Maiden Statements

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā kārangarangatanga maha, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā 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 orana kotou katoatoa, na roto I te aro’a ma’ata o Te Atua. My parents came to this country in the 1950s to give their family a better life. We had a happy childhood amongst our wider whānau 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. But times 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 1999 Riri-o-te-Rangi James Whakaruru 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. Mental unwellness, 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 of unwellness 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 the rebuilders 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. One such activity will be KiwiBuild—Labour’s commitment to build 100,000 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. Meitaki Ma’ata, Faafetai Lava, Malo Aupito.

I want to conclude with a Cook Islands saying: “Me kai koe i to kou poke, e uri to aro ki manava ra.” 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 parents, Nahora and Marion Williams, my brother, Aaron Marsters, and my guiding light, James Whakaruru, I say moemoe ra, aere ra, meitaki ma’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 James Whakaruru 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.

Waiata

Kei āku nui, kai āku rahi, kei āku whakateitei ki te whenua, āku tamarahi i te rangi, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. I rere mai i ngā pā tūwatawata o tōku matua, a Paikea Ariki Apanui, ka tirotiro noa ki ngā pae maunga o Hikurangi rāua ko Whetūmatarau hei manu taikō, hei manu taki o ngā wai ora o Waiapū rāua ko Awatere, hei oranga mō ngā uri whakaheke o Hinerupe rāua ko Awatere. Kei taku tua, kei taku aro, āku whakaruruhau, te whānau Tūwhakairiroa rāua ko te whānau Te Aotaihī kua eke noa i runga i te waka o Horouta, he mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa. Te kuku o tōku manawa Te Whanau Apanui rāua ko Te Whānau Rangihuna, ngā uri whakatipu o Porourangi, tēnā koutou katoa.

I rere mai i ngā pā tūwatawata o tōku whaea, a Te Arorangi Karaitiana Kate, ka tirotiro hoki ki ngā pae maunga o Rangitūmau rātou ko Ruapehu me Tararua hei manu taikō, hei manu taki o ngā wai ora o Ruamāhanga rātou ko Whanganui me Waipoua, hei oranga mō ngā uri whakatipu o Te Oreore rātou ko Te Puke me Ākura hoki. Kei taku aro, kei taku tua, āku whakaruruhau Ngāti Hāmua rātou ko Te Uenuku me Ākura kua eke noa i runga i ngā waka, Kurahaupō rātou ko Aotea me Tākitimu, he mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa. Te kuku o tōku manawa Rangitāne o Te Wairarapa, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi me Ngāti Kahungunu-ki-Te Wairarapa, ka mihi matakuikui anō hoki ki ngā uri whakatipu, te whānau Karaitiana rātou ko te whānau Te Whareponga me te whanau Herewini, tēnā 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 father, Paikea Ariki Apanui, which gazed randomly upon the mountain ranges of Hikurangi and Whetūmatarau, primary and significant sources of health-bearing waters for the Waiapū and Awatere rivers, which sustain the well-being of the descendants of Hinerupe and Awatere. To the families of Tūwhakairiora and Te Aotaihī, members of the Horouta canoe who support, heed, and shelter me, affectionate greetings to you all. To you Te Whānau Apanui and Te Whānau Rangihuna, love of my heart and descendants of Porourangi, greetings to you all.

I came from the fortified villages of my mother, Te Arorangi Karaitiana Kate, which gazed randomly upon the mountain ranges of Rangitūmau, Ruapehu, and Tararua, primary and significant sources of health-bearing waters for the Ruamāhanga, Whanganui, and Waipoua rivers, which sustain the descendants of Te Oreore, Te Puke, and Ākura as well. Ngāti Hāmua, Te Uenuku, and Ākura as well, members of the canoes Kurahaupō, Aotea, and Tākitimu, affectionate greetings to you all. Love of my heart, Rangitāne of Wairarapa, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi and Ngāti Kahungunu at Te Wairarapa, and a joyful salutation as well to the relatives and the Karaitiana, Te Whareponga, and Herewini families. Greetings to you all.]

Mr Speaker, tēnā 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, my whānau, 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 Key, tēnā koe tōku 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 the Māori 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 of Eketāhuna, the second child of PK and Kate Apanui. My father worked on Te Hoe station in Alfredton and played rugby for Eketāhuna and the under 21 Wairarapa Bush side. When I was a child, my parents moved from Eketāhuna to the yet smaller rural town of Rangiwāhia. 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-knit whānau 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 the whakataukī “E tipu e rea” [grow up and thrive] from our tūpuna, and one of the first Māori MPs, Sir Apirana Ngata. Those words encouraged us to take hold and learn the ways of the Pākehā world while holding on to our Māori world. My father modelled that whakataukī 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 at Ākura in Masterton. I miss him dearly because I was his wild child turned good. I am fortunate to have my mother in the gallery this afternoon, along with my whānau and extended whānau, hapū, 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 Wairarapa kaumātua group. Kia ora, Mum. Kia ora, whānau whānui.

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 Broughton, Pippa Newstead, 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, Peter Goodfellow; the board, with a special mention to Kate Hazlett and Roger Bridge; the regional chairs, with a special mention to Ele Ludemann and Malcolm Plimmer; 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. Ka mutu taku kōrero tuatahi i roto i tēnei Whare, nā reira, koutou kua rāminemine mai i runga i te whakaaro kotahi, arā, te Whare tāwharau nei, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā 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.]

Waiata

Sitting suspended from 5.59 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.