Address in Reply

It gives me great pleasure to speak in this Address in Reply debate. It is great to be back for the 51st Parliament, with such a good mandate, I think, nationally. The public saw through the nonsense, saw through the sideshows, and saw the plan that the Government had been laying out to them over the previous two terms, and returned, I think, a very strong mandate for a John Key - led National Government.

Locally, the goal for the party in the Dunedin electorates of Dunedin North and Dunedin South was to win the party votes in both of those electorates. It is an area of New Zealand that is traditionally pretty hard red but I think it is one where there is a definite mood to see a different point of view. It was my great satisfaction to see that party vote wins did go to National both in Dunedin South—for the second time—and, for the first time, in Dunedin North. That is an electorate that is surprisingly left in its leaning. If people have seen the vote compass page on the New Zealand Herald website, there is a very interesting analysis of the sorts of attitudes of all of the constituents around the country, and it surprised even me to see how very left-leaning the electorate is. But, nevertheless, there was an openness to consider a different point of view, and the six booth wins in and around the University of Otago are, I think, a very, very good measure of how things have changed down there. The party has now doubled the party vote as a percentage in the last four elections and increased the party vote in real terms by over 230 percent since 2002.

Look, there have been plenty of pejorative comments about the role of list MPs in New Zealand’s parliamentary democracy. I am very clear that every list MP has a responsibility to represent a constituency, whether that constituency is ethnicity, gender, or geography. For me, of course, that is Dunedin, so I commit to continuing the work over the past 6 years to represent and serve the people of both of those electorates with a great deal of vigour.

And, of course, we heard the Speech from the Throne on Tuesday. It has laid out a very busy agenda for the 51st Parliament and for this Government. It is an active programme that looks, I think, more like a first-term Government than a third-term Government. I think that reflects the new energy, the new ideas, and the new faces that the National caucus has brought to this Parliament. I want to congratulate not only my own colleagues on their election to office but all new MPs from right across the House who have been elected. I think we are quite fortunate in this country with the calibre of the people who offer themselves for public service. This Parliament’s new MPs are, I think, a good reflection of that.

It was certainly my great honour and privilege to be asked again to serve as a member of the executive and retain a portfolio that I held last Parliament as Minister of Immigration. I think we have a unique opportunity, as the Prime Minister has laid out, to set out an economic agenda that positions this country for a step change. There is no doubt that we want our young to be at the front of the queue to benefit from the social, cultural, and economic opportunities that exist in this country. But there is also no doubt that we are a small, open economy trading with the rest of the world, and migration and immigration are going to be a very important part of that process. There is no doubt also that we are going to need to rely very heavily on tradesmen and women from around the world to help us rebuild our second-largest city.

I think we have made very excellent progress in the immigration space. It did sadden me through the election period the peril that some parties were prepared to promote—irrational discussion and deliberate confusion, I would suggest, at positive net migration being somehow trumped up as a migrant wave coming into this country. The simple fact is—

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: What do you reckon 45,000 net is?

Yes, I thought it would not take long before we heard from the member—there we go, the yellow peril again. It is all right, Mr Peters, the election is over. That member is sitting in exactly the same seat he was in in the last Parliament. I suggest he is going to have a little more time on his hands. It is the same old tired rhetoric from everybody on the other side of the House. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I must say I am very pleased with the three portfolios that I was given responsibility for, because they are interlocking. The immigration portfolio does fit very nicely with the newly named portfolio of workplace relations and safety. Certainly, both of those interconnect nicely with my role as Minister of Police. So it is going to be a busy time. I want to just lay out in a little more detail a couple of the priorities of this Government through that period. I will start with workplace relations.

We campaigned in the last two elections on improving flexibility in our employment relations framework. We are considering a bill that I think will do just that and will be passed before too long. The irrational rhetoric that we have heard around some measures in that bill again reinforce that not a lot has changed. I heard that Mr Little issued a release yesterday talking about the fact that workers’ rights would be taken away if they did not join a union. It is a good marketing strategy for the union, and he is clearly dog whistling to the people he wants to vote for him for leader of the Labour Party, but it is simply not true. For those people who have taken the time to email me and post—in some colourful language, I have to say—on social media their views that this provision somehow takes away their rest breaks and meal breaks, I say this: that is nonsense. Do not listen to the cloth cap - wearing members on the other side. Nothing could be further from the truth.

💬 Hon David Cunliffe: Yes, it does. Read the bill.

The member says: “Read the bill.” Of course I have read the bill. The bill says it must be by agreement. You know what? The really interesting thing is those members do not think workers can think for themselves. That is what that says—that they are too stupid to actually work out what is good for them and they need protection. Actually, they are slapping the unions around as well, because it suggests that the unions cannot even fix that. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. The real priority, I think, in workplace relations and safety is the safety element. We have a bill, the Health and Safety Reform Bill, that has been transferred into this Parliament, that will revolutionise health and safety in this country. It follows the task force recommendations and the Pike River royal commission.

I say about the legislative framework that it is a very important recalibration of people’s thinking around workplace health and safety. But until we have a culture change in this country and until we have people who understand that health and safety strategies are not something one does at work when they are not busy, we will not get that step change we are looking for. I am actually really encouraged by talking to workers and unions—and their chief executive officers at a recent health and safety forum in Auckland just this week—that the message is now getting through that we do have an unacceptably high level of people who die and are injured at work and that we need to change that. The Government has set a pretty bold target of a 25 percent reduction in workplace injuries and deaths by 2020, and I think every member of this House will join me in ensuring that the legislative framework is put in place and showing leadership in what is important to achieve that.

I will finally end by congratulating the 12,000 men and women of our New Zealand police force. It is a great honour for me to be the Minister of Police. I look forward very much to working with a very, very professional and committed group of men and women right across the country who have contributed to a significant reduction in crime in this country. We will need to be very clear to continue to stay ahead of the gangs, their criminal networks, the drugs that they peddle, and the money that they launder. This Government has a very comprehensive whole-of-Government strategy for doing just that in order to discourage people from joining gangs, to give them opportunities to leave gangs, and to investigate and punish the crimes that they commit. I think that is a very, very high priority for this Government. I congratulate the New Zealand police on some quite high-profile situations that they have found themselves in over the last couple of weeks already in my time as Minister of Police. I have been very, very impressed with their professionalism.

Tēnā koutou. Te Whare e tū nei, tēnā koe. Te papa e takoto nei, tēnā koe. E ngā mate o tēnei waka, haere, haere, haere. Tātou e ora nei, tēnā tātou, kuia mā, koro mā tēnā koutou. Rau rangatira mā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Greetings to you, the House, standing before me and the ground lying there, greetings. Farewell the deaths of this canoe, depart and journey on. To us the living, to the elderly women and menfolk, acknowledgments. And so to the leaders, a hundredfold greetings, acknowledgments and salutations to you and to us all collectively.]

