Obituaries — Gail Helen McIntosh

I regret to inform the House of the death on 7 January 2018 of James Patrick (Jim) Anderton CNZM, who represented the electorates of Sydenham and Wigram between 1984 and 2011. Mr Anderton was Deputy Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002. During his membership of this House, he held a number of ministerial positions, including Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Industry and Regional Development, Minister of Forestry, and Minister of Agriculture.

I also regret to inform the House of the death on 4 January 2018 of Gail Helen McIntosh, who represented the electorate of Lyttelton for the National Party from 1990 to 1993.

I desire, on behalf of this House, to express our sense of the loss we have sustained and our sympathy with the relatives of the late former members. I now ask members to stand with me and observe a period of silence as a mark of respect in their memory.

I seek leave to move a motion without notice on the death of the Hon Jim Anderton.

💬 SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There appears to be none.

I move, that this House note with sadness the passing on 7 January of Jim Anderton, former Deputy Prime Minister; that the House pay tribute to his service to the electorates of Sydenham and Wigram and to the Parliament, Government and people of New Zealand; and that our condolences are tendered to his family.

On behalf of all New Zealanders, I rise today to pay tribute to a man of enormous character, compassion, and integrity. There have been very few people like Jim Anderton in New Zealand politics. Jim spent his life in public service, in the best sense of the word. He was motivated by his profound sense of compassion for people, from his belief that the dignity of people mattered the most.

Jim also married a strong sense of pragmatism to his beliefs. When I attended Jim’s funeral in Christchurch, we heard from his family and those closest to Jim that for him, words were never enough. He knew that action—real action—and concrete, practical change to people’s lives were what mattered. Because of this, he leaves a legacy of enduring accomplishments. From his years as a city councillor, to being a reforming president of the Labour Party whose organisational legacy endures today, to founding two political parties, through to his service as a Cabinet Minister, Jim was a man who got things done.

My colleague Andrew Little described Jim as always deeply principled, thoughtful, and determined to do the right thing. He was a man before his time, a true progressive. He was at the forefront of anti-nuclear policy and of the anti-racism movement during the Springbok tour in the early 1980s, and was committed to social justice. He will be remembered as a statesman who delivered a number of lasting legacies.

We have Jim to thank for Kiwibank. He was also the person who made sure that the Government didn’t ignore the regions, playing a big part in ensuring economic development also happened outside of our main centres. That reputation is also why he was such a beloved local MP to the people of Sydenham and Wigram, whom he represented unfailingly for nearly 30 years. Jim will be remembered as someone who always stood up for his principles and the people he represented.

I want to finish today by reading a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, whom Jim was fond of, that he read in his final speech in this House. I think it sums up Jim’s approach to politics and to life. It reads: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs; who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deeds …”.

Jim spent his life in the arena. He spent his life doing great deeds for our country. It often was hard and always is, but we are a better country because he kept trying, he got things done, and because he wouldn’t back down.

I rise on behalf of the National Party to join with the Prime Minister and others in this House in paying tribute to our former member Jim Anderton.

I first met Jim Anderton as the National Party hopeful standing in the seat of Sydenham in 1993. I have to concede it was not an embracing encounter, but it was one that I did learn a great deal from. Jim was standing for NewLabour at the time, having won the seat as an independent in 1990 after making what must have been a very difficult decision for him. The people of Wigram most certainly appreciated the fact that he stood on his principles and stood very much for the things that mattered to them. It was, I think, that palpable respect for the man and for his principles that saw him so well regarded throughout those 30 years in both Sydenham and Wigram.

On that campaign trail, one of the shared campaign events that we had was a school fair. We had the opportunity to put our heads through a board and have $2 punters throw large wet sponges at our faces. I’d have to say, it remains a mystery to me how many of those local punters had simply fantastic accuracy when it was my turn, but completely lost their arm when Jim was in that position. Afterwards, I was totally drenched—soaking wet—and standing there, and Jim just turned to me and said, “You should have stood on the left side.”

That makes the point, I think, that in politics, the method, the philosophy, or the activity of political engagement I think will see anyone choose a political party that best fits them, but so often the principles that drive them are similar, and the outcomes that people want are similar. And Jim, I think, did have quite an appreciation of that.

I must say that, over time, I came to have a great deal of respect for him, particularly post the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch. Initially, as a local member he was willing and keen to work alongside those who were in the reconstruction, to do whatever he could. In particular, I would point out the way that he embraced the difficulties that small businesses had in meeting their obligations at the time. In 2011, when there were some moves made to support those businesses, Jim was one of the first to phone up and endorse what a good idea it was. Through all that time he was also willing to phone up and give you—or give me, in many cases—an opinion about what should be happening, and he was typically firm but also not in a screaming sort of way, but in a smart and well-thought-out way. I very much came to appreciate that.

