Sittings of the House — Adjournment Debate

I move, That the House do now adjourn until 2 October 2026.

Mr Speaker, let me begin by thanking you and your wise leadership of this House, and also, to everyone who has kept this place working over the term: the cleaners, our Copperfields staff, the messengers, Hansard, VIP drivers, the Dignitary Protection Service, security, Parliamentary Counsel Office, the library, IST, select committee staff, finance, travel, reception, building staff, the Cabinet Office, our sign language interpreters, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, electorate office staff, private secretaries, and everyone in our offices who makes it possible for us to do our work here, can we say thank you, thank you, thank you.

Can I thank our coalition partners: to David Seymour and to Winston Peters, to all of our colleagues across ACT and New Zealand First, thank you for all of your work this term. Despite every prediction, we have delivered strong and stable government at the moment New Zealanders needed it most. We have shown that three parties can disagree honestly and still work together for New Zealand; we have found common ground, and we have governed in the national interest.

I do want to pay a special tribute to my National Party colleagues, because they are working away in select committees, late night sittings in urgency, making sure that the promises we made to Kiwis make it through this House. The long hours here away from their families, the long hours back at home solving problems for their constituents, showing up at the school galas and also the public meetings.

A few thankyous for the other side, too. Can I just thank Willie Jackson for his absolutely outstanding services to the National Party this term? Can I thank Ayesha Verrall, whose relaxed and easy going nature has brought such levity to this Chamber? And can I wish Chris Hipkins all the very best with his now four-year attempt at “just getting warmed up”? I have to say, if that’s him getting warmed up, I’d hate to see him having a lie down!

I’m incredibly proud of what this Government has achieved. Let’s start with the economy, because three years ago, New Zealand was in trouble. Under Labour, spending grew at one of the fastest rates in our history. Debt tripled, from $60 billion to $180 billion, and it doubled as a share of GDP. For all those billions and all that extra spending and debt, we didn’t get better schools; we didn’t get safer streets or shorter hospital queues. What we got was inflation at a 32-year high, we got food prices up 12 percent, we got higher interest rates, and we got a massive debt bill that’s loaded up on our kids and our grandkids. That is the Labour formula: it is simply spend more, tax more, borrow more. It didn’t work then, but they want to do it all again if they get in.

Now, on this side, we are getting the books in order. We are stopping a billion dollars that was spent on consultants and contractors. We have halved the price of a new classroom. We are cutting the waste. That means that we can invest more in front-line services. You’re seeing that in health and education. We can invest in those services with no new taxes. We are growing the economy, and growth means jobs, and it means higher incomes. When Todd McClay set out to land a free-trade agreement with India this term, people said it couldn’t be done, but we did it. That means real opportunity, and it means prosperity for all Kiwis across New Zealand. When Chris Bishop set out to fix the Resource Management Act, people said it couldn’t be done, but we did it. That means that this country can now crack on and get things built and get things done. When we promised tax relief, we did it. Nicola Willis delivered the first tax relief in 14 years, because we believe the best place for a Kiwi’s hard-earned dollar is in their back pocket, not sitting over there with Chris Hipkins to waste as he did.

Let me set the record straight for just one last time, please. Is National considering a capital gains tax?

💬 Hon Members: No.

Are we considering a land tax on your farm?

💬 Hon Members: No.

What about scrapping Investment Boost?

💬 Hon Members: No.

An inheritance tax?

💬 Hon Members: No.

A new 45 percent top income tax rate?

💬 Hon Members: No.

And what about bringing back Labour’s rental tax?

💬 Hon Members: No.

Good. Well, Labour and their mates are lining up nine new taxes, to cover off $18 billion of election freebies. And what’s our answer? Our answer on this side is: no new taxes.

Well, I’ve got to tell you, New Zealand is heading in the right direction. We have 22 months of manufacturing growth; record exports, up $20 billion; tourism back above pre-COVID levels; first-home buyers are actually a record share of the market, at 29 percent; rent rises are their lowest in 25 years; more Kiwis are choosing to come home for good. In fact, the ones from Australia are up 14 percent; the ones from around the rest of the world up 7 percent. Most importantly, growth is outstripping Australia, the UK, the US, EU, Canada, and Japan. We know it’s been a hard few years, but this is a resilient country that knows, if we stick to the plan, our best days are ahead of us.

