Maiden Statement

Karanga ki a Ranginui, ki a Papatūānuku: ihi, wehi, wana, mana. Georgina Beyer, Chester Borrows, Paul East mā, ko te pō te kaihari i te rā, ko te mate te kaihari i te oranga. Ahumairangi, Tangitekeo, Te Whanganui-a-Tara me ōku ake o Taranaki Whānui me Ngāti Toa Rangatira, whakatau mai.

Kei te Kīngi ki Ingarihi, kei te Kīngi ki te riu o Waikato, e oati ana au ki te nuku me te rangi, ngā māreikura, whatukura, pōhutukawa, kahikatea o ia rohe, rarau mai.

He uri au nā Te Puku o te Ika, Te Kāhui Maunga me te Tai Hauāuru. Āna, he ūnahi nā Pohokura ki Aorangi, he rau huia nā Whitikaupeka nā Ohuake ki Ruahine ki Owhaoko.

He mōmona tūī nā Tamakōpiri ki Ōruamatua ki Rangipō Waiū.He Hinemanu he waewae hape nā Paratūae ki Te Awarua Te Riu o Puanga.He manawa piharau nā Te Awa Tupua he tātarakihi nā te Rere o Kāpuni. He kākano hoki ahua i ruia mai i Rangiātea. Aku hononga kei wawā kei Ingarihi, kei Wīwī hoki. He Māori ahau, he whakapapa Pākehā hoki ōku, he hua nā te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Nōku te maringanui ki te tō mai i ngā wawata a Ngā Kōpū Mānia, Kirikiriroa ki te Uru, ngā uaratanga o ōku rua tupua me ngā moemoeā a ōku rua kōiwi. [Gestures to portraits of ancestors set on easels on the floor of the House]

[Mr Speaker, Adrian, who hails from Ngā Wairiki, Ngāti Apa, and Rangitīkei, thank you.

Hearken the Sky Father, hearken the Earth Mother. I call upon our spiritual connections to bless us with vitality, passion, and awesomeness. Georgina Beyer, Chester Borrows, Paul East, and others, night brings day, and death brings life, those who have passed are released and set free. Tinakori Hill, Mt Victoria, the great harbour of Tara, and my kinspeople from Taranaki and Ngāti Toarangatira, I heed your welcome.

King Charles in England, King Tūheitia in Waikato, like my ancestors, I pledge an oath of allegiance for New Zealand. Superwomen, supermen, seaward peoples, and inland peoples who coalesce here as representatives of New Zealand, take root, and gather.

I am descendant from the central North Island, from the mountain cluster, and the West Coast. Yes, indeed, I am a scale from Pohokura at Aorangi, I am a huia feather from Whitikaupeka from Ohuake at Ruahine and Owhaoko. I am a well-fed pigeon from Ngāti Tamakōpiri at Ōruamatua and Rangipo Waiū. I am a Hinemanu and clubbed foot from Paratuae to Awarua and Te Riu o Puanga. I am an enduring lamprey eel from the Whanganui River and a cacophonous cicada from Victoria Falls. I am a seed sown from Rangiātea, with relations near and far. I am Māori, and I also have English and French lineage, hence an offspring of the Treaty of Waitangi. 

It is my honour to present the yearnings of the hard-working people of the fertile lands of Hamilton West, the desires of my ancient guardians, and the dreams of my recent forebears.] [Gestures to portraits of ancestors set on easels on the floor of the House]

E tā, a brief aroha moment for those who have suffered in the recent climatic events—kia kaha. And an ūkaipō [sustenance] moment for winners Te Kapa Haka o Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and the Ōrākei hosts of Te Matatini—kia ita [be firm].

For 30 years, people alive and dead have counselled me for this kōrero, and the latter group were very instructive. My kōrero covers acknowledgments, my formal experiences, and thoughts for New Zealand’s future success. Friends, New Zealanders, countrywomen and -men, we are joined here and online by National Party aunties and uncles like Edgar Wilson, Lindsay Butler, and Andrew King, who worked diligently to reawaken my service to Hamilton West and possibly the Parliamentary Rugby Team, whose selectors, I hear, are very persuasive! My constituents from places like St Andrews, Nawton, Grandview, Dinsdale, Frankton, Melville, the Lake, and Tuhikaramea have instructed me to reinstate our distinct parliamentary voice and help make it the best place to grow up and old in Aotearoa.