Mr Assistant Speaker Tisch, congratulations on your reappointment as Assistant Speaker. It is a privilege and an honour to stand before you and all of New Zealand for the first time. It is with much humble joy that I take this opportunity to thank those people who have helped me in my long journey. Firstly, I thank my wife, Karen. She has been a patient and loving person. We have been together 19 years. I am a proud husband and a lucky man. With my two daughters Morgan and Jaime I have a home that is full of fun and love, and their support has been the rock I have held to. In my electorate, we have an incredible passionate and hard-working team that I must acknowledge here today. The people I must thank are Lillian Emery, Ann Wattam, Coral Dolman, Amy Uluave, and my uncle Tom. I would like to acknowledge Heidi Te Are, and particularly Don Newport, a member of the party who has been putting up hoardings in Rotorua for decades. Beyond that, I am humbled by the people who work so hard behind the scenes so that they can see someone in this Parliament who shares their vision, their ideals, and their values. I thank you all for your support.

I consider myself a case study in perseverance and loyalty. My journey here has been a very long one: 21 years a member of the party, with four general election campaigns under my belt. I would like to pay tribute to my leader, the Rt Hon Winston Peters. His leadership, determination, and unwavering energy have seen New Zealand First increase its representation by more than any other party coming into this 51st term. It has also been a great team effort. I say to all of the board, the candidates, the members, and the supporters of this party, thank you and I will endeavour to be an articulate voice for you all.

My journey started with my parents and their political activism. It was my mother and father who trained me to think, to question, and to stand up and be counted. My mother, Maria, father, David, and sister, Stacey, all passed away what seems like a lifetime ago, but, regrettably, it was all so recently. So it is that I can still picture my mum and dad sitting in the gallery. They would be beaming and so full of pride for their son. My sister would be shuffling in her seat. I can hear her voice even now: “Be careful. Don’t stuff up.” Instead, I am able to acknowledge Jen and Terry, my in-laws. Their love and support in all things has meant a great deal to me.

It is important to remember one’s origins. I am proud to say that I was born and raised in Rotorua. I grew up on the beaches of Maketū, Pukehina, Lakes Rotorua and Tarawera, and Waititī Stream, but mostly the Blue Lake; in the thermal baths in Ōhinemutu; on the slopes of Tiho-o-Tonga; and in my grandparents’ home on Homedale Street. I remember the family business vividly, a store in Murupara called Tabuteau’s Drapery, where my dad and his brother worked for decades, selling to the forestry workers and their families. My dad and his brother became integral parts of the Murupara community. During my campaigns, especially, people would come up to me and ask about that Tabuteau name and the connection. They would tell me stories of my mother and father, and his brother. The legacy they left to their community and me was made up of integrity, compassion, honesty, and hard work. This is my legacy, and I am so very proud to be born of it.

For the Commission Opening of Parliament, a bus of 40 of my hapū and whānau made the trek to Wellington from that stream in Waiteti. It was a bus full of Ngāti Ngāraranui. We are a proud whānau. Our family is representative of all New Zealanders. We are kids in school—in Catholic schools and kura—we are mums and dads, we are teachers, we are lawyers, and we are businessmen and businesswomen. We are even former sports stars—All Blacks and Kiwi rugby league players, the Black Sticks, international medal-winning bowls champions, and New Zealand titleholders in boxing. We are represented in the current Kiwi rugby league team. One of my whānau is the most senior Māori policeman in New Zealand. One of us is even a judge. What a family. I am so proud to have been born into this whānau. Further to that, what a wonderful picture of Māoridom today, a mix of real New Zealanders living good lives, with some also reaching lofty heights in their many diverse pursuits—high achievers who are celebrated by their whānau.

As with all people, my lineage is made up of so many branches on that family tree. I can trace my Tabuteau name back to La Rochelle in the year of 1601. I am Ngāti Ngāraranui, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, and Ngāti Whakauē, and through my Tauranga Moana, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Tapu. I was schooled at Otonga Road Primary School, Rotorua Intermediate School, and Rotorua Boys’ High School. I went on to Waiariki Polytechnic and as a young man worked for many years in the tourism industry. Rotorua has made me the person I am today, and I am so staunchly proud of my home town. Unlike many others, after gaining my business degree at the University of Waikato I returned to Rotorua. After a few years in retail and returning to Waikato to add more economics papers to my degree, I was invited to apply for a teaching position at my old high school—Raukura. It was the opportunity as a young man still in his 20s to take on the mantle of matua or teacher, and I truly was given the vehicle and opportunity to grow into the man I am today. It was in this role of mentor and educator that I learnt to extend myself, refine my own skills, and develop expertise in myriad areas. In this time I also wrote my first piece of academic research about high-end interactive travellers and their impact on the Rotorua tourism market. I then returned once again to Waikato University, this time to gain my graduate diploma in teaching and learning.

I proudly claim that my students achieved at the highest level nationally. Several of my greatest joys were not my own but, rather, one of my business teams, for example, which won the supreme business award in the national Young Enterprise Trust competition. Not to be outdone by their peers, a year later—for several years in a row, in fact—my economics students would go on to place in the top 5 percent of the Auckland University New Zealand Economics Competition. In the sporting arena, my junior mountain biking team dominated the national mountain biking competitions. My memory was jogged the other day by a member. As part of a team I supported a Russell McVeagh competition winner in one of my many years as a teacher. As head of our future pathways programme customising individual learning plans, placing students in the workplace so they could learn on the job, and also as the senior dean, I can tell you that our secondary schools are doing a fine job with the funding they receive. Give our schools the support and funding that has been bandied about by Ministers and members with regard to alternatives to solutions for problems that I posit are of their own design, and I implore the Government to watch with incredulous amazement as qualified teachers take our students to new heights of success. Our schools already run rigid professional development programmes for their staff. To take experts out of their classes will not help the students who no longer have their teachers in front of them. I suggest to you that there are already mechanisms in place to upskill our new and struggling teachers.

Only 2½ years ago I accepted an offer to become the head of the business school at Waiariki Institute of Technology, the same institution where, nearly 20 years before, I gained my diploma in business. Here I managed and worked with wonderful staff, developed a suite of postgraduate qualifications, and lectured in my favourite specialist subject, economics. Institutions such as these are being asked to do more with less and less, and although I applaud cost savings and efficiency, it takes a wise practitioner to understand when cost savings have gone too far. Instead, these ledger entries, in fact, no longer reflect the true cost, the real negative cost to staff and, invariably, the students. We must seek to better understand our schooling system. To support their structures and to provide good and meaningful funding and well-trained, qualified staff will mean the development and growth of a future generation we can be proud of. I know that in getting these fundamentals right, we support our children and the future they represent.

Rotorua is a region that serves as the life blood of this country. We thrive in forestry, farming, and tourism in particular. Our life blood has slowed and it is ebbing. Our regions need rejuvenation. Not only do we need to stem the tide of overseas ownership—most of the land in our forests is foreign-owned—but we must look to create value to create jobs. This can be achieved through clever management of our fiscal and monetary policies. I hope to play a role in these conversations and this rejuvenation, even if it has to be one company at a time, such as in my current voluntary role as a New Zealand business mentor. This role has meant nearly a decade of supporting local businesses in their endeavours to attain what seems to be that elusive goal of profitability in today’s world, where locally owned small to medium enterprises undoubtedly struggle. We live in times of corporate giants and international turmoil. We live in the best little country in the world. It is a tremendous place to be but it is a tenuous position to be in. We are a small nation, still fledging in our growth.

My goal in my time here is to ensure that I bring my passion in business and macroeconomics to all discussions in this Parliament, and with all of my colleagues we can make a positive change. I will be challenged. I will have to ensure that certain members do not allow this small and beautiful nation of ours to be swept away by unfettered and unrestrained international interests so far removed from the interests of the people of New Zealand itself. When our goals are long term, when the people of New Zealand are our first priority, when the mechanism of commerce and trade favours our own and provides a stable and robust platform, then can we grow together and share in the wealth of our resources and the reward of our toil. When our own businesses flourish and thrive as they are competing with the rest of the world, when they share their success, and when they share in the spoils with their people, then can I say we all win.

It is with a level of dismay that I note just last week that Rotorua International Airport is to become domestic again. I have already spoken to many in Rotorua about this. These conversations bring to mind most vividly one of the biggest challenges I wish to address—a challenge I have looked to as an academic in my fledging research career. My last piece of formal research looked at the operations of oligopoly market structures, trying to understand the pluses and the minuses of these structures in New Zealand. Let me allude to some of my findings by suggesting that there was little in the way of pluses for the average New Zealand household, and I will be seeking to ensure that although businesses must continue to thrive, importantly, the average New Zealand consumer must be better off as a Kiwi energy user, home builder, supermarket shopper, petrol user, and domestic traveller.

I am committed to finding solutions to many real issues everyday New Zealanders face. They include the need for more qualified teachers in front of smaller classrooms, the need for controls on immigration—perhaps even if it is only to stop the property bubble from bursting in Auckland—and the need for more police on our streets. Let us create and encourage real investment with overseas interests and encourage meaningful returns for all, rather than a wholesale sell-off of our land and assets to non - New Zealanders. Going forward, we all need to be mindful of supporting the integration of three core pillars into our organisations: profit, yes; the planet, absolutely; but, most important, people. Let us not forget the people. To be a member of this House is a privilege. To be an effective Opposition is to ensure an open and accountable Government. I have spent most of my adult life working for the betterment of others. I will remember the privilege that is this role every day that I am here. I will continue to work hard for the betterment of all New Zealanders and will endeavour to ensure that this Government is always open and accountable. Kia ora and tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker.

Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. I would like to start by congratulating you on your recent re-election as the Assistant Speaker. I would like to thank and acknowledge also the Rt Hon Winston Peters for his courage and foresight in setting up New Zealand First 21 years ago. This is truly an independent party with strong ethical and moral values aimed to benefit all New Zealanders, and I am honoured to be a part of this new and exciting caucus. I would also like to positively acknowledge all New Zealand First members of Parliament here today and those who are not, my family, my friends, allies, and members of the Opposition. I am very honoured and humbled to have this opportunity to present myself here today as a new member of Parliament with high hopes, big dreams, and positive aspirations.

My political career has taken off like an unexpected rocket, one that I hope does not end like the kind you get at The Warehouse before Guy Fawkes but that is more like the long-serving space shuttle Discovery, which has had over 27 years of safe take-offs, research missions, and successful landings. I have always been passionate about politics but never had a personal political agenda, at least not up until 2013 when I became ever-increasingly frustrated and disappointed in decisions that were being made and the direction we were being led in Tauranga by our city council. It was then that I realised that if you want something done, you had better be prepared to do it yourself, and as my father used to say: “Put up or shut up.”

In the 2013 Tauranga City Council local body elections I was privileged to win the Mount Maunganui - Papamoa ward councillor seat and got into local government. I have very much enjoyed working with a great team of elected members and the mayor to change the direction of the city into a more positive one. In our first 12 months we have signed off on a marine precinct to complement our port, a tertiary campus to educate and enable our youth to live and learn in the cities they grew up in, and we have given the go-ahead to the Greerton Library upgrade and some tsunami exit paths for Papamoa East residents, to name but a few. We, as a council, have recognised the importance of economic growth and development for our city, and we are well under way with a plan to attract new businesses and ideas to Tauranga that complement our natural features and landscape and that add value to industries and commercial sectors that are starting to flourish here.

Tourism is one of New Zealand’s greatest export commodities. This industry has grown exponentially in Tauranga, with the cruise ship market growing 900 percent over the past 10 years, which will continue to grow as the people of the world realise that Tauranga and Mount Maunganui are some of this country’s jewels in the crown.

It is not hard to understand why so many people are moving to Tauranga, particularly when we have over 72 square kilometres of gorgeous and safe inner harbour to swim, fish, boat, and play in. We have a number of beautiful islands, namely Matakana Island, Kārewa Island, Motītī Island, and Mayor Island, all within a short boat ride, with some of the best fishing, diving, and surfing this country has to offer. Mount Maunganui, or Mauao, as it is sometimes referred to locally, is an icon at the end of the Mount Maunganui peninsula, with one of the most beautiful and popular short walks up and around this historical landmark. Our gorgeous white sandy beaches span for kilometres down the coast to Maketū and are protected by three of New Zealand’s top performing and functioning surf-lifesaving clubs at Mount Maunganui—Ōmanu Beach Surf Life Saving Club, of which I am an active member, and Papamoa Surf Life Saving Club.

Tauranga has rich and fertile lands and seas, which produce a range of high-quality exportable agriculture and aquaculture products. Tauranga boasts a world-class marine research facility and an internationally acclaimed agriculture business park, plus the world’s first titanium 3D-printing facility. Tauranga is a multicultural city made up of many micro communities, all of which come together in times of need. This was seen most recently when poor 5-year-old Jack Dixon was swept off the shores at Shelly Bay at the start of the school holidays. I, and my family, along with the people of Tauranga and the wider community, came together to offer solidarity, support, and kindness to the Dixon family after their unfathomable loss. My love and heartfelt thoughts go out to the Dixon family today.

These communities along with many others from around the country also came together en masse when the Rena ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef on 5 October in 2011. This avoidable accident left our coastline and wildlife in a potentially perilous position, but this community of people worked tirelessly to clean the coastline and the wildlife that live within it to minimise the long-term harm this incident could have caused. I feel very proud to be part of this giving, caring, and heartfelt community of Tauranga.

One of the biggest issues we are currently facing in Tauranga is the growing pains and problems associated with rapid growth and the financial implications that this is causing ratepayers in Tauranga, who are currently paying some of the highest rates in the country. The single-largest debt we have on our city’s balance sheet to date is the $63 million of debt associated with a nationally significant stretch of road, namely, Route K. This road brings traffic and products in from Auckland and the Waikato to New Zealand’s largest and busiest port. This road of national significance is one of the reasons I am in Parliament today, as I have been working hard, along with others, to get this debt off our city’s balance sheet. Now that this has been achieved with the recent announcement of the New Zealand Transport Agency agreeing to take over the debt of Route K, I feel I must finish what has been started and get the tolls removed also. It is something that the Rt Hon Winston Peters and New Zealand First have done for our city in the past with the building of, and the tolls removed from, our city harbour bridges.

I also want to be able to hold this Government to its 2008 pre-election promise stating that it would fund a $100 million central corridor upgrade involving the four-laning of Turret Road and the Hairini causeway bridge and the widening of Fifteenth Avenue. This promise also included a direct link between Welcome Bay Road and Turret Road via an underpass. To date, nothing much has been done except National trying to put the ownership of the Tauranga central corridor into the local road network, which would then leave ownership and roading upgrade responsibility and cost in the hands of ratepayers. Tauranga needs a strong voice and someone who is prepared to stand up and fight for these issues and many more. I intend to be that voice and to back my words with actions.

I change my direction now just by saying I feel extremely honoured and privileged to be able to stand here in this House in front of my very dear family, my friends, and my supporters. I would like to acknowledge and thank my lovely wife and best friend, Erika, my daughter, Jazmin, and my two sons, Oliver and William, who are all here today. I want to take this moment to say I love you with all my heart. They have been so encouraging and supportive during my campaign and career, and to know I have their full backing and support for the future means absolutely everything to me.

I would also like to thank and acknowledge my mum and dad for their support and encouragement throughout my life and career thus far. Thanks, mum and dad. Thanks mum and dad and my sister Bobbi for coming all the way from Australia to share this day with me. I would like to thank my other sister, Joy, along with my niece and nephew Robyn and Jay, plus the plethora of other family members and close friends who have made it here today or who are watching, I am sure, on Parliament TV on this very auspicious occasion.

I have come from a very long line of strong New Zealanders, dating back to our early arrival in New Zealand on a whaling ship in the late 1700s. My ancestor Robert Henry Mitchell was buried in 1820 in a small graveyard in what is now a ghost town outside Hokitika. I am the 10th Robert Henry Mitchell in a very long line of family members with the same name, which now includes my son Oliver. As well as passing on our family name, we have bestowed on our generations of family members a vibrancy and passion for life, honesty and loyalty, as well as strong principles of doing what is right. My grandfather was a socialist who was the leader of the New Zealand miners union unopposed for 20 years, but also a prominent member of the New Zealand Communist Party after being a card-carrying Labour supporter in the 1930s.

On my mother’s side the Robinsons have also come from a strong line of socialistic idealism—my mother’s great-grandparents being heavily involved in the Labour Party, which began in Blackball on the West Coast of the South Island in 1916. These two strong political genetic lines have clearly had an influence on my current position and my strong views on fixing one of a number of large issues that this country is now facing.

This segues nicely into some of the big issues I think this country faces and some of the things that New Zealand First is passionate about fixing, for the betterment of New Zealand and all New Zealanders. This includes separatism that has been allowed to develop in this country, where double standards are made in legislation by giving favouritism to some New Zealanders because of birthright. We must strive for a one-law-for-all country where all New Zealanders, regardless of race or creed, are treated equally and given the same opportunity to get ahead as their neighbour.

Another major problem we are faced with is the wholesale selling off of our State-owned assets that have been built up over generations by our forward-thinking forefathers and mothers. This practice needs to be reversed. The ideology that it is somehow OK to let non - New Zealand residents or citizens buy up vast amounts of our land, which is inconceivable in most other parts of the world, is beyond me, not to mention the direct impact that this is having on the price of residential property throughout our country. Our land is limited and precious, and we need to stop this ridiculous practice.

We are an export nation with some of the finest goods the rest of the world could hope to buy, and yet we seem to be doing very little about controlling our export dollar or adding export value to the goods we send offshore. More needs to be done to create added value to our commodities, which will in turn create more jobs for willing Kiwis. These are big issues, but we also need to find a solution to the ever-increasing gap of inequality between those who have got so much and those who have got so little. This problem has got so large that even some families with two full-time incomes are struggling to keep their heads above water. With the price of living in New Zealand being amongst some of the highest in the world, the thought of getting ahead can be a frustrating pipedream with dire consequences on the mental and physical well-being of Kiwis.

We need to champion profit, because without it our businesses and industries will fail. However, we need to differentiate between this and profiteering, which is the ugly side to irresponsible corporations and companies that take advantage of people’s needs. This is created by the monopolies and the duopolies that are taking hold in this country. I am talking about heroing responsible capitalism. We need a Government that empowers and enables people to get ahead whilst valuing the importance of family time, where a one-income family can support itself fully and make headway into the future. We need mums and dads to get our kids back outside, playing and enjoying the outdoors, for a richer, happier, and healthier existence, and where, through education, we can get families enjoying better diets and understanding the need to be involved in sports and recreation. This will help our ever-growing problem of child obesity.

I will bring to this House a positive energy and a wealth of experience from my sporting pursuits, where I have represented my country, and my successful business pursuits, which span over 20 years and include the hospitality industry, event management, and business coaching and mentoring.

I know that every person who stands here today and speaks for the first time—in fact, everybody who has ever made, or who will in the future make, their maiden speech—will, despite their different political allegiances, share a similar or the same moral and ethical principle, which is to make a positive and everlasting difference. Alas, there are, and will be, those who fall short of their intended positive impact, lose sight of their moral compass, and end up being the people or the person they so avidly said they would not become. I stand here today, in front of the people who have known me the longest and who will know me for the rest of my life, and I pledge that I will stay the same person who I am today. I pledge also that I will not be moved or cowed from my principles and that I will stand strong for the ever-increasingly difficult task to deliver on common sense. Thank you.

Time is the school in which we learn; time is the fire in which we burn. It is with those words that I begin my very first speech in this House as those few words have the power to hold to account all those who dare to represent, whether they have an inevitably finite stay lasting 3 months or a formidable three decades. My hope, of course, is to emulate the latter. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate a few people today and may I firstly join my colleagues in congratulating the Rt Hon David Carter on his re-election as Speaker; yourself, Mr Assistant Speaker Tisch; and the Hon Chester Borrows, as well as Trevor Mallard, on all of your elections into your positions.

I would also like to congratulate the New Zealand First Party as a whole, from our grassroots supporters and loyal, hard-working electorate committees through to all 11 MPs. The party should be congratulated on the flawless campaign that saw us obtain the highest increase in party vote percentage and, along with it, four more MPs. It is safe to say now that we are genuinely the fastest-growing political movement in New Zealand today. Congratulations also to the Rt Hon Winston Peters, who showed incomparable energy, faith, and commitment to lead us into one of the strongest positions our party has been in for a long time. His energy and example were infectious and inspirational and gave our party the strength it has in Parliament.

Last but by no means least congratulations to the two returning New Zealand First MPs, Pita Paraone and Ron Mark. We are immeasurably stronger as a team with your presence. And, of course, congratulations to my fellow first-time MPs from all parties in Parliament and, in particular, to our new New Zealand First MPs. Over the past 4 weeks or so it has become evident that we have a strong team that is balanced with experience, talent, and fresh faces. It has put us in a very strong position this term. I look forward to working together and celebrating our successes.

There are a few people I must acknowledge and thank here today, and, of course, the first are my family. Both my brother and my mother, Brenda, and my Aunt Fiona are here today, and without them both I would not be here. There are a few certain people in one’s life to whom you can genuinely attribute the help to achieve your highs, and it is only their unquestionable love and support that allows me to survive. I am lucky enough to have them both. Thank you to my son and daughter, Alex and Madeleine. Emma, I thank you for your support through the last few years of politics, which consumed my spare time and even time I did not have to spare. It looks set to continue, but I know I can rely on your support, as always. One knows who their mates are even when one has not seen them in years. They still come and support me, as they have today. There are very few professions in the world that can boast of having such an effect on the bond between mates, and for me it is proven here today that the New Zealand Army is at the top of that list. Thanks for your support. I cannot put into words my total appreciation. I would also at this time like to thank John Thorn for his support and guidance as my local chair and campaign manager, and I look forward to developing the electorate through this term.

Thanks to the voters of Palmerston North, who saw the benefit of voting for New Zealand First and gaining more than one MP for our community and, in fact, for increasing New Zealand First’s party vote by 60 percent. We now have not two MPs but three MPs for Palmerston North, and it means that in the end Palmerston North will be the ultimate beneficiary. I look forward to working with both the other MPs in the future to ensure our community has the best representation from all parties. I would also like to mention Rob Young, who passed away before he could realise his goal of sending me into Parliament. Rob was the person who originally saw the beginnings of my involvement with the party. He put his faith in me and helped me on my way. Without him, I would not be here, and I am eternally grateful.

My journey through the rollercoaster ride that is the dipping of my toes into the seemingly parallel universe that hides beneath the thin veil called politics began some years ago in the officers’ mess at Burnham Military Camp, where my incessant opinions on some recent Cabinet reshuffle or my uncontrollable excitement about the latest Budget release not only fell on deaf ears but attracted the ire of many of my fellow officers, not to mention many a taxi driver. It was somewhere close to that point in my life when I knew that my interests in life and consequences around me extended far beyond what any sane 20-year-old should ever be interested in.

I was drawn into getting involved with New Zealand First 4 years ago and somehow found my way up through local electorate representation, on the board of directors, and into the vice-president position in what seemed to me like a whirlwind of goal-setting and hard work, which ultimately dropped me constantly at the peaks of representation for the party. My passion for our country and for the policies that New Zealand First has keeps me driven to work hard for my party and to continue to drive our policies that will ultimately create a better New Zealand. My passion is politics, my passion is this country, and that is why I stand here as a member of New Zealand First.

New Zealand has a wide and varied society. We have people who have and people who have not. We have people who are country folk through and through and we also have big city dwellers—old and young, rich and poor, city and rural, Māori, Pākehā, Kiwi, Indian, Asian-European to name but a few of the wide-ranging demographics. It is not the role of a true political party to represent any one of those certain sections of our society, but we have parties in this Parliament here today that do just that. In fact, it is the role of the true political party to represent all people in New Zealand, irrespective of who they are. New Zealand First does not represent just the bottom 10 percent or the top 10 percent or even only the people in between. We do not isolate race or income or any minority or majority. We are the party that represents all New Zealanders. That is why I stand with this team.

In anyone’s life there are specific moments in time when we can identify a momentum shift, a sea change, a proudly defining moment, and my life story is no different. The first of those, and the most monumental in my life, was when my father died on my 17th birthday. To compare him to a foundation of granite rock would not do him justice. Perhaps to compare him to a titan of security, of discipline, and of love might come halfway near close. With that influence ripped from my life, my direction, my pride, and my mana took a deft blow. I lost my way and I made mistakes. It was only through the support around me, through the means of luck, and through the influence of fear that the path I took, the path I struggled through on my hands and bleeding knees, allowed me to survive. It allowed me to have a perspective of the importance of youth; the important of guidance, of support, and of decision-making at that time in one’s life; and the irreversible costs if we get it wrong.

That period in my life ignited a passion and a drive in me to ensure that the youth of our country are looked after, that they have a safe, secure future, and that they have a progressive future ahead of them. This comes not only through the obvious, sound legislation, but, most important, through genuine care and ownership of the very real issues that they face today. Therein lies my motivation for being here in our House of Representatives. The height of my excitement of being part of our democracy in New Zealand is finely balanced with the reality of the heavy weight of expectation that every representative must bear. The people of New Zealand have placed their faith in our democratic system and in every member with a seat in this House no matter who they voted for or why.

This is my first step into the world of politics. I did not leave school with politics in mind. I did not go to university to study politics. I have not had experience in a political internship or a campaign manager’s role, or any such thing. I did not work for an MP or any other Government organisation. There is no deep history of politics in my family, nor did I join a young political party or run for president of a university club studying double majors and thick books, nor do I have any experience in local government or local politics. This was my very first campaign and the very first time I stood for office. I am brand new.

That is not an admission of somehow being a step behind any of the other new MPs in this House who have done even some of those things—in fact, quite the contrary. I know about what true loss means. I know the inescapable truth about wrong choices, wrong paths to take, and wrong motivations. I know what it means to not know how I going to pay the next bill. I know what it is like to live as a solo father, the crushing lows one can experience with the weight of expectation on one’s shoulders, the courage it takes to stand in line at the Work and Income office and ask for help, and the labels that are planted on one’s back in doing so. I know the absolute sacrifice and total acceptance of one’s responsibility that is needed just to understand what the next step will be towards some sort of normality. I know what it means to wear a uniform and serve our country and the sacrifices that our soldiers make every day, and the ultimate sacrifice our soldiers are expected to accept when there is no one else to stand in their shoes through the heat and chaos of conflict. I truly understand what camaraderie means.

I know what it is to see the troubled youth of our community desperately need help and their not even knowing it, and the harrowing stories of their lives and their truly believing that their experiences are somehow normal. I understand the utmost importance of our quality education system and the one chance we have to get it right for our kids. A teacher does not just stand at the front of a classroom and teach. They lead, they counsel, they guide, they discipline, they nurture, and they empower. Teachers empower our children. There is no substitute for that.

I know these things not because I have read a book about them or because I have worked for an MP who dealt with these issues, nor do I know these things because I have heard it through some research that was conducted. I know these things because I have lived them. I have experienced them firsthand. I have walked a mile or more in real people’s shoes who struggle every day—people who serve our country every day, people who teach and care for our children every day. Where would we be without these real people? And where would we be without real representation? As I said, there are some who may say this political experience being new to me is a disadvantage. Well, I say I am in the box seat.

I was educated at the University of Auckland following my deep interest in biology and science. I then spent 7 years as a commissioned officer in the army. When I left the army I worked with youth in our community and decided to go back to school and become a qualified teacher. I was teaching biology before I made the step into this House. I stand here in the House of Representatives with the passion to serve and with that real life experience of the real people of this country. I have faced many challenges in the past, and now there are many more demanding and unrelenting challenges ahead, but one thing my life has taught me is that there is no substitute for hard work, passion, or sacrifice, and there is no greater judge of those three attributes in an individual than within oneself. “To thine own self be true.”

The army corps that I was in has a motto that is both profound and simple. It has resonated with me through my life and has made me keep my head at important times. It has made me keep the right perspective, and, most important, it has allowed me to focus on the right motivations and the right pathway to take: “Mana hua te tangata”—by our actions we are known. On this grand stage of politics there is no doubt that the people of New Zealand rightly judge us all by our actions, not by our intentions or best wishes and not by our smile or personality. As a wise man once said, they do not judge us by the noise we make when we open our mouths and let the wind blow our tongues around. The people of New Zealand judge us by what we do—by our actions and by what we achieve for the cause. There is no greater cause than our country, our people, and our future. In my time in this House, no matter how short or long that may be, may I rightly be judged on that.

May I close with this: my life has been in the service of others, from serving my country in the army and serving youth in my community to serving our children in our classrooms. Becoming an MP in the service of our country seems a natural step. My path to this House and to this seat has been a roller coaster, a tumble-dryer, and a verifiable litany of opportunity and sacrifice. It has made me realise a few things, the most important of which is that sometimes our dreams are not as far away from reality as one might think. Thank you.

E te Whare, tēnā tātou katoa. E te Kaiwhakawā, tēnā koe. Ngā mema o tēnei rōpū, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker Tisch, and congratulations on your election as Assistant Speaker.

To my fellow MPs and to all of those observers in the public gallery and on social media, today I stand here as a new MP, humbled by the occasion, proud for my family, and thankful to those who believed in me, firstly, the Rt Hon Winston Peters and our party, and also all those who supported and voted for us. The journey has been a long time coming. On that, I left my native India some 12 years ago looking for a better life for my family. I chose, of all the countries in the world, to settle here in this beautiful land, full of opportunities and surrounded by a rich, multicultural diversity of people.

In my previous employment, you might say that I had a captive audience, somewhat like I do today. Yet, we all sought to be here, rather than be put here. It was our choice to run for office, and when looking for the right party to represent, I found that the New Zealand First Party had similar ideals to mine. They are the similar ideals that most forward-thinking, industrious, hard-working, fair-minded, and supportive people have in this wonderland we call Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud.

I believe in fair play, hard work, and a just reward for all who seek to better their lives. I also believe that we, as a people of many races and ethnicities, have come to this place at this time to improve the lot of our families, our friends, new neighbours, and, indeed, all New Zealanders. We do so with a hard-work ethic and a desire to see a better nation, where all people can live without fear and hatred, never having to live with bombs falling on their heads or in poverty, never seeing leaders take and not share, never having to hear of politicians taking backhanders or creating an unfair society, never worrying whether the water we drink or swim in or fish from is polluted, never having to worry that if we fall into harm’s way we will not have a helping hand to pick us up or to offer support, never worrying if we or our loved ones, when sick or infirm, cannot get medical or hospital care—and so the list goes on. It is a list of blessings fought for and protected by those who have sat in these seats before us, and who have ensured that we need not worry so.

I want to see a country where all can afford a home or pay the rent, and where all can achieve higher education, be it in a university or by way of an apprenticeship. A place where equality and fairness is more important than separatism; a place where you may speak your mind and not have troops knocking on your door in the middle of the night, demanding that you speak the party line of a dictatorship, or even worse. I stand here today warning every New Zealander and everyone who calls this place home that I will stand up and fight to see that this is the case—that you may live without fear in your home in our land.

I see a place where people are paid a livable wage for a fair day’s labour, and where those who own businesses and create jobs share the wealth with those who work for them. People helping people—a fair and caring society that rewards those who work hard, that rewards those who create employment opportunities for others, and that rewards all of us so that our children will live better, safer, and richer lives.

Growing up in Mumbai, a city with a huge population with such disparity between the haves and have-nots, I saw an unequal society that seemed unfair, and I do not want New Zealand to become like that. Some there have great wealth, while the masses have nothing. If you do not work, you do not eat, and if you do not have an education, you do not advance, it seemed to me. My own upbringing was strict and with strong values expected of us all. A respect for our elders and our family was paramount. To live with clear values and a determination to succeed was encouraged, and I see these values with the party that I am so honoured to represent in the House today.

When my beautiful wife and mother of my children was killed in a car crash some 8 years ago, I could have given up on this country. Instead, I embraced all the good that I experienced in that traumatic time and I chose to serve the people—all the people—who live in this remarkable Aotearoa.

The other thing that I care about and love about this party that I serve is our elderly people—those who have worked so hard can enjoy some fruits of their sweat. The SuperGold card is but a small, yet welcome, endorsement of how we appreciate their efforts. I would like to see more given to the senior citizens of this land—something that we can discuss in the working papers with our colleagues, I hope, soon. For our servicemen and women, who have served our land and fought in faraway wars in a combat or supporting role as peacekeepers and observers, I want to see more recognition for the sacrifice that they gave and continue to give. The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement being pushed on us by overseas lobbyists should be open for debate by all members of this House, with the public of this country contributing via a commission of inquiry. This needs to be set up by all parties and overseen by an independent committee.

I believe that many changes for the good of all can be achieved by all in this House working together. It can become a reality, where there is no “them and us” or “we and they”. This place here could see amazing changes come to fruition that would continue to endorse this country as one of the truly great places on the planet to reside and live in.

For law and order, justice must be seen to be done to be effective, and I believe we must look at how the rights of law-abiding citizens seem to be overlooked in favour of offenders. We have people charged with crimes being let off because of delays in the justice system. This is not good for those who are accused and never tried, thus being unable to prove their innocence and, therefore, being tainted for ever. And it is not good for those who are the victims of those crimes. Also, I believe that a sentence must be served in full, not lessened because of good behaviour. If a prisoner presents bad behaviour, extend his or her sentence. The needs of victims of crime must be considered way above those who commit those crimes.

And the planet and the place we live in—I feel really strongly about the need to protect our planet from the ever-polluting of it, be it from heavy industry or the felling of our forests. We must find a happy medium. We must grow more forests and look after our waterways. We must come down heavily on those who pollute our environment to the detriment of all who live here. Let us look at offshore drilling. Make those companies that drill around our coastline deposit a huge guarantee into a New Zealand land - sea protective trust, so that any clean-up is insured by those who would pollute our place.

There is so much that needs to be done, and these are but a few of the areas of concern that I have for our people and our country, for our planet and our future.

I want to take a moment of this time to say a big thankyou to those many people who have helped me to get to this place and to those who have supported me along the way. To get here today, I have had to stand on the shoulders of giants, and I would like to say thanks to them. They are many, and they know who they are. I am truly grateful for the help, support, and encouragement that you all have given me, and soon I will speak to you individually to give you my first thanks. My thanks go to Mr Giri Gupta and the entire Indian Weekender team for their support, and to my friends Danny and Cynthia Roger, Jeff and Jennifer Partridge, Colin and Pam Fonseca, and Vanbana Jawalkar for being there for me in good times and bad. I wish to acknowledge my son, Vikram, and my daughters, Sanjivani and Ashwini.