Labour had exactly one law-and-order goal when they were in power, and that was to cut the prison population, irrespective of what was happening on the streets and with crime. I have to say we’ve learnt that “soft on crime” doesn’t work, because violent crime went up 33 percent, retail crime doubled, ram raids quadrupled—all under a Labour Government. So what did Mark Mitchell and Paul Goldsmith do? They put three-strikes together, tougher sentences, and more police on the beat. They banned the gang patches; a new anti-stalking law, and real action on retail crime. Wouldn’t you know it, when you stop making excuses for offenders and you get on the side of victims and start enforcing the law, it actually works! We’ve got 37,000 fewer victims of serious violent crime, serious youth crime is down 26 percent, the ram raids are down 85 percent, and the police out there on the beat doubled, which is fantastic. Incredibly, one of the parties that Chris Hipkins wants to govern with has on their website, “If you’re not trying to abolish prisons, what are you doing in Parliament?” I’ve got to say, well, National is unapologetically backing our police and victims, not the criminals and not the offenders.

Now, Chris Hipkins was the Minister of Education for five years, and I have to say the record is utterly, utterly shameful. In a First World country, only 46 percent of our kids attended school regularly; 47 percent, by the time they got the high school, were at the standard they needed to be in reading; and, sadly, at high school, only 23 percent were at the standard that they were needing to be at in mathematics. I’ve got to say, Erica Stanford, on the other hand, is doing an excellent job, because she is teaching our kids the basics brilliantly: an hour each of reading, writing, and maths; phones out of the classroom; a brand-new Curriculum; structured literacy; structured numeracy; a relentless focus on attendance; and the biggest investment in learning support in a generation. What are the results: 176,000 kids back at regular school attendance; kids making 12 months’ progress in mathematics in 12 weeks.

I think one of the worst things that Chris Hipkins did was he scrapped the health targets. Instead, Labour focused on a Māori Health Authority and reorganising the district health boards—not on improving outcomes for patients. The result was longer stays in emergency departments (EDs), longer waits for surgeries, slower cancer treatment. Well, Simeon Brown, and Shane Reti before him—they are turning that around. We have brought back the targets. We’ve invested a record $34 billion in health this year. We’ve boosted doctor training. We’re building a Waikato medical school. We’ve funded 66 new medicines—33 for cancer. And we’ve delivered 51,000 elective surgeries in a single three-month window. As we saw today, it is working: shorter ED wait times, faster elective surgery, faster cancer treatment, higher immunisation rates, and shorter waits for a first specialist assessment.

New Zealanders have been knocked around by COVID, by lockdowns, by inflation, by Trump’s tariffs, by war in Iran, but things are turning around. We know, in the National Party, that this is the greatest country on Earth, with extraordinary potential still to realise if we make the right choice. This election is a very straight choice: a National Party growing the economy so Kiwis can get ahead, or a radical—a radical—Labour coalition addicted to spending and taxing and borrowing. The choice is poverty or prosperity; chaos or competency; nine new taxes or no new taxes. Be under no illusion, a Labour coalition is going to tax every single ounce of aspiration out of the people trying to leave the next generation better. That is not a New Zealand that we believe in in the National Party. In 45 days, I’ve got to tell you, New Zealanders are going to get a choice, and it’s going to be on our record and on who has the better plan. Make no mistake: this is a policy election.

A party vote for National will deliver economic growth, new jobs, higher wages, tougher consequences for criminals, more police out on the beat, more trade deals, better school results, replacing NCEA and teaching the basics brilliantly, 30 weeks of paid parental leave, better infrastructure, roads of national significance, new classrooms and new and upgraded hospitals, 5 percent deposits for first-home buyers, universal KiwiSaver, higher contributions, and a $1,500 baby boost, and, most importantly, no new taxes. Yes, there’s more to do, but we are building a future for New Zealand where hard work is rewarded and families can get ahead. There is no time to waste. Our best years are ahead. Bring it on; party vote National.