Whānau, if you haven’t been to The Base shopping centre in Hamilton West, now is your time. Hamilton West is bellwether, agrarian, entrepreneurial, youthful, and brown—35 percent of us are Māori and Pasifika. And you may have heard of our iconic Kiwi businesses: Gallagher’s, Porter’s, Perry’s, APL, Modern Transport Engineers, Montana, and Tainui Group Holdings, and local champions like K’aute Pasifika, Manning St, and CrossFit Waikato. Hard-working people and competitive enterprise built our place.

I acknowledge the nine people who have held the parliamentary torch for Hamilton West, particularly Tim Macindoe, a servant of this House, this Whare, for 12 years.

Mā kahurangi, mā mangumangu, mā pango, mā whero, mā kākāriki, mā kōwhai mā pāpura e oti ai te mahi.

[Through blue, the dark, the black, the red, the green, the yellow, and purple the work will be done.]

He ihu hūpē au. I’m a snotty-nosed apprentice. To the National Party leadership, Chris Luxon, Nicola Willis, Sylvia Wood, fellow MPs, and tireless supporters such as the SuperBlues, Pacific Island Blues, and the Young Nats, thank you for the privilege to serve in this Whare, the highest court and marae ātea in the land.

Kei ngā raiona me ngā tupua o tēnei Whare, kia ora.

[To the lions and titans in this den, greetings.]

My formative years reflect our party’s values. I was raised in rural New Zealand. Rata, Makaranui, Ākitio, Ōpunake—on “Surf Highway 45”, Whaea Debbie—and Pukehou, are not urban yet, but they enable cities like Hamilton and Auckland to function, whether through the supply of water, gravel, food, energy, or people. My bones lie in those places and on the far-flung battlefields of the Pioneer and Māori Battalions. Kia mau ki tō ūkaipō—don’t forget your roots.

My parents initially sculpted my life. Paddy and Joe dedicated themselves to getting things done in Rata—like land consolidation to ensure not one more acre of family land was lost from whānau ownership. They sought to reincarnate collective Mōkai Pātea enterprise of the late 19th century, only to be crushed through relentless land alienation and prejudice. Rangi-takuku Mete-Kingi, Morvin Simon, and Whatarangi Winiata inspired our community restoration, but mum and dad and extended whānau convened capital-raising initiatives like Calcutta’s, Crown and Anchor nights, and meat raffles to take the community and our marae forward. Village aunties Bo Rangi and Gwen Manunui gave me regular unsolicited guidance, reminding me that I was brought up, not dragged up, and that respect was at the launch pad of anything that mattered. “Mana whenua” was a verb, not a position nor a judicially determined status. “Utu” was reciprocity, not revenge. And our village instilled two things: work hard to get the rewards, and look after the land; it’ll look after you. Their legacy continues and will be strengthened in due course, Minister Little, through this House ultimately settling the Mōkai Pātea and Rangitīkei River Treaty claims. Kai makariri, kai raumati i te hinu o te whenua—in the summer and winter, we will live on the fat of the land.

On teacher salaries, mum and dad fertilised my education through Huntley School and, like my brother Pēhi, Te Aute College, preparing me for life and this role. Te Aute hard-wired me into Māori male success: Te Rangi Hīroa; Māui Pōmare; Eddie, Mason, Rā—anyone with the last name—Durie; Pita Sharples; and our most notable and formidable old boy, and National Party co-founder, Tā Apirana Ngata. They ignited a mental fortitude to survive and thrive as brothers in any conditions.

Foreign relations training—that was bussing past Pakipaki to St Stephen’s School and Whanganui Collegiate, Mr Bayly, and, if we were really well-behaved, St Joseph’s Māori Girls College and Church College. People like Anaru Takurua, Fred Jackson, and Jenny Senior guided us to acquit ourselves and be strong—“Whakatangata kia kaha”.

