Valedictory Statement

E Kīngi Tuheitia, Te Ariki Tumu, e ngā iwi o te motu, e rau rangatira mā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. This speech is obviously my last in this Parliament, and it is an occasion that I view with mixed emotions.

Being a member of the New Zealand Parliament has been a very big part of my adult life, and my involvement in New Zealand politics, more broadly, predates my election as MP for Mt Albert in 1981. It was in 1968, fresh from Epsom Girls Grammar School, that I enrolled at Auckland University to study history, English, German, and yes, political studies, because I met an older student who said: “That is pretty interesting.” Therein lies a tale.

What a year 1968 was, though, for students around the world, with unrest spreading across the campuses of many a country as the postwar baby-boomer generation came of age. Here in New Zealand, those of us who were politically, and perhaps radically, minded, were not short of causes to get involved in—opposition to the Viet Nam War, to contact with apartheid sport, and to French nuclear-testing in the Pacific. All of these issues sent fault lines through New Zealand politics, some ideological and some generational. But I believe that the great strength of the late Norman Kirk as Labour leader was that he reached across that generation gap to speak for us as young people on those issues, and also to articulate an independent foreign policy.

In my childhood and teenage years, a television set was not a feature of every home. That meant that politicians were generally rather remote figures, whose voices were only occasionally to be heard on one of the handful—and I think there were four—of Government radio stations. This was, of course, before Radio Hauraki broke the monopoly by broadcasting from a boat in the Hauraki Gulf. I do remember Sir Ronald Algie MP coming to my secondary school for prize-givings. I certainly recall a meeting, an election meeting of some kind in the Te Pahu community hall, which I attended with my father, when I had the temerity to ask the local member, Sir Leslie Munro, a question about the wisdom of deploying New Zealand troops to Viet Nam—and I recall being barked at on that occasion. But other exposure to politicians was non-existent in my earlier life. So in recent years when children have asked me on innumerable school visits whether I wanted to be Prime Minister when I was their age, I could only reply that I could not remotely have imagined that being possible, as the politicians of my childhood and youth were almost invariably rather elderly gentlemen.

Those perceptions, though, changed for me during my student days, and upon joining the Labour Party, as I did in 1971. There was a new generation coming into Parliament for Labour, beginning with the election of Jonathan Hunt in 1966. Outside Parliament there was the extraordinary energy of Jim Anderton in Labour’s Auckland local body campaigns, and later as Labour Party president. As well, there was the growing stature of Norman Kirk as a dynamic leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition. I was proud to be a mere foot soldier in the campaign that saw him lead Labour into Government in 1972. But then the third Labour Government suffered very greatly from Norman Kirk’s untimely death and major economic shocks, leading to its defeat after only 3 years. So it was back to the politics of Opposition for 9 years, in the course of which I myself entered Parliament as the MP for Mt Albert.

As many are well aware, I grew up on a farm in the western Waikato, and I did not prima facie have a background of the kind associated with Labour leaders in the past. But my wider family, like many, had a great range of political allegiances. Politics was definitely of very great interest to us, and not something just to be engaged in via a vote on election day. We were participators and doers. My parents were perhaps initially a little surprised at the direction my politics took, but, within a relatively short period of time, they extended their always strong personal support for me to strong political support. That continues to this day, with my father, who is 87, being present in the gallery, and my mother, who is not well enough to travel, being able, I hope, to watch the proceedings on television this afternoon, along with my sister Jenefer, who is caring for her. Words cannot adequately express my gratitude to my parents for the love and support they have always given me.

My first general election campaign as a Labour candidate was in 1975, in Piako. It was one of National’s safest seats. It was held by gentleman Jack Luxton, and later by his son John. I must say my experience throughout the campaign was that Jack was indeed a gentleman.

But what a great learning experience that was for me, moving around the small towns of the east and south Waikato, drawing support in particular from workers and their families on the Kaimai tunnel project, in the dairy and timber factories, and in the Arapuni hydro village. I well remember a campaign visit in my support by Sir Basil Arthur, who was the Minister of Transport. He came to the Kaimai tunnel, but the superstition of the Irish and Italian tunnellers meant that I, as the candidate, was left at the tunnel head.

The highlight of my campaign in Piako was the visit of the late Bill Rowling, who put Pūtāruru on his whistle-stop tour of the Waikato. The hall we hired was full to overflowing, with a morning tea held in his honour. I know that Glen Rowling is here today. I do not remember in the last 34 years, Glen, whether you were also present in Pūtāruru, but I have never forgotten the excitement of that occasion.

My advice to young people starting out in politics is to be prepared to run for their party for the first time in electorates that are highly unlikely to be won, but where one will learn a lot and have more to offer when a winnable seat opportunity comes along. In my experience, success is seldom instant in politics, and where it does come quickly it can equally as quickly fizzle out.

The Parliament I entered in 1981 was far less diverse, obviously, than that which we see today. That year, 1981, the number of women elected to Parliament doubled from four to eight, and there were only six Māori members of Parliament. I recall Sir Robert Muldoon, at the end of his lengthy career, saying that one of the greatest changes had been the extraordinary increase in the number of women in the House and that he found us rather frightening. I have to say that the boot really was on the other foot, and to have interjected on Sir Robert was to invite demolition, which I was never foolish enough to do, of course.

The main forms of recreation when I first came were the billiard-room in what is now the Grand Hall—thank goodness it has been banished to a corner of the building, and I have no idea where it is—the Bellamy’s bar, ever with us, and the card schools in members’ offices, where I understand rather large sums of money were wagered for.

To say that this was an alien environment for a 31-year-old woman fresh from a university teaching environment would be an understatement. It was, frankly, very hard going, as a lot of my political career has been, but it was, of course, character forming and it gave me the experience and the confidence to go all the way in the system and, importantly, to be part of changing it for the better for ever.

But saying that Parliament was hard going and an alien environment brings one to the issue of motivation. What exactly was it that attracted me to this life? I think what brought me here was idealism, values, a sense of community and of internationalism, a desire to make a contribution to public life in my country, and, overwhelmingly, a sense of gratitude for the opportunities that New Zealand offered me, and which I think should be the birthright of every New Zealander.

I have always been very proud of New Zealand’s egalitarian traditions. Deep in our country’s roots is the ethos that Jack is as good as his master, and these days we must say that Jill is as good as her mistress. Many of our forebears came to this land to escape the class-bound nature of Britain, where their place in the economic and social order was largely prescribed from birth and could not be escaped from. I deeply detest social distinction and snobbery, and in that has always lain my strong aversion to titular honours, because to me they relate to another era that our nation largely has evolved from but obviously not entirely freed itself from at this time.

Entering Parliament was for me a way of translating ideals into positive action—hard as that can sometimes be. There have been many issues over my 41 years of political activity when I have perhaps been a little ahead of public opinion at the time. Yet so often today’s avant-garde becomes tomorrow’s status quo. Such thoughts cross my mind when I see a cross-section of New Zealand families celebrating their children’s civil union, or a Government delegation from Viet Nam welcomed as friends and regional partners, when once to support relations with their country was thought to be far beyond the mainstream.

My first 6 years as an MP saw me focused on three main areas. First and foremost there was my electorate work in Mt Albert. How grateful I will always be to the wonderful people in those central Auckland suburbs for the opportunities and support that they gave me to grow and develop as a politician and a leader over 27 years. Mt Albert was formed as a new electorate in 1946, on the edge of the city. It faced a by-election the following year when the long-serving Arthur Richards, the former member for Roskill, retired. Warren Freer was then elected at the age of 26 and served for 34 years, rising to the No. 3 position in Labour’s parliamentary hierarchy and becoming a senior Minister. I spoke with Warren last week and my understanding is that he is present with us here today. It is certainly my hope that Mt Albert will support and nurture Labour successors to Warren and me who have the capacity to rise to the very top of the New Zealand political system and serve the electorate and our country with distinction.

The bread and butter constituency work in Mt Albert has always been interfacing with Government agencies and departments on matters like housing, social welfare, and immigration, and, of course, supporting the endeavours of our very fine local schools, sports clubs, and communities. Those communities are very strong and diverse, making it a rewarding electorate in which to live and work. I am going to miss it a lot over the next 4 years, but home is where the heart is, and my heart will always be in Kingsland, where Peter and I have spent the entire 27 years of our married life.

Second, there was the work here in Parliament, and for me that was mainly focused around various permutations of what is now the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, of which I became chair from 1984 to 1987. The nuclear-free legislation was a highlight of that period, as were the major reports our committee produced on disarmament and on New Zealand’s relationship with China.

Third, there was the broader work within the Labour Party, where I had been a New Zealand executive member since 1978. There was the excitement of the 1984 campaign, and the trauma of the economic shock and adjustments that followed the election. Victory in 1987 disguised the fact that in our heartland seats held by Ministers the Labour vote slumped, as the fourth Labour Government had delivered economic policies to which our traditional supporters could not relate and which had not been foreshadowed. That experience and the subsequent massive defeat in 1990 left a lasting impression on me, along with a determination for the future to be transparent about election policy, to deliver on it, and to always to keep faith with the loyal, long-term Labour supporters who sustain our movement through good years and bad. There are always fair-weather friends in politics. One knows who one’s true friends are when they are still standing with you in the aftermath of defeat, and the phone—and now the texts—have otherwise gone rather quiet.

My time as a Minister from 1987 to 1990 was very rewarding. It enabled me to engage with, be part of, see, visit, and meet communities right across our country. As Minister of Conservation it took me back to places in the South Island that I had last been to on family holidays with my family in the 1950s and 1960s. I was able to strike the occasional blow for the environment by rejecting obtrusive development projects, like the Monowai Mine on the Coromandel and the Nukuhau Marina, which was proposed near the mouth of the Waikato River, at Lake Taupō.

Public housing and health were passionate interests of mine, and so much was done, from the acquisition of many more State houses to the passage of the pioneering smoke-free legislation—I had the darts in my back for many years after that—and the innocently named Nurses Amendment Act that freed midwives to practise autonomously.

As Minister of Labour in 1990 I took the Employment Equity Act through Parliament, only to see it gone by Christmas that very same year. In the face of a retailer revolt, I also promoted the legislation for 7-day shop trading. Although that was clearly not welcomed or wanted by retail workers, the introduction was softened by my writing what amounts to an advanced industrial agreement into the schedule of the Act. Alas, that did not long survive the 1990 election either.

The 9 years in Opposition in the 1990s were tough years, as we in Labour worked to restore our battered electoral credibility. There was the shock treatment of the new National Government’s health, superannuation, welfare, and industrial policies, and the unemployment rate rose above 10 percent in 1991. The electorate clearly was not happy in 1993, but still saw Labour as having a lot of baggage from the 1980s. This “plague on both your houses” sentiment was then expressed in the resounding vote for change to the electoral system in 1992 and the binding referendum on MMP in 1993. The New Zealand electoral system and politics have never been the same since.

The two-party system crumbled as the first MMP election approached, with MPs leaving both major parties to sit elsewhere in the House, around the cross benches. I will never forget a Grey Power meeting I attended in Wanganui as the Leader of the Opposition, where there was a panel of representatives of the different political parties. With the single exception of the Hon Peter Gresham, every other representative of a political party had come from Labour. Then I saw the extent of the fragmentation that MMP had brought.

I became Leader of the Opposition, of course, at the very point that the old electoral order began to crumble and smaller parties had a chance of finding a niche in the political spectrum.

Labour lost support in particular to the Alliance and to New Zealand First. The nadir for me came with one of those dratted Colmar Brunton polls in the mid-1990s, which proclaimed that Labour had 14 percent support and I had 2 percent support as preferred Prime Minister. I have to say that it does not get much worse than that. Looking back on it now, with the advantage of hindsight, I am surprised only that concerned delegations of colleagues did not beat a path to my door rather more often than they did.

Against that background, success in the 1996 election was impossible, but, none the less, it marked a turning point for me and for Labour. The coalition Government stitched together was not a marriage made in heaven, and eventually it dissolved. Meanwhile, Labour and the Alliance were able to effect a rapprochement, and to campaign as a ready-made coalition in 1999. The rest is history: 1999 delivered a Labour-Alliance minority coalition Government, with support on confidence and supply from the Green Party.

Our Government then, and in subsequent terms, embarked on a programme of change across the economic, social, environmental, and cultural spheres and in every other sphere, which over time I think has made a substantial difference for the better to many New Zealanders’ lives. Our core values always were fairness, opportunity, and security, and we endeavoured to apply them across the board. We always took a long-term approach to investment, in the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, KiwiSaver, early childhood education, skills training, research and development, primary health care, and public transport. Investments in these areas can take decades—generations—to be paid off, but if we do not start making those investments, we will never get to the desired end point.

We enhanced workers’ rights through the Employment Relations Act, through paid parental leave, and through the fourth week’s annual holiday. The economy on our watch experienced its longest run of continuous growth since World War II, and the unemployment rate remained low for years. Those successes gave us the capacity to make very significant investments in families, services, and infrastructure, and I believe that the rising tide did lift every boat, transforming the circumstances of Māori, Pākehā, Pasifika, Asian, and other communities, alike.

In the last term in particular, we had the comprehensive sustainability programme to put New Zealand on the front foot in combating climate change. I strongly believe that it is so important for our country’s international credibility that we are seen to take these issues very seriously and be prepared to act.

Over 9 years we made very substantial acquisitions for the conservation estate. Indeed, many Cabinet colleagues will remember that when Chris Carter brought along yet another proposal, Michael Cullen would say: “Not another iconic property!”. There were so many. But for me the jewels in the crown were the transfer of Molesworth Station to the Department of Conservation, and, of course, last year the purchase of a pastoral lease of the spectacular St James Station, to be available for the people of New Zealand for all time.

It was my pleasure to lead our work on arts and culture—to encourage the development of Kiwi talent, audience enjoyment, economic opportunity, and the promotion of our unique New Zealand identity and perspectives. I found the heritage part of the portfolio particularly satisfying as I look back on years of big projects, from the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, which I think touched many New Zealanders’ hearts, to the newborn digital official encyclopaedia Te Ara, to volumes of oral and other histories of World War II and the Viet Nam War, and to the major regional museum and gallery projects in which the Government became a substantial funding partner.

There was also the ongoing process of reconciling with New Zealand’s past—of recognising injustice where it had occurred and addressing it. I think New Zealanders are now very familiar with the settlement of the historic grievances going back to the time of colonisation and the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Those settlements must be completed so that we are able to move forward together as a nation. As one who grew up on a farm on Rōpatu land in the Waikato, where our family’s presence felt like it had been there for ever, I cannot imagine the scale of loss felt by Waikato-Tainui from the mid-19th century. But I do hope that I and my Government have played our part in helping put it right. The presence of Kingi Tuheitia and his delegation here today means a great deal to me, as did the friendship of the late Te Arikinui, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, over many years.

As well in my time as Prime Minister there was the apology to New Zealand’s early Chinese settlers and their descendants for the unique and severe discrimination they suffered in our country for many decades, and the apology to Samoa for the injustices perpetrated by the New Zealand colonial administration. Just last year I issued on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand an apology to Viet Nam veterans and their families for the manner in which their loyal service to New Zealand was not recognised as it should have been, and for the inadequate support that had previously been extended to them and their families. It is important to put these matters right. Reconciliation, respect, inclusion, human rights—these were important things for me as a Prime Minister with a deep belief in equality.

Māoridom in recent decades has undergone a profound renaissance and stands very tall today as New Zealand’s first people, as substantial economic stakeholders, and as contributors to so much that is fundamental to New Zealand’s unique identity. I believe that our Government was a willing partner in that renaissance. The substantial Pasifika populations have also made their presence felt, from the professions to the factories, from the movie screens to the sports fields, and beyond, to become a quintessential part of the fabric of New Zealand society. I have enjoyed too my involvement with New Zealand’s many emerging ethnic communities, whose cultures, heritage, language, and faiths have added so much to the richness of our country.

The Civil Union Act, which enabled rainbow couples to express their love for each other by cementing their relationship in law; the Property (Relationships) Act, which applied the principles of fair division of property on the dissolution of a de facto relationship; and our work guided by the New Zealand Disability Strategy were all important to me.

There is so much about New Zealand that is special and that marks us out as a unique and gifted nation. We have evolved distinctive reconciliation and constitutional processes. Our institutions, from our Parliament and executive Government system under MMP to our Supreme Court, have evolved so far from that colonial heritage. It is inevitable, in my view, that our constitutional status as a monarchy will also change. It is a question of not if, but when.

My Government has sought to reflect our country’s unique personality in New Zealand’s international relations. For us, New Zealand needed to stand for peace, justice, reconciliation, and sustainability. Our refusal to participate in the war in Iraq was a decision based on principle, knowing that involvement would have ripped our country apart for no good purpose, whatsoever.

I do take pride in the high regard in which New Zealand is held internationally—in the work our Government did in the Pacific and East Asia; in rebuilding what had been for a long time a strained relationship with the United States of America; in broadening relations with Europe so that the occasional visits of Prime Ministers and Ministers to Brussels were not just to argue about the butter quota, important as the issue may be; in engaging strategically with Latin America; and in deploying peacekeepers around the globe. That high regard for New Zealand, and New Zealand’s constructive way of working internationally, was the background against which my name went forward as a candidate for the position of Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. I regard my selection as a huge honour personally and for New Zealand, and I will certainly seek at all times to carry out my duties there in a way that reflects well on New Zealand.

I have no regrets—underline “no regrets”—about leaving Parliament at this time. I have had an incredible career here and I have been given such enormous opportunities. But it is time to go and for others in my party to take forward the cause that we believe in and that I, personally, will always believe in. Of course the election result was disappointing after so many years of hard work—how could it not be—and we had a sense of achievement in so many areas. But in a democracy the people’s will must be accepted and respected, as it is by me.

A long and rewarding political career is never a solo act. I stand here knowing that I have been supported by so many people for so long because they believed in me and in the values they saw me representing. My parents gave me the best possible start in life that any child could have: a secure and loving home, and support for my education at every stage. My three sisters, my brothers-in-law, and my nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins in our large extended Kiwi family have always been so supportive of Peter and me over our many years in the public eye. Peter himself has been a staunch supporter of my aspirations and career, no matter how unpleasant and difficult things got in political life from time to time.

For 10 consecutive elections I have received solid support from the Mt Albert electorate. I thank all those who have voted and worked for me there over 27 years. Special thanks are due to the Mt Albert electorate committee—members of whom are in the gallery today—which has worked so hard to make our electorate one of the best organised for Labour in New Zealand, and to my hard-working electorate office staff, now led by my long-time friend and supporter Joan Caulfield.

My political career has been based on the values and principles of the New Zealand Labour Party, and I thank all those at every level and in every region across New Zealand for their constant support. Here in Parliament I have been privileged to work with remarkable and exceptional people, from my deputy leader for many years, Dr Michael Cullen, to all of those who have made up our Cabinet and our caucus. I have made many friends in politics and I know those friendships will be lifelong. The texts will keep coming, and I suspect also the occasional tweet.

Other political parties played an indispensable role in the success of our Government over 9 years in office. I worked particularly closely with the Hon Jim Anderton, and was pleased to see that a friendship formed in the 1970s, which had been placed under great strain in the late 1980s and the 1990s, resume in the 21st century as if there had never been a breach. Thank you, Jim, for everything.

