers, none more so than Sir Charles Clifford, the first Speaker, who set the standard for all those who were to follow him. He was said to have combined ability, firmness, and impartiality, with dignity and good temper. I shall endeavour to be a worthy successor in that tradition.

As the Speaker-Elect, I will soon obey the instruction and go to the Governor-General at 4.30 p.m. I invite those of you who can do so to accompany me there.

Madam Speaker-Elect, I rise to congratulate you on your re-election as Speaker. It is only 8 months since you were installed as Parliament’s 28th Speaker, and at that time you became the first woman Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. You came to the role after not only more than 5 years as a senior Minister, including serving as Attorney-General, but also a very distinguished career in the law, in education, and in public life. At the time of your first election as Speaker in March I said that you had been a pioneer for women in the law, in education, and in Government office, that you had achieved every position you had ever held on merit, and because of your tenacity and determination to succeed in whatever you take on. I said then that I thought those characteristics would serve you very well in your term as Speaker, as indeed they have.

There was the anticipated settling-in period when members did test your patience and your tolerance and as you set the boundaries for members’ conduct consistent with the Standing Orders and Speakers’ rulings. And members did, indeed, find out that you had a very good sense of humour and a keen sense of irony to boot.

MMP Parliaments are a different beast from those that were elected under first past the post. Not only are there more MPs—and it was once quipped that MMP meant “many more MPs”—but there are also more parties. As Speaker, you strive to see that justice is done to all, from the largest to the smallest. On occasion, that would require the wisdom of Solomon and I have no doubt that exercise of such judgment will be called upon by you in this term.

Madam Speaker-Elect, in the few months you served as Speaker in the last Parliament, you did gain the respect of members, I believe, across the parties as a firm but fair Chair of the business of the House. That has played no small part in the unanimous support for your re-election today. I congratulate you, once again, on your election and wish you well for the parliamentary term ahead.

Madam Speaker-Elect, may I add the best wishes and congratulations from the Opposition parties on your election as Speaker. You and I go back a very long way. Perhaps you think of the time when you nominated me as Governor of the Reserve Bank; I think even further back to when we were, along with Helen Elizabeth Clark and Dr Bruce Hucker, members of the Auckland committee on unemployment. So we go back a long way. I hold you in very high esteem, and have held you in very high esteem throughout that period.

This Parliament is much more evenly divided than perhaps the last Parliament was, between the left and the right, and that will, I guess, test your skills and judgment. But we wish you very well. We are confident that you will, in fact, arbitrate and mediate—“adjudicate”, perhaps, is the right word—this House, and we wish you every success in doing that.

Madam Speaker-Elect, New Zealand First members wish to offer our support for the office of Speaker, to tender our congratulations to you personally, to suggest our ongoing cooperation in respect of your office and all those who preside in this Parliament, and to wish you the very best for the next 3 years.

Madam Speaker-Elect, on behalf of the Greens—not just the five of us here today but also my late colleague Rod Donald—I offer our congratulations and our support for this coming term. Thank you for the kind words you said about Rod. He was a dedicated parliamentarian. He enjoyed working with you in your previous term, and he was enthusiastic about your re-election. We wish you the patience, the tolerance, the sense of humour, and the judgment to do this demanding job, and I know that you will have those.

Madam Speaker-Elect, the Māori Party wishes to offer our congratulations to you, and we know that you will be fair and just in the House.

Madam Speaker-Elect, on behalf of United Future I want to offer our congratulations to you on your re-election to be our presiding officer. In the 8 months that you have held this very distinguished role you have dedicated yourself to the House. You have shown a firmness and a commitment that has been admired now that it is generally understood by members, and I expect that in the next 3 years that will be enhanced. You will face some challenges. Standing Order 102, for instance, and its interpretation will be one that many members from the smaller parties in this House will be looking to with some interest. But we wish you well and we are confident in your success.

On behalf of the ACT caucus I rise to support the office and to congratulate you on your unanimous election. I thank you for your very kind words on Rod Donald, and use that opportunity to remind you that you represent every member of this House. For the Parliament to work well–which is what we all wish for–it is important that the Opposition parties in particular get a good, fair go, and I know that you will provide that. More particularly, in this era of MMP it is important that the smaller parties get a fair go, and by that I particularly mean the Green Party, the Māori Party, and the ACT party. While the other parties are all in Government I look forward to your making sure of that, and to your representations on our behalf.

On behalf of the Progressive party, I offer warm congratulations on your re-election as Speaker, and best wishes for a successful term. I have always thought, having shared with you the trials and tribulations of chairing boisterous Labour Party conferences during the 1980s, that chairing Parliament would be a piece of cake, and so it has turned out to be.

Before I adjourn the House, I think it is appropriate that we all stand for a minute’s silence in memory of Rod Donald, the co-leader of the Green Party.

Honourable members stood as a mark of respect.

The House adjourned at 3.08 p.m.