Finally, I thank my ancestors, particularly my grandmother, who instilled it in me to never look for a fight, but if in one, then fight to win. It is better to walk away than to rumble. However, if the need be, then fight to win—never back down. The monsters who will stand against a fair and just society will be confronted by me and my colleagues, for we will defend the rights of all those who feel aggrieved and are.

To close, I thank you, members of the gallery, those on social media, and my honourable colleagues in this House. Nō reira, kia nui toku mihi ki a tātou katoa. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Firstly, can I pay my respects in the usual way, as tradition has it, to the Governor-General; to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, as you are elected to the high office of Deputy Speaker; and to the Speaker himself for his re-election and his venerable assistance. Can I also congratulate the sixth St Bede College’s old boy, Mr Matt Doocey, my learned opponent, on ascending to the great place in this House. I congratulate him on his win. It is a great honour to be in this House. I say to those who went to other schools like Christ’s College and other second-rate educational institutions that St Bede’s College still maintains the record for the largest number of members in this House at any given time. So I welcome Mr Doocey to that elite club of the famous six.

Can I congratulate the Prime Minister and Government members on his and its election win. It was indeed a substantial victory from their point of view. It is true that New Zealanders have now rendered a verdict and placed their faith and trust in a National-led Government and a National-led Prime Minister. However, I say to the Government that along with faith and trust comes the burden of expectation—the burden of expectation—from a community that was promised much by this Government as it sought a mandate for a third term, such as the expectations, for instance, of those parents who cannot afford to house their families, themselves, and their kids in a warm and dry home. Those are expectations this Government has pledged to meet and it will be judged accordingly. The expectations, for instance, are also of the younger generation, the first-home buyers, who struggle to get on to the property ladder to gain the Kiwi dream of a first-home buy.

I note with interest that one of the three housing Ministers has eventually, after it was drawn out of him like barbed wire, admitted that five houses—five houses only—have been built in the so-called preferential zones, or whatever the term is, that the Government has set up. I note also that Dr Smith, as the Minister for Building and Housing, believes, just for the record, that consents, or should I say, code compliance certificates—which, for the uninitiated, note that the house is built and that somebody can legally move into it because it complies. There are no records of such things in our community. I invite him to check every local government website that asks you whether you wish to apply for said certificate—and, by definition, if you apply, you are granted one, therefore there is a record of that in a local authority.

The expectations are high, especially in the health area. They are high for those who have been diagnosed, for instance, as needing an operation by a specialist, who are then told: “No, the books are full. It will take in excess of 5 months”—the Government’s cut off point—“to have that operation.” Those folks are then told: “The books are full. Go back to your general practitioner.”—not because you are healthy or you are put right but because there just are not the resources there to cater for you, and the Government refuses to have a measure. I say to the Minister of Health, as to the thousands of people who have been told to go back to their GP, I think it is illogical. The Minister of Health also holds, I believe, a business degree. I am sure he would agree with me, in his learnings, that there is an old adage: if you cannot measure a problem, you cannot measure progress in terms of how you are dealing with that problem, negatively or positively, and, more important, you cannot be held to account if you do not measure that problem.

The expectations on this Government are indeed great. The fact, of course, is that it will not measure child poverty, but now it says it will do something about it. I am grateful for the ladder. I still would have thought logic would dictate, in order for them to be judged by the New Zealand people, that a measure is appropriate. The Government will also be judged by the thousands of young people who would like a trade and who would like an apprenticeship, but no real assistance is out there, the numbers are not there to cater for them, or there are businesses that would like to take a young person on as an apprentice but the financial assistance does not exist in any great volume for them to be incentivised to do that. There are the expectations down my way of the Canterbury community. Those people are still waiting after 4 years to have their earthquake claims settled by either a private sector insurer or the Earthquake Commission. The expectations of those folks—the thousands of them—are great, and they will be a great burden on this Government, which has pledged, through an election victory, to do something about that. My hope—my genuine bipartisan hope—on that score is that we will not be here in another 3 years’ time or 7 and a bit years down the track still talking about folks who have not had the ability or not been supported to the point where they can get their earthquake claims resolved.

There are the expectations of those—and I will not labour this point—academics, journalists, community leaders, business people, and others whose reputations we now know were dragged through the political sewer by those outside this place and, yet to be tested, aided and abetted by some in this place, formed and crystallised around the infamous book Dirty Politics. I say to the Government simply that if you take away conjecture and interpretation, documents do not lie. Documents and evidence do not lie. So there is a duty on this Government to meet the expectations of the community.

To be fair, there is also a duty upon the Opposition and the lead party in the Opposition, which is my Labour Party, to meet the aspirations and be accountable to the community by doing our job. Our primary job in this place is to hold the Government to account. It is true though that we have an obligation to get the message that we got. We got a message on election night. It is our duty to humbly receive that message, to analyse that message, and to act on that message. That means that as a political movement the expectations of the community are that we modernise as a party. Though those opposite may see some of our processes and internal workings as rather strange—the leadership contest that proceeds before us now—this is about broadening and modernising a Labour Party. I believe in a Labour Party that is broad. I do not subscribe to a view of a narrow-based political movement. I do not subscribe to a view that if you talk about representing, broadening, and becoming part of the middle ground, somehow you are excluding those groups or individuals on the fringes. I do not subscribe to that logic. I do not understand it. I do not believe it has any validity in a modern political movement. We have a duty to represent as wide a cross-section of the public as we can. We have a duty as a political movement to evolve with the needs, the concerns, and the changing priorities of our community.

I once had a grandfather. I did not meet him. He was an Invercargill guy, dead before I was born. He started life as a baker, a wage worker. He bought a tobacconist’s shop, as it was called back then—a barber’s shop. He did not change his values; he still voted Labour. His mates thought as soon as he became a business person or an entrepreneur—not that that was in vogue those days—that he would suddenly go from red to blue. He did not change his values; he changed his priorities, looking after his family in different ways. He went from a wage worker to a business person. Being a modern 21st century political party, modernising, evolving, and moving with the community does not mean that you sell out your values and your principles; it simply means that you evolve to better reflect in a modern way and move with your community and recognise, accept, action, and be accountable for those changing priorities that your constituency has.

I conclude by saying that there are expectations on this Government and they will weigh heavy upon it. We stand ready as the major Opposition party in this House to hold every one of those Ministers accountable for the promises and the commitments they make. But I give a commitment, and our side of politics gives a commitment, that we also have heavy expectations weighing upon us and we must redouble our efforts and commit ourselves to meeting and exceeding those expectations, even if at times change can be painful. Change and reform can be painful in a number of ways, but political movements that do not change and move with the times—and perhaps even are not humble enough to change their views to reflect their constituency without selling out their principles—are doomed to be in another place. We are a 98-year-old Labour Party. We are the oldest political movement in this country. In 2 years we will be 100. To those who say we will disappear and have forecast our doom for the last 100 years, I have to say that you will be wrong, and wrong again.

