Valedictory Statements

I want to indicate to the House that, at the conclusion of the Hon David Parker’s valedictory statement, the House will suspend for the dinner break. In accordance with the determination of the Business Committee, I call on the Hon David Parker to make his valedictory statement.

Thank you all for being here. I was elected for Labour on 27 July 2002, when I won the Otago seat. Campaigner extraordinaire Pete Hodgson trained me when I chaired his electorate committee.

“Park Parker in Parliament”. I wore a purple checked shirt in every photo and every day. People said I’d stolen a tablecloth from a greasy spoon—a fashion crime. Queenstown and Arrowtown had been home for a couple of years—the hitching solicitor.

I’d co-founded with Howard Paterson and Max Shepherd agribiotech companies A2 Milk, BLIS Technologies, PharmaZen, and BotryZen, plus about 10 other businesses with others, so I had some profile as an entrepreneur. I never hid the fact I’d skinned my knees as well as succeeded.

I proudly declared I was born in Roxburgh. There’s a large clan of Parkers who wondered which bed I’d fallen out of. In fact, I arrived as my mother dashed back to Dunedin—one of the few times in my life I’ve been early.

It was a winter election. I’d hired a banner from the owner of the Otago Daily Times, Sir Julian Smith. “But I’m staunch National.” “You’re a media mogul, and this is a purely commercial deal.” We agreed a fee. Each Saturday, a giant “Vote Labour—Parker” banner flew over the winter sportsgrounds and buzzed Central Otago towns and ski fields. Julian donated his fee.

With snow on the ground, the ski fields were booming. I love skiing, and handed out my brochures as people came off tows. They came to me! I didn’t have to move. Close to an upset, a steady stream of Ministers came creating media opportunities. We won by just over 600 votes.

My life and my family’s changed that night. It has been a privilege to be elected to be representing my fellow country women and men. And in the 23 years since, I’ve given it my all.

I was Dunedin raised, in a family of small-business people, for generations on both sides. My mother, Joan, was a talented musician, and dad, Frank, was a self-employed importer/wholesaler in the jewellery trade, and sporty. I was taught to cook and sew by Mum and to paint and build by Dad.

My sisters, Fiona, Christine, and Louise, and I naturally discussed business and issues of the day. We went to Roslyn Presbyterian Sunday School. The Little Gingerbread Man was given to me “For inquisitiveness” by Heather Grimwood—still active in Labour in her 90s. In my teens, I attended a wonderful youth group led by John Hardie. We debated many hard issues.

In 1977, Brad Tattersfield and I were performing a Peter Cook and Dudley Moore skit on religion to raise money for charity. One of our lines was “All those heathens in Africa will go to hell because they worship the wrong god.” How could that be right?

I became an atheist. My atheism is itself faith-based—I can’t explain how the universe began—and to this day, I respect all faiths which have at their heart the golden rule “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. I believe all citizens owe reciprocity.

My State schooling was top-notch. I made great friends—great friends—and fell in love, actually.

My first act of civil disobedience was refusing to wear long trousers in summer, donning junior shorts. The school handled it brilliantly. They ignored me. It didn’t catch on, but it taught me it’s not too hard to stand apart.

I did law and commerce at the University of Otago, tutored in information systems and accounting, and co-founded the Dunedin Community Law Centre. Anti-apartheid protests were powerful.

I studied tax in both my degrees and gained a deep understanding of the economic theory and statutory treatment of taxable compared with economic income, labour and capital income, inflation, real rates of return, and net present or future values.

As a litigation partner of Anderson Lloyd, I appeared in all New Zealand courts except the Supreme Court. I became an experienced CEO and company director.

We each bring our varied life experiences to this place, and democracy relies on it. My experiences made me an egalitarian. Wealth creation and its fair distribution have been central to my being here, and they sit at the core of Labour’s founding values.

My primary commitment is to working people—the waged, the salaried, the unpaid parent at home, the small-business owner, the farmer who owns one farm, not five.

I have three main threads to my political objectives: a prosperous, egalitarian economy, the protection of civil liberties and the rule of law, and good environmental outcomes.

My first break in Parliament came from “Corngate”, or the Seeds of Distrust. The select committee inquiry unanimously found no evidence of interference or cover-up by any Minister, including the Prime Minister—she quite liked that!

Helen, Michael, Winston, and Richard Prebble dominated the House. Jeanette Fitzsimons and Rod Donald were establishing the Green brand. An exceptionally good coalition Government: nine surpluses, strong growth, low unemployment, and a list of achievements longer than my arm.