Through taking personal responsibility, with collective support, I berthed at Victoria University to pursue law, politics, and Māori studies. A simple life ensued between Kelburn Parade, Old Government Buildings, Te Herenga Waka Marae, the home of Neil and Tiahuia Gray, and various Malaysian and kebab restaurants. I was in the first electoral systems course run by Nigel Roberts and Stephen Levine, saw the protest against Mururoa nuclear testing, and the red socks celebration for Team New Zealand, and I experienced the contrasting legal academic styles of people like John Miller, Sir Geoffrey and Matthew Palmer, Mai Chen, Geoff McLay, and Caren Fox. The Victoria University Foundation, Fletcher Challenge, the District Law Society here, PKW Incorporation, Dave Turner, and others aided me to complete my degrees, pursue an LLM at Columbia Law School, and be exposed to Lou Henkin, Jack Greenberg, and Jane Ginsburg, daughter of the notorious “RBG”. I passed the New York Bar exam and became an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett—and the Minister of Finance will attest that I genuinely engaged in learning in and out of the class. Kia ora.

Those collated experiences left an indelible impression upon me that any young New Zealander raised with village values and community support can go from throwing hay-bales, mowing the marae lawns in Whakatupuranga Rua Mano [Generation 2000], all the way to an august Ivy League institution and practising attorney for some of the biggest clients in the world. During my travels, and more recently, the excitement and exuberance of the Black Ferns and my brethren Cliff Curtis’ mega-movie appearances, it is trite that Māori people and Māori culture have global reach and meaning and are fundamental but should not be fundamentalist, whānau, to New Zealand’s renewal.

Returning home, I became the deputy sexton of the whānau urupā—a big job—launched software at Creative HQ, and rejoined Te Puni Kōkiri, Minister Jackson. Service for others followed at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Bell Gully, Tainui Group Holdings, the Superannuation Fund, and finally the mighty Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki nation whilst learning governance on Anglican, tribal, and Māori boards. If you want to learn governance, go to an Anglican board. I was privileged to tautoko the Pacific Islands Investment Forum and the collective Māori investment fund Te Pūia Tāpapa. Thanks to all those people, the many people who gave me a chance to serve all New Zealanders.

I was lucky to help my wife deliver Whānau Ora festivals called TriMāori, rangatahi programmes Young Engineers and Squiggle, and publish Shakespeare plays translated into the Māori language by my wife’s great-grandfather and a National Party man, Pei Te Hurinui Jones. Meitaki maata and fa‘afetai to the community and voluntary sector and small to medium sized enterprises for the mahi they do to make New Zealand a better place.

The upshot of all these humbling experiences, whānau, was that when I was recently sworn in, I was absolutely stunned by the enormity of the work that each and every one of you do here in this Whare, and the Parliamentary Service team. Ngā mihi matakoakoa ki koutou. [Hearty appreciation to you all.] Thank you all for your prodigious commitment and mahi for Aotearoa.

Two matters resonate for me as the key foundations for the country’s future: education and law. E hoa mā, in my view, we must foster a world-class parenting education and learning environment, which all New Zealanders have an equal opportunity to access and succeed in. One size does not fit all, and the bird eats more than miro berries in the forest, and that forest has many diverse kaitiaki, including those with mental wellbeing challenges.

My own learning deepened through action under people like Wira Gardiner, Moana Jackson—the lawyer, Ngāti Kahungunu guy; not the other Moana Jackson—Gina Rudland, John and Ben Paki, Vapi Kupenga, Rongo and Koro Wetere, Bentham Ohia, Bill Russell, Chet Kronenberg, Anake Goodall, Temuera Hall, Haydn Wong, John Spencer, Matthew Cockram, Mike Pohio, Tumanako Wereta, Adrian Orr, Matt Whineray, and James Brown.