Traditionally, a Prime Minister’s speech in the adjournment debate is light-hearted and contains some humour. I was worried when Christopher Luxon got started, but then he decided to talk about the Government’s track record, and the humour arrived unexpectedly! Three years ago, I said that if Christopher Luxon went into Government with David Seymour and Winston Peters, they would run circles around him. Well, it’s just as well they work in a round building, because they’ve run the carpet threadbare. I also said Christopher Luxon would have to get better at answering questions. On both of those predictions, I think I was right; on both of those predictions, we have seen no discernible improvement under this Government.

They promised to fix the cost of living. They have made everything worse for New Zealanders. This is a Government that’s had the wrong priorities, that’s been out of touch with New Zealanders, and now, they are out of time as well. This is a Government that has been focused on their own jobs, not the jobs of New Zealanders.

I want to share three stories in this adjournment debate speech which illustrate the real track record and the real New Zealand of this Government. The first is from Tauranga. An emergency department nurse came up to speak to me in a car park, and she said, “Mr Hipkins, I saw you on TV, and I wanted to say you were wrong, because you said that our emergency department was often in crisis, and you got that wrong. We are always in crisis under this Government.” Those nurses and doctors in our emergency departments feel like they are always in crisis. The numbers prove that and back them up. This Government has descended our health system into an absolute crisis, and they have no plan to fix it. Fifty-four new nurses in two years is the best they can do. Many of our hospitals have fewer nurses working in them today than they did three years ago. That is the track record of this Government. It is no wonder our hospitals are in absolute crisis. That emergency department nurse was right.

The second person who I spoke to in the last few weeks was a business owner here in Wellington—

💬 Rt Hon Christopher Luxon: Oh, yeah, that would be right—Wellington.

—a small business owner here in Wellington, a hospitality business owner here in Wellington. I know Christopher Luxon hates Wellington; he’s just proved that, once again, with his interjection. On Budget day, he said that from there on in, his turnover went down by $1,000 a day because this Government announced they were going to cut 9,000 more jobs. Those 9,000 job losses won’t just affect people working in the public sector; they will affect the private sector as well. That business lost $1,000 a day in turnover because of the axe that is now hanging over the jobs of 9,000 people. But it’s not just the 9,000 people; it’s everybody else who doesn’t know whether they’re going to be one of the 9,000 people who is now facing that uncertainty under this Government.

The third story I wanted to tell was about people I spoke to in the supermarket at the weekend, a couple with a newborn baby, who came up—

💬 Hon Member: In Wellington?

Yes, that was in Wellington. I live in Wellington. I live in Wellington. I speak to people here in Wellington. A couple came up to me while I was doing my supermarket shopping—which, coincidentally, Prime Minister, added up to a lot more than $60. They came up to me, and they said they just can’t make ends meet. They feel like they’re doing everything right. They go out to work—both of them work—and yet they can’t make ends meet. They’re doing everything that the country asks of them. They work hard, they contribute, and yet they don’t feel like they are better off with their own hard work. And they, like so many others, are considering leaving the country. Record numbers of New Zealanders have left the country under this Government, and the exodus is only going to continue if this Government gets re-elected. We cannot afford three more years of this Government.

Let’s look at the track record that Christopher Luxon is supposedly so proud of: higher unemployment—50,000 New Zealanders who had jobs three years ago don’t have jobs now. That’s his Government’s shameful legacy. Youth unemployment is up, with nearly 100,000 New Zealanders under the age of 25 doing nothing. They’re not in education, they’re not in employment, and they’re not in training—nearly 100,000 New Zealanders. That is our future that this Government is writing off. Wages have been going backwards for New Zealanders, and this Government, the National Party and their mates, want to freeze wages for three more years. They’re not talking about freezing anybody’s costs. They’re not talking about freezing board directors’ fees, which they’ve hiked up by up to 80 percent. They’re saying that those people who go out and earn salaries and wages should have their wages frozen if they get re-elected. This country cannot afford three more years of this Government.

Then there are the tens of thousands of women up and down the country that had their pay cut by this Government in the dead of night under urgency, because this Government doesn’t think the work of women is worth the same as the work of other New Zealanders. It was one of the most disgraceful and shameful things that I have seen happen in this Parliament, passing under urgency a law that took away pay equity from the woman who have worked so hard to get it—care and support workers who work hard in our rest homes, caring for our elderly in their own homes, now earning barely minimum wage under this Government. It says everything about where this Government’s priorities are. Eighty to 90 percent increases in fees for company directors, but pay equity for hard-working women in New Zealand gets cut.