First of all, since this is the first time I have taken the floor in this Parliament, I would like to congratulate you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and your colleagues on your election. I would also like to say—and I am sure this is in common with every member of this House—that having gone through this bizarre, slightly surreal thing that happens every 3 years called a general election, where we go back and account to the people who put us here, it is a great privilege. I know that all the members, from whichever political party they come, would actually really cherish that opportunity. I am certainly one of them.

The issue I wish to take up in this debate is the first matter mentioned by the Prime Minister, which is actually the stunning success for “New Zealand Inc.” in New York, the United Nations Security Council. I really believe that this is something that happens about once in a generation, and it does deserve some extended consideration and discussion in New Zealand politics. I want to acknowledge all the people who have put their shoulder to the wheel, from our previous Prime Minister Helen Clark through to our current Prime Minister—I personally have watched him advocate strongly and very effectively with foreign leaders—and a whole team of officials who have really worked themselves into a grind by putting in a maximum effort to make this possible.

But I absolutely want to single out Murray McCully. I now know Murray McCully extremely well professionally and, I think, personally, and I believe that without his sense of commitment, his drive, and a travel programme that makes my own look positively lackadaisical, we would not have got over the line, so I do want to acknowledge that. You know, everybody in this House who has been around for a while knows the old nickname he used to have: “Minister of Politics”. That applied to an earlier stage in his career. I do not imagine Mr McCully would mind that in the slightest, because nothing is more important to any individual than the respect of your peers, and he would never have attracted that nickname or soubriquet if it did not imply respect for his political skills. What he has done is apply those hard-won, carefully honed political skills to the bigger stage of international politics to come out with a success. I want to put on record my views on that.

As to the benefits, I am aware of the wider arguments that are sort of more centralised on New Zealand interests, and I do not disagree with them, but the core point is this: if one looks at the history of small States over literally thousands of years from the Peloponnesian War to current crises, it is clear what the core interest of small States is. It is global and regional peace and stability—that is, nothing imperils the sovereign existence in every sense and the liberties of the citizens of small States more than the absence of international peace and security and the rule of law. For heaven’s sake, whatever it costs—I have no idea how much it will cost—we should be playing our part, once every generation, in putting our shoulders to the wheel to try to make a contribution. The comments I want to make today are really some reflections on what I think the nature of a contribution from a small, active State like New Zealand could be.

We are in a difficult environment, multilaterally, around the world. I think there are various reasons, but the core reason is a rather paradoxical one. Look at the World Trade Organization, which is in terrible trouble, and climate change negotiations, which are very difficult; we tried to get a long-term agreement in place in 2009 but it has been kicked forward to 2020. I am sure we will get there, but it is very difficult to make multilateralism work. I think the paradox is this: it was actually easier to make it work when we had a single hegemonic power—the United States—driving this process. It had enormous creativity behind the process that it put in place when it was absolutely the supreme power after the war with something like 50 percent of the world’s GDP. But, as we know, that situation is changing.

I am optimistic that the emerging superpowers of China and India will play a very useful role, but the habits of cooperation are not well embedded between the bricks and the traditional centres of power in developed countries. I think this has a very important implication for the role of small States. One could sort of say with a military point in mind that it is a very target-rich environment for small, constructive States to operate and use their skills in and their networks to build coalitions to help a multilateral system that in this process of transition, until habits of cooperation are more deeply embedded amongst the superpowers, can play a very, very important role.

Power matters in international diplomacy. George Kennan, regarded by many people as the finest strategic mind of the mid - 20th century, and the man who crafted the Cold War containment strategy to try to avoid literal nuclear annihilation between the then Soviet Union and the United States, said in 1944: “the realities of power will soon seep into any legalistic structure which we erect to govern international life.” When power is a bit more diffuse, and there is no basis for looking for leadership from these more diffuse powers, this puts a bigger responsibility on responsible small States. I think we are very good at this.

Frankly, I think we have had generations of New Zealanders who have shown outstanding skills in that. I recall, for example, Chris Beeby. I first met Chris when I was about 9 years old and my parents rented a house next to his parents’ house. Of course, he was a big boy of 14 and gave me all sorts of advice, none of which was probably very wise, but I certainly found at the age of 9 that it was very interesting. Of course, I later became a colleague of his. He was more senior than me in the system. Chris was an eccentric man but an absolute genius. His standing in international legal circles was such that when we had law of the sea conferences—this is a huge issue for humanity and an issue of vital economic and political importance to this country, given that we have the world’s fourth-largest exclusive economic zone—the big powers would literally say that there was no point in having a meeting unless Beeby was there to chair it. So we have a bit of a conveyor belt that has turned out world-class people, who are very, very constructive, with real skills.

We are not the only small State that does this. I really pay tribute to Norway’s work, which is not in the same areas that we tend to focus on—for example, its work in the Middle East where it has been used very constructively, albeit not enough, to try to forge peace coalitions of interest there; its work in Sri Lanka; and its incredible work in the Amazon by funding through their enormous sovereign wealth fund hugely useful Clean Development Mechanism projects that are helping humanity. It is not like we should think we are the only group of people who can do this, but we are one of them.

There was a very famous US negotiator called Warren Lavorel—now, sadly, passed away—who I thought was the finest negotiator I had ever met. I remember saying to him that I was particularly frustrated with the United States sitting on the sidelines at one point in the Uruguay round. I said to Mr Lavorel, who was a very, very senior negotiator, that there is one thing New Zealand and the United States share in common in the international trading system, and that is we have an influence totally disproportionate to our real power. It took him 2 weeks before he was prepared to speak to me again, but we made up.

We have been able to use strategy very effectively under different Governments and with different generations of New Zealanders, but we cannot smugly think that this is because we are cleverer than anyone else; you do not meet stupid people, actually, in international diplomacy. A core point behind our position is the strong domestic consensus in place. Colin Keating, who was our then permanent representative the last time we were on the United Nations Security Council, made his famous statement on Rwanda. I cannot recall his exact words, but it was something like the international community should be ashamed of themselves. Did he have instructions from his Government? I very much doubt it. What Colin would have done was know what the core New Zealand value and position were. He would not have needed to go back to Wellington to ask for his instructions on what he should say, because he knew where he stood.

That is, I think, a fundamentally important point. There is a famous phrase by the great Prussian strategist, Field Marshal von Moltke, who said wisely: “No battle plan survives the first engagement with the enemy.” Having been a negotiator in the past, I can assure you that that is what an endgame negotiation is like. People get frightened. They do not have a clear domestic position and that is when New Zealand knows exactly where the consensus lies in our country. People get up and take an initiative on the basis of their own authority, knowing that they will be able to sell it. I wish to congratulate all those people who put us in this position and I look forward, in 2 years’ time, to hopefully congratulating them on their safe passage.

I move, That this debate be now adjourned.

Motion agreed to.