He also willingly accepted the chair of the temporary stadium arrangements that we have in Christchurch and has, for the last six years, presided over a body that’s actually kept its head above water—quite unique in New Zealand. He did that without any recompense whatsoever, but simply because he deeply believed that it was something that the city and, as he put it, the people need.

His work to save the Christ Church Cathedral is well known and there will be various views on that, but you cannot help but admire the man’s tenacity and his determination to see through an idea that he thought was worthwhile. So he made his mark on New Zealand. He made his mark in this House.

I would like, on behalf of the National Party, to acknowledge Carole, his wife, and the family, and to make the comment that I think the tributes that were paid to him at his funeral by his family, despite everything else he achieved in life, were perhaps the greatest mark of the man he was.

We wish to pay our respects to Gail McIntosh’s family and, on behalf of New Zealand First, pay tribute to the late Jim Anderton and acknowledge his remarkable service as a parliamentarian and his commitment to public life. Simply put, Jim Anderton committed his life to public service, from serving on city councils through to holding senior ministerial portfolios, and even in later years he remained active in his home town of Christchurch, or the city of Christchurch, focusing on local government and on the restoration of the cathedral.

Whatever you thought of his politics, Jim Anderton was a man of principle and that’s not common in modern politics in the Western World. He held true to his principles, from the very beginning to the very end. Along the way, he was a fierce critic of the ravages of the neo-liberal agenda and a strong advocate of economic development and the Government’s involvement, and, in particular, regional economic development. He believed in the sovereignty of his country, and we should remain grateful for his role in Kiwibank and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

He led an alliance of five political parties, and that could not, from a little personal experience, have been easy. It’s an irony indeed that we speak today, at this time, bringing the waka-jumping legislation through its first reading in the House. New Zealand First adds its voice and pays respect to Jim Anderton’s contribution to this House and to the people of New Zealand. We say thank you to his wife and his family.

Tēnā koutou e Te Whare. Kua hinga he tōtara o Te Wao Nui a Tāne. Kua hinga he rangatira o Te Whare Pāremata o Aotearoa.

[I acknowledge all of you in this House. A tōtara from the great forest of Tāne has fallen. A chief of the New Zealand Parliament has passed on.]

A mighty tōtara has fallen: a rangatira of this House, of progressive politics, and of Aotearoa New Zealand. It was with huge sadness that the Green Party learnt of Jim Anderton’s death. He was a great defender of the underdog. He stood up for New Zealanders hurt by the economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, and he devoted his life to public service and to ensuring a fair deal for all.

When he formed, first, the NewLabour Party and then The Alliance, which of course included the Greens for a time, Jim Anderton also played a big part in ensuring greater proportional representation in our Parliament. His success in leading those challenger parties paved the way for more diverse views to be given a voice in the Parliament and in our Government.

Jim Anderton made and shaped decisions affecting a huge span of life in New Zealand, from establishing Kiwibank, supporting regional development, and, more recently, in the Christchurch rebuild with his work on the stadium and his work in achieving a commitment to repair and restore the Christ Church Cathedral. A deeply Catholic man, he gave his all to restoring the city’s Anglican cathedral.

As Minister of Fisheries, he stood up to the industry. He introduced regulations around the South Island that reduced the number of Hector’s dolphins being drowned in set nets. He had a huge range of achievements.

So our enduring memory in the Greens of him will be the stand that he took on principle—consistently, passionately, and effectively—to defend and advocate for a fairer and more egalitarian way of life for all New Zealanders. Our condolences go to Jim’s family, friends, and supporters, and especially his wife and political partner, Carole. He was a family man, as well as a huge servant of the public.

Ki a koe e te rangatira, e Jim, moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā. Tēnā tātou katoa.

[To you, most esteemed Jim, farewell, farewell, rest in peace.]

I rise on behalf of the ACT Party to give our condolences to Jim Anderton’s family and pay tribute to his life and career. It’s no secret that Jim’s early career was inextricably linked with the ACT Party’s founders and much of the history that went on in that time—albeit, perhaps, in what you might describe as a symmetrical way.

I have to say that due to that symmetrical and inextricable link, we see in Jim a kindred spirit. We have a great admiration for somebody that comes to the House with a sincere and genuine belief that our role here in Parliament is to make New Zealand a better place for all people through better public policy, and we have great admiration for somebody who is able to use their time in Parliament to leave lasting policy legacy—something that the vast majority, sadly, never achieve.

So with that, I’d like to leave our condolences for Jim’s family and pay tribute on behalf of the ACT Party to a great man and a great contributor to this House and to New Zealand.

Motion agreed to.