New Zealanders face a clear choice at this election. Where this Government promises more chaos, which is what we’ve had, we will offer the stability that New Zealand deserves. Where they promise more cuts, we will invest in New Zealand’s future. Where they offer fear, we will offer New Zealanders hope. Where they embrace conspiracy theories, we will back science. Where they offer arrogance and entitlement, we will offer humility and service, because that is what public service and politics should be about. While they offer blame, excuses, and word salad, we will offer honesty and answers—something this Government has spent three years avoiding delivering.

Homelessness is up, and their excuse—their answer—to homelessness: just pass move-on orders; make the problem go away by making it less visible. KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals are at record levels, food prices are up, business liquidations are up, and attacks on migrants and Māori are happening more and more. This is disgraceful behaviour by this Government, and the National Party have a lot to say on a lot of issues but not when their own coalition partners attack migrant New Zealanders. They tout the India free-trade agreement, and yet they don’t mind Ministers in their own Government talking about a “butter chicken tsunami”. They had nothing to say in defence of migrant New Zealanders when that happened. They had nothing to say in defence of Chinese New Zealanders when the Minister of Foreign Affairs chose to attack them. They have nothing to say on the division that Ministers in this Government have been stoking. They’ve shown no leadership on those issues, and now they’re going to go cap in hand to those same communities and ask them to vote for them. Why should those communities vote for them when they weren’t willing to stand up for them in Parliament when their own Ministers were attacking them?

Better is possible. Labour will offer New Zealanders real help with the cost of living, making sure that you can get to see a doctor and that you don’t have to go to a hospital emergency department because you can’t get in to see your doctor or you can’t afford to see a doctor; making sure public transport is more affordable for New Zealanders, with a public transport fare cap of $20 a week, or $10 a week in the provinces; making sure people can install solar panels on their roof; taking on the supermarkets; telling all New Zealand corporates that we will not tolerate price gouging in New Zealand—we will make sure Kiwis stop being ripped off and get a better deal—standing up for Kiwis in a way this Government has completely failed to do for three years; backing New Zealanders back into work by supporting the 97 percent of businesses in New Zealand that are small businesses, who have been completely forgotten by this Government; helping young New Zealanders into a trade by restoring the Apprenticeship Boost that was cut by this Government; taking action on AI, where our Government has been completely absent on one of the major issues facing humanity.

This Government has completely failed to do the thing that it promised to do. They promised to fix the cost of living; they made it worse. They promised to get New Zealanders back to work; they’ve increased unemployment. They promised to fix the health system, and Kiwis are dying in hospital waiting rooms. This Government are out of ideas, and they are now out of time.

What I would say to you is that I want to start by thanking the workers who actually make this place tick. That is, the cleaners, the clerks, the security guards, the Chamber officers, the messengers, the librarians, the Coppers and catering staff, the team at the Parliamentary Service, and our dedicated lean Green parliamentary fighting team. Shout-outs to all of the press gallery, who are up there doing their best to report on the rolling trash fire that is this Government’s one term. Thank you, Mr Speaker, for finding a way to kick me out of Parliament more times this term than Winston Peters for the crime of asking whether we could find any Government MPs with a spine. For the record, I never actually said that the Government MPs were spineless; I simply asked if we could find six of 68 Government MPs with a spine to sanction Israel for its genocide in Gaza, but clearly we could not find an answer to that question. But, as we know, in this place you can’t say that something is racist if it is racist, and you cannot call a lie a lie. And, clearly, you can’t say that an MP is being spineless if that is what they are. It turns out you cannot even ask the question. You can, however, as this Government does every single day, serve its corporate mates.

Let’s take a little moment to do a retrospective of what Christopher Luxon, Winston Peters, and that other guy have done with their three years in power. They came to office three years ago and reinstated the Resource Management Act, which the previous Government had already replaced. Then they spent three years complaining about that very Resource Management Act, which they had reinstated, only to finally claim victory yesterday by finally scrapping the law that they had put back in place. Congratulations, guys. It must have been really difficult to pat yourselves on the back for doing something that the last Government did, but worse.

Then, before Christmas, under urgency in 2023, they revