Maiden Statements

Today I stand before the House, honoured to take my place as a member of Parliament for ACT New Zealand. I pay tribute to those whose hard work and dedication to the ACT Party and its principles over many years have brought me here today. I thank the electors who made the choice to vote for the ACT Party. I hope I can live up to their expectations. I also thank the people of Epsom who made strategic decisions that have supported the ACT Party in Parliament.

Mahatma Gandhi in Young India in 1925 described the first of seven social sins as politics without principles. As the members who have shared, and continue to share, the privilege of being part of the government of New Zealand have done before me, I come before you with my own politics, informed by my own principles. There is no government independent of the people; good government is the voice of the people. It has three roles: protection of its citizens, provision of communal services, and giving a hand up to those who have fallen through the cracks. It cannot replace our hopes and dreams, our strengths and abilities.

We are a country of immigrants or people whose ancestors were immigrants. We and our ancestors came to New Zealand to make a better life for ourselves and our families. I have come to this House to pay respect to this background we all share, and to be part of making New Zealand a better place for all New Zealanders and for the generations to come.

I am here today because of the support of my husband, my children, and my wider family and friends. I cannot thank them enough. I am very happy that my husband and children are here with me today, and I am sad that neither of my parents has lived to see this day.

For all of us our values and beliefs come first from the experiences we have as children at home. In my family we were brought up to work hard, look after ourselves, and help others when we could. When I was born I was the youngest of four children, and by the time I was 10 I was the youngest of six children. During my childhood my parents added two brothers to my family. These two brothers were some of the extra people my parents looked after in our home over the years.

My father was a third-generation lawyer in Otago. I have followed in his footsteps, and my oldest daughter has now taken up the mantle. Having the privilege of practising as a lawyer has helped me to understand the vital role the laws of our country play in the well-being of our citizens and the development of a civil society.

I served as a trustee of the Otago Central Rail Trail Charitable Trust from its beginning until earlier this year. When we first began as trustees the farmers were concerned about townies coming and upsetting stock. The Hon Warren Cooper had suggested to the owners on either side of the trail that maybe the best thing was to merge the railway land with the contiguous farms. Communities along the track were shrinking. The Department of Conservation was lukewarm but was prepared to go with the rail trail if there was enough community interest to support it. Now, 15 years on, the communities along the trail are revitalised. Farmers can now get a latte at a local caff. Communities along the trail are growing, rural people are employed, and everyone is learning new skills for new opportunities to live and work in their local area. I am proud to have been able to contribute to this wonderful asset.

As I thought about what I hope to bring to Parliament, I thought about how these experiences have helped me form my political principles. It is my belief that the people are strong when the Government stays in its place. My family has taught me that a strong family unit with people helping and supporting each other is by far the best basis for a good society. The more the Government interferes in a family, the less functional the family tends to become. The Government, it turns out, cannot provide a stable, happy family life for any of us; only we, the people, can do that.

These days children are not able to be offered a new family to grow up in, as two of my brothers were. Instead, we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars keeping children with their family of origin, the State intervening constantly in their situation, often with little useful effect. And the State, having intervened, cannot even keep the children safe.

My parents also taught me that we are all responsible for the choices we make. When we teach our children to make their own decisions and to take responsibility for their own actions, we help lay the foundation for them to live a good and fulfilling life. We encourage the idea that we are masters of our own destiny. We allow ourselves to dream and to believe that we can make a difference in our own lives. We become whomever we choose, instead of victims of a world that does things to us.

My work as a lawyer underpins my belief that the Government should provide fair laws and universal laws. The picture of justice is the picture of a blind woman, depicting the fundamental principle that justice is blind. These laws should support property rights, be clear, be predictable, and be the least they can be to achieve the objective for which they are made.

For an example of how not to draft good laws, we need look no further than the bill that is intended to replace the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004. Every law has a purpose, and it seems that the purpose of this law is to serve as an example to us all of how not to draft legislation. I was pleased today to hear the Attorney-General say that he was able to look at amendments, which will improve the bill hugely. That the bill has proceeded this far must be worrying to all New Zealanders who have any understanding of what it proposes. As a rule of thumb, if one cannot explain it on one page and make it open for informed debate, one should not make a new law about it.

My work with the Otago Central Rail Trail helped me understand that people will contribute much more when they are truly part of a project. If it had been left to the Government alone, that rail trail would not be here today. Now the Government is so pleased with the idea of rail trails that it is supporting many more kilometres of trails around New Zealand. The most successful of these will always be the ones that are supported at grassroots level.

The Otago Central Rail Trail has progressed as a partnership between the community and the Government. In my experience, the success of such partnerships stems from a community retaining a real and close relationship to the project. If a Government agency takes something over, people become much less interested in making further contributions. The stark reality is that when the Government takes a dollar from us and spends it, New Zealanders are likely to receive 60c in value, but if a community project gets a dollar from the Government and uses it as a base for inputs from the community, we will receive something like $10 in value. This alone is good reason not to siphon more money through the Government than is absolutely necessary.

Wealth without work is the second of Mahatma Gandhi’s seven social sins. As a lawyer I have seen the effect that not having a job has on families. There is an economic effect, which can be moderated, but the only way for people of working age to feel good about themselves is by making a contribution to their own journey through life, and, for true fulfilment, making a contribution to the journey of others. This does not have to be as part of the paid workforce, but we all need to feel we are making a contribution.

Wealth without work is a corrosive concept, and it becomes even more damaging if it comes about through Government-sanctioned ideas of entitlement. It is the role of the Government to remove barriers to work rather than to promise jobs for all. As soon as the Government takes over responsibility for our economic welfare, we lose all interest in helping as individuals. This is hardly surprising as once we have paid taxes on everything we earn, and everything we spend, at a high rate we feel that we are already doing our bit. Instead of feeling that we should help our fellow citizens, we feel that we are already helping hugely through our taxes, and we have little left to spare once the Government has repatriated whatever it chooses of our money.

Something the media has not found out about me is that I was a Scottish country dancer. Also, I am the owner of a rather large dog, which I walk regularly. Neither of these activities is something the State should take an interest in. I do not expect subsidies for myself and others who share in my interests, nor do I wish to provide through my taxes a subsidy to others who have their own interests and hobbies.

The Government has no role in my choices in general—that is, unless I, or my dog, or my dancing cause problems to other citizens. Any harm I cause to others is of concern to the State. For us all to make our own choices relies on the State to protect us from each other, to provide a framework for the proper interaction between us, and to sanction those who would reduce our freedoms by doing us harm or threatening our peace.

The Government is the guardian of taxpayers’ money, and this money is taken on the basis that it will be used wisely and equitably. The Government has always struggled with providing services equally to all citizens. The catchcry of the Inland Revenue Department has been “It’s our job to be fair.” “It’s our job to be fair” should underpin all Government services, not just the ones that take our money from us. It would be easier to achieve this aim if bureaucracy was kept to a minimum between the people and the people with the purse strings.

If we are not getting a fair deal in Government services throughout New Zealand it ought to be very transparent as to whom we should be taking to task. The services funded by the Government should be transparent and accountable. A particular challenge for the provision of health services in New Zealand is to maximise value for money in the products and services provided, and to provide equitable access to healthcare.

In the South Island there is a move to have neurosurgery provided from Christchurch. This is likely to be more expensive for the Government and to provide a compromised service to taxpayers in Otago and Southland, and this is before we take into account the human costs of transport and time away from work. There are also significant emotional effects on patients and their families from healthcare at a distance. It is not just the cost to the Government for the provision of care; it is also the cost to citizens and their families.

A Government getting the best value from taxpayers’ money and providing equitable services would keep neurological services in Dunedin. We can increase the likelihood of better value for our health dollar by tweaking the health system and having the Government directly buying the services it requires from whoever provides the best value for money, whether public or private. But we could do even better. If each of us had our own health policy, we would give responsibility back to New Zealanders so they are able to choose to get their health care provided by whomever they wish and however they wish.

Education is another example of a State-funded service where we could increase the chance of achieving value for money and a more responsive provision of service. A scholarship for each child would allow a choice of school for each parent, giving parents the chance to help shape the education of their children.

The Government has stewardship of our money only on the basis that, first, it takes only what it needs to protect us and to provide for the services for which it has a mandate; second, that the best possible use is made of every dollar spent; and, third, that the spending is fair to all New Zealanders. I see my job in this House as being to support the Government in these endeavours, and to work towards freedom and responsibility for the people, lower taxes, and a more equitable use of our taxpayer-provided resources. I stand with my ACT Party colleagues in support of less tax and less Government.

Finally, I note that there may be those in this House who imagine that I and my ACT Party colleagues will be easy to oust at the next election. I live in a house that belonged to my parents and my great aunt before me. I have lived in this house almost all my life. I will not be easily moved from either of these houses. Thank you.