The Rt Hon Helen Clark was a fantastic PM for three full terms. So much has endured. She, Sir Michael Cullen, and Heather Simpson stand tall as giants.

I had electorate offices in Oamaru, Queenstown, and Alexandra: Barbara Duff, Angela Dolan, and Sue Parker—no relation. We worked hard for our constituents. I wore out a car, and momentarily fell asleep at the wheel near Allanton—a lucky escape.

By 2005, we had plenty to run on, and the highlight was a public meeting hosted by one Sam Neill—warm, principled, and funny. People flocked to see him in Oamaru, and the media coverage was great. So, despite the swing against Labour, we increased our party and electorate votes, but we still lost when many who’d stayed home in 2002 voted in 2005.

In 2011, Phil Goff did us proud. I stood in Epsom. We had barnstorming meetings. John Banks said he was walking past Ellerslie Racecourse and heard “Whoosh!” as the Labour Party parachuted David Parker in. I’d reply that I wouldn’t take fiscal lessons from the man who had doubled council debt as mayor, and highlighted ACT’s links to the Sensible Sentencing Trust, including the ACT MP who’d stolen the identity of a dead baby for a passport and who railed against discharges without conviction, having got one.

Numbers at meetings built. Paul Goldsmith said, “Party vote National.” Paddy Gower televised a rousing meeting. I got threatened with defamation proceedings by the misnamed Sensible Sentencing Trust. But our strategy worked. I was trailing third, and the electorate result was too close to call. The single-seat lifeboat of Epsom itself had to be rescued by the now infamous tea party which John Key held in Newmarket.

I stood in Epsom again in 2014 for a ritual thrashing by David Seymour, with Paul Goldsmith having perfected the art of standing to not be elected. Robust contests, but no one overstepped the mark.

It’s been a busy time in Parliament. I was deputy leader under David Cunliffe, which I enjoyed, and for six weeks, I was acting leader of the party—enormous privileges.

We’re here to improve New Zealand. Obviously, being in Cabinet helps. I was a Minister in Helen Clark’s fifth Labour Government, and in the sixth, led by Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins.

Environmental issues significantly define who I am—you can see it’s quite an emotional day for me. Kiwis have a good environmental ethic.

The Māori gods Papatūānuku, Tāne Mahuta, and Tangaroa show environment at the centre of the Māori world view. New settlers from the UK were keen to leave behind privatised access to rivers and water. They understood the tragedy of the commons, where population pressures ruin the environment in the absence of rules, and the importance of private property rights to enable investment. The fused values we now enjoy are a shared ethic.

My two main environmental priorities have been climate change and fresh water, and I’ve tried to align business investment and people’s consumption with good environmental outcomes. There are only three ways Governments can influence this: education, regulation, and price. Price can include subsidies or charges for pollution or the use of public resources. All are necessary.

We build on the efforts of others.

I was Listener’s Environmentalist of the Year in 2008 for my work establishing the emissions trading scheme and the 90 percent renewable electricity target, which remain cornerstones of New Zealand’s efforts to reduce emissions. We got there with votes from the Greens and New Zealand First, who both have a good voting record on these issues.

My passion for having rivers clean enough to swim in comes from my Otago roots. Our rivers and lakes are replenished every minute of every day with clean waters from the headwaters. They shimmer and sparkle. I doff my hat to Nick Smith and the Land and Water Forum for the macroinvertebrate index and periphyton—aka slime—attributes in freshwater management.

My main contribution was to reach community acceptance in the 2017 election that swimmability is the target. Kiwis in rural areas and cities overwhelmingly believe that the most important river or beach is the local one they and their kids swim in during summer. If their local river or beach, and yours, is clean, they all will be.

Where currently polluted, Kiwis will allow time for a gradual improvement, but people will rebel if the national policy statement standards are undermined. You can see I fear this in this time of reactionary politics. Please don’t—we need Ministers for the Environment, not “Ministers for Pollution”.

I had responsibility for the enactment of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act, which introduced ministerial responsibility and ensured the right of citizens to challenge every COVID order in the courts via the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

Like everyone else, I rolled up my sleeves. I was a go-between, helping Fisher & Paykel (F & P) Healthcare fulfil its extraordinary contribution to saving literally millions of lives around the world for people who needed respirator treatment to live. F & P’s generosity and influence helped New Zealand in ways few understand and few know, and they were ready to do more. Lewis Gradon really is quite a special man.

All COVID decisions, now, are being critiqued, and I’m sure hindsight will be closer to 20/20 than reality. I hope to be called by the inquiry.

We owe the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern an enormous debt of gratitude and respect for her leadership. Had we closed borders earlier, thousands more would not have got home. But with worse comorbidities like obesity and fewer respirators than Italy, our system would have been overrun had we not acted as we did. Outcomes would have mirrored Italy or the UK. Thousands would have died, including many doctors and nurses, and patients with other ailments.

Jacinda’s astoundingly clear and kind communication carried the nation, as she did after the Christchurch massacre—this one always gets a tickle in my throat—when she said, “They are us.”—they are us—and showed respect by wearing a headscarf. That’s leadership I’ll remember.

Now, my wider work on upholding civil liberties included on the New Zealand Bill of Rights (Declarations of Inconsistency) Amendment Act, and this created a pathway for Parliament and the executive to respond to declarations from the senior courts while maintaining parliamentary sovereignty.

On Te Tiriti, we of all countries can find a way through. It’s not long ago that the leaders or deputies of every party here had whakapapa.

An insult hurled across the Chamber at a heated moment last year surprised me: “You’re only 15 percent Māori.” I hope that was regretted, because that cuts, and it cuts in more ways than one.

Dame Anne Salmond describes the Treaty as an exchange of gifts—tuku—between the Queen for her subjects and rangatira on behalf of hapū. I agree with Dame Anne that Te Tiriti is not a partnership between races. She criticises both the phrase and that legal construct from the decision of Lord Cooke in the 1987 Lands case. I don’t think those comments from Cooke are a necessary part of the ratio decidendi of that case, and it would be helpful for the senior courts to say so, if they are of that view.

Kelvin Davis says that article 1 plus article 2 equals article 3.

Treaty rights are substantial, but there is no Treaty right to a parallel system of Government. That would breach article 1.

In 2017, I charted a pathway into the important Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, updating our screening regime for inward investment to include residential land. Kiwis should not be outbid by richer people from overseas, nor be tenants in our own country. This is as true of the most beautiful lakeside property and the most modest urban home which is another Kiwi’s dream.

Interest deductibility: the sale price of housing in New Zealand is often set by landlords, who currently can borrow 100 percent secured over their property portfolios, and they outbid owner-occupiers who just want one house to live in. It’s only possible because of lax interest deductibility rules. Leveraged landlords get capital subsidies year after year. Grant Robertson and I fixed this, but, sadly, it was reversed. Maybe we went a little bit far, but we were right in essence.

I’ve tried to move debates from imperfect, narrow statutory definitions to real-world economics. Economic income increases an individual’s resources—in other words, the ability to buy more kit.

Those in the high-wealth individuals study had an average wealth of $276 million. Most of their income is never taxed. Their total effective tax rate as a proportion of income averaged under 10 percent, including both income tax and GST. The Treasury and IRD papers on income tax, wealth distribution, and trusts were the result of years of exceptional work by officials.

Middle-class Kiwis, by contrast, on wages or salaries pay an effective tax rate of around 30 percent, including income tax and GST—at least double the rate paid by the very wealthy. This is plainly unfair.

Labour income is taxed; most capital income of the very wealthy is not, and New Zealand now is a tax haven for billionaires. Their assets commonly sit in intergenerational trusts.

The top 1 percent own 26 percent of everything. For investments outside the family home, it’s much more. The 1 percent own over 60 percent of all direct New Zealand investment in New Zealand private and public companies—astounding.

Piketty was right: the wealthy earn much more than they spend, and they hoover up much more each year. R is greater than G—their rate of return is higher than growth in the economy. We’re fast becoming what my ancestors came here to escape.

The revenue-neutral tax switch I proposed is sometimes described as a wealth tax, but it’s better seen as a tax on income from capital. Think of it as an average rate of return of 4.5 percent taxed at a third. In fact, it’s less because the family home and contents, plus an additional $5 million of investments each—$10 million for a couple—were excluded.

It’s always been difficult to convince the other side on tax. At times, I’ve found it surprisingly hard on my own side, too.

Now, there’s a debate about the relative merits of a capital income tax or realisation-based capital gains tax (CGT), which I’ve also advocated for, and either solution is good—and, yes, if I had my way, we would have both, with appropriate credit for one against other. Capital income would not be double-taxed.

That would allow everyone to get the first $20,000 income tax-free—$10k immediately and the next $10k phased in as CGT revenue grew—and I’d fix interest deductibility, again. And I’d let everyone inherit $1 million tax-free, be it from trusts or deceased estates, and then I’d treat the rest as income and tax it as such. None of these rates would be high. Broad-base, low-rate would at last be true.

Capital flight is exaggerated. The land, the buildings, the cows, the fish, and the trees stay—even pigs can’t fly. The means of production remains.

The very wealthy rich would still be richer than everyone else, but they, or, more likely, their trusts, would own a little bit less. That is, of course, why we have public companies, and they have shares—shares.

I like success and reward. Mine are not the politics of envy. A good day’s pay for a hard day’s work. Profits for capital taking risk.

But a strong middle class working, producing, consuming, saving, and investing is key to prosperity and cohesion. We’ve been there before, and our country was prosperous. Things would readjust. Homeownership would rise, speculation diminish, and productivity increase.

We would of course need more dentists because more people could afford to get their teeth fixed.

I earlier proposed the variable savings rate alongside Australian work-based savings, as another tool to control inflation. It made The Economist magazine, but did not win the election.

Some people call me a wonk. It could be worse.

I do recommend Bernard Connolly’s book You Always Hurt the One You Love: Central Banks and the Murder of Capitalism. Very low interest rates—sometimes negative—plus enormous liquidity from quantitative easing ruined the creative destruction cycle, inflated capital values, and made already high-wealth inequality massively worse, leading voters to back the policies now flailing the USA. Or has the “l” already dropped out of flailing?

Paradoxically, Lord Turner’s Between Debt and the Devil convinced me that if the Alpine or Hikurangi faults rupture, the Reserve Bank should QE (quantitatively ease) into a long-term, low-rate “principal and interest” Government bond held to term, spreading the cost over time.

💬 Electricity: in competitive, growing markets, prices are set by the long-run marginal cost of new supply.

I still favour consideration of Onslow, though probably not the biggest version. It’s a simple concept: the Manorburn depression is a giant basin sitting next to a giant tap—the Clutha River. It just needs a plug hole.

Perhaps give the job to the Rt Hon Winston Peters. Remarkably, since he arrived here in 1979, he’s done many of the biggest jobs at least twice, so there’s precedent here. He really was a qualified tunneller, first class, on the Snowy River power scheme. So give it some thought, Winston—you could tunnel your way out.

I recently set out Labour’s foreign affairs policy as the world transitions from one superpower to a multipolar world. A clear-eyed vision for courteous relations with the US and China, close dialogue with the Pacific Rim countries, and with Pacific Island and European friends, and raise official development assistance as we raise defence spending. Help Pacific Islands develop a fishing fleet—leased to them, not gifted—not least to minimise the risk of militarisation in the Pacific via a paramilitary fishing fleet.

Paul Krugman famously said, “Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it’s almost everything.” Higher total factor productivity in Australia is due primarily to more capital being applied to labour. Their universal work-based savings are why. It’s why those clever Aussies own their banks plus ours, our insurance companies, and much more. It’s why their infrastructure is better, their current account deficit lower, their net international liabilities lower, and their growth rate higher. That’s why their wages and salaries are now much, much higher, and why droves of Kiwis shift across the Ditch each year.

We live in a trans-Tasman market and need to follow suit, with taxing savings less as well by moving to EET (exempt/exempt/taxed), not TTE (taxed/taxed/exempt). Andrew Coleman is an economist with wide respect. He’s written up how this transition could occur. No one is worse off, and the super backstop remains.

My latest project has been pushing for accountability for the internet giants for the harms their dangerous products cause. Young people, investment scams, misinformation, defamation, theft of content, live streaming murders in Christchurch, death threats, and foreign interference. Most of this is anonymous; some is aimed at undermining our democratic way of life and freedoms.

Trust, facts, and science all sit at the heart of democracy and free enterprise. Fascism and dictatorship thrive on lies and propaganda.

The statutory exclusion of liability for third-party content is the underlying cause. It’s unusual, wrong, and should be removed. Allow safe harbours. Set a maximum claim, but do allow people to use the Disputes Tribunal and class actions in the courts—importantly, this does not make the Government a censor.

The megalomaniacal, tax-avoiding, tech-baron owners are greedy and selfish. They won’t change their practices until liable for the harms they cause.

E-commerce, entertainment, and masses of information and point-to-point communication would still flourish. I feel the moment is coming—don’t let it pass.