My sister Raina and my cousins and peers schooled me through marae and kitchen feedback. Action-based experiences like Te Tira Hoe o Wanganui—as the Minister of Foreign Affairs knows—or defence training, can be as useful for life as any formal course inside an institution, and our educational success rests on many players: learners, parents, teachers, volunteers, officials, investors, and icons, like Nathan and Yvette Durie. We can catalyse more success through less open classrooms and better activate values-based schools, partnership schools like Te Kōpuku High or Hamilton West, or Waatea School, as Matua Minister Jackson knows, and online learning like Crimson Global Academy. Enrol the whānau; not just the tamariki. Compliance should not overrun education or unreasonably reduce resources from and proper mentoring for teachers. Without relevant multidisciplinary learning and engagement of young people, we will contribute more to crime and poverty. All New Zealanders must have an equal opportunity to transform themselves, their whānau, and our country through education and learning.

I didn’t study brain surgery; I studied law, its power and influence and generally well-founded construction. House-made law should be guided by social, cultural mores; domestic and international obligations; and global influence where suitable, not just copy-and-paste jobs from Canada. Judicial interpretation of legislation—that’s a second pathway to create law, like the Baigent case and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

A third pathway is common law, and there’s been significant judicial inquiry to recognise tikanga through common law. I applaud this mahi—kia kaha—but caution that that process remains rational, transparent, relevant, and not guided by narrow ideology and provincial inclinations. What happens in Whakatāne may be different to Waitaki, Wharekauri, Westport, and Ngāti Wairere. Autochthonous efforts should continue, albeit with relevant balancing of our indigenous, Treaty, and, indeed, international rights heritage. Like rights set out in the Magna Carta 1215, the Bill of Rights 1689, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, we should be curious around tikanga and consider how to best foster an environment where it suitably empowers all New Zealanders.

Before I finish my kōrero, I honour my wahine and best friend, Ariana. He whenua, he wāhine mate ai te tangata—for land and women, we will lay down our lives. Like many New Zealand women, she has an unbending commitment to cultivate the potential of young people, families, and the community. With me, she has traded happiness and peace for massive risks and a thin chance of satisfaction. As Kahlil Gibran, the Persian poet, poetically intimates, Ariana awakens with a winged heart and a gratitude for loving. I’m internally indebted to her and our innovative tamariki, Tiaria Te Ikaroa, Te Awarua Tamatereka, and Aorangi Te Āionuku. Like my mother, Ariana hangs on to every word of our children, and they hang on to her heart.

Finally, I salute my many tūpuna, iwi, and uri whakaheke—my ancestors, my peoples, and my descendants—with reference to my father’s ancestors Utiku Potaka and Rora Te Oiroa Goffe. Utiku fought alongside Colonel Whitmore and acted on the instructions of John Bryce at Parihaka against my mother’s ancestors. With his cousins, they formally sought co-investment with the Government in rail infrastructure through the Awarua and Motukawa land blocks near Taihape. They advocated for better governance and low-cost finance to accelerate primary sector enterprise and were occasional pen pals with “King Dick” Seddon. Utiku and Rora left all New Zealanders with a vision of the present and future for our nation.

Kia mau ki te oha ō tūpuna, ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ki te ture tangata me te ture atua i puta ai tātou ki te whai ao ki te ao marama—heed the revelations of your ancestors, the Treaty of Waitangi 1840, the law of humanity and the spiritual realms from whence we emerge into the light and understanding.

It is with this vision in mind that I’ve reflected on a need to reinforce my loyalty to and help to re-splice unity across Aotearoa, our country, based on whakapapa, or genealogical foundations, and embracing multicultural demographic realities evident in my electorate. It’s a privilege, and now my responsibility, to serve Hamilton West in this fine House, and, indeed, to serve all New Zealanders.

Mōkai te ngārara, mangumangu tāipo nei au e mihi ana ki te tuituinga, ki te huihuinga, ki aku nui ki aku rahi tēnā koutou, tātou katoa.

[My kaitiaki are now calling. I acknowledge you all gathered, the wise and resourceful. Greetings to you and all of us.]

Applause, hongi, and harirū

Waiata—Au e Ihu

Haka—Te Aute College Haka

Sitting suspended from 6.03 p.m. to 7 p.m.