Jeanette Fitzsimons and the Green Party worked closely with me and Labour for many years, and I believe we shared, and still share, common approaches in many areas. Although there was perhaps less commonality, none the less there were honourable relationships that guaranteed confidence and supply with the Hon Peter Dunne and United Future, and with the Rt Hon Winston Peters and New Zealand First. I believe a relationship based on considerable common interest was also possible with the Māori Party during the last parliamentary term. The Hon Tariana Turia and I go back a long way, and I acknowledge, in particular, her generous comments in Parliament last week.

My contact with the National Party and ACT over the years has not been especially significant, given the extent of political differences between us. But I do wish, on this occasion, to acknowledge the leaders of both parties, John Key and Rodney Hide, for their courtesy to me, especially in recent times, and also the courtesy of numerous other members going back to the time of Marilyn Waring, Katherine O’Regan, Paul East, and Simon Upton. I should also say I have also enjoyed Jim Bolger’s company a lot post-politics.

I have very much valued the ongoing wise counsel and advice of Geoffrey Palmer, and the support and insights that Mike Moore has provided to me on moving into the international system.

As Prime Minister I was always supported by the broader public service in general, and by all those departments and agencies for which I had direct responsibility. In particular, there was Mark Prebble and then Maarten Wevers as heads of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and all their staff, including, of course, our Cabinet secretaries Marie Shroff, Diane Morcom, and Rebecca Kitteridge, who all worked hard to ensure that Labour, as a democratically elected Government, could implement its policies.

That is the service that public servants offer to any of us who have the privilege to serve in Government.

Martin Matthews, Jane Kominik, and everyone at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage helped me to give arts, culture, and heritage a higher profile than ever before in our country. I thank them so much. The Department of Internal Affairs supported me in my role as Minister of Ministerial Services, which was rather like being chief enforcer on many occasions, and as host of countless international delegations at head of State and Government level over the years.

I did enjoy my work with the Security Intelligence Service and with the Government Communications Security Bureau, led variously by Richard Woods, Warren Tucker, and Bruce Ferguson. I placed trust in them and their staff, as they did in me, and I believe, and will continue to believe, that what they do is in the interests of our country.

I also owe a great deal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which supported me and my Ministers on so many complex international issues and supported me personally through years of summits and bilateral visits. It was also a privilege to be involved in many ways with the New Zealand Defence Force and to see its work on and offshore. I will always remember the amazing visits to Kabul, Bamian, Basra, the Sinai, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands to see New Zealand military personnel at work.

Close personal support for me as Prime Minister came from my private office and the talented teams of staff led by Heather Simpson and Alec McLean, and to this day that support comes from my parliamentary staff Jacque Bernstein and Dinah Okeby, as it has always come from what are now generations of personal secretaries, researchers, press secretaries, messengers, diary secretaries, typists, and receptionists in the past.

Personal protection came from the Diplomatic Protection Squad of the New Zealand Police, who stayed very close to me for the whole 9 years. The fact that I am standing here alive, well, safe, and healthy today means they did their job. To the Diplomatic Protection Squad and the New Zealand Police across our country, I say thank you for the support they always gave. They are New Zealand’s unsung heroes, and I believe they deserve much greater recognition and praise for what they do to protect us all.

Over the 22 years since I first became a Minister of the Crown I have been not just driven but fully looked after and supported by the Government drivers in the VIP Transport Service of the Department of Internal Affairs. I have come to know many very well, and they are my friends. As a former Prime Minister I am privileged to continue using their service, so today marks not an end but an interlude. As General MacArthur once famously said: “I will return.”

It is 27 years to the month since I made my maiden speech in this Chamber at the tender age of 32. I have looked back at what was said at that time, and there were words that read: “My greatest wish is that at the end of my time in this House”—and I did envisage walking out rather than being carried out—“I shall have contributed towards making New Zealand a better place than it is today for its people to live in.” I leave knowing that I have fulfilled my wish and that I did play a part in making New Zealand a better place.

It has been a privilege and an honour to be a member of this House for 27 years and Prime Minister for 9 years. I wish my successor Phil Goff and the Labour team all the best for the next election, and I do wish New Zealanders well for what are undoubtedly challenging times ahead. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Applause]