To do your job for long in this House, you’ve got to have fun. Question time is best when you’re in a corner. Maurice Williamson, the tosser—of the document. Gerry Brownlee and Brokeback Mountain, the Saudi sheep farm in the desert, Baxter poetry with Nicola Willis, and, most recently, Claire Trevett and the cows.

But it’s not all fun. The Exclusive Brethren—who don’t vote—hired private investigators to dig the dirt on me, David Benson-Pope, and Peter Davis. Unfortunately for them, the PI forgot he was private and gave an interview spilling the beans—weird. And a clip of me saying “Jacqui Dean says I hate farmers” cut to “I hate farmers” and circulated on social media.

But the worst stuff happens to our leaders. None of them deserves it.

It’s our staff who help us get through, and I’ve had wonderful workmates, too many to name. I’ll name those who’ve been with me for over a decade: John Blincoe, rust never sleeps; Corin Higgs, I think the best political adviser in the Beehive, under us—probably under you guys, too—snap for Barry Ebert outside; Deb Thornton, twice, because Deb did nigh on two decades; and Janet Gootjes, of late.

It can be hard for our families, especially when bad news is front page, and my kids have been there. To my beloved Ruby, Molly—both here—and Oscar, who is overseas, today will bring mixed emotions for you, too. You were two, five, and eight at the start and it was different not being together when you awoke, not walking to school, and being away for the bedtime story and casual evening chats, and I’m sorry for missing so many events. You’re each so very special in very many ways, and you know I love you dearly.

Can I thank my former wife—a writer—for doing far, far more than her fair share of raising our kids. So very well done.

Thanks to my now deceased parents, and my sisters and our extended families, including Barbara’s.

Now, Barbara is private, but she can’t avoid fame. John and Liesha’s mother, Sadie’s BB—she’s got numerous songs written about her; music videos and paintings. She’s a source of inspiration and strength to many. She’s gorgeous, principled, creative, hard-working, fun-loving, and gorgeous. We’ve been together for 15 years this year. I can’t believe my luck—every day is a treat. And with my kids and Barbara, I reckon I’m the luckiest man alive.

And my friends—well, they’re my friends. They’re important. I arrived here with many and I leave with more. I acknowledge that politics has unjustly hurt some, but they’re philosophical on that, and life’s good.

To all the Labour Party activists, the presidents and members, and to my leaders, Chris Hipkins and Carmel Sepuloni, and Labour MPs: you’re a fantastic and cohesive team—keep it up. We’re New Zealand’s oldest political party. We’ve done lots for our country, and there’s lots more to be done.

Thanks to all the people who run Parliament. A special call-out to Grant Cleland in the library. To the judiciary and the fourth estate, the public servants, unions, businesses, farm leaders, NGOs, academic communities, the comms gurus—thank you.

The artists of all genres, who enrich us all. The scientists who also open up new frontiers.

And my fellow MPs—the opposition is not the enemy.

💬 To Shane Jones: I love you, but we don’t need more coal. The top te reo student, number one in our land, and a Harvard scholar, he probably read Hansen’s Storms of My Grandchildren, which foreshadowed the furious storms we’re just starting to see.

We are all hostages to MMP. Why else would so much political capital be frittered away on identity politics while others fan culture wars, and society polarises? To be clear, MMP drives these behaviours in main parties, too.

Under first past the post, New Zealand became amongst the best countries in the world, but MMP was meant to be better. Perhaps Dr Hooton is right and MMP gets worse over time.

It’s the people’s system, not ours. As things polarise and the hard issues don’t get fixed, we should allow the people to again make their choice.

I’d vote for STV. All 120 of us would have to serve in a seat. That drives behavioural change.

I’d add in a small Upper House—30 people appointed, as in Canada, or voted in STV—and limited to two terms each. And if we become a republic—not high on my list—please avoid giving our president executive powers.

Arena Williams recently surprised me by saying, “You’re different.” I asked, “How?” “You don’t need affirmation, and so you’re happy to disagree.” It can be a weakness too, yet officials thrived on it.

That’s who I am: a conviction politician, clear in my values. My ideology: no communist, part capitalist, part socialist, class not race, and I’m 100 percent sure Labour is my place.

I’ve fought many battles. I’ve stood on principle. I’ve won and I’ve lost, but I leave here knowing that on environment, civil liberties, and—most precious of all—a prosperous egalitarian society, I’ve tried to move the dial.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference. (Robert Frost)

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Applause]

Sitting suspended from 6.11 p.m. to 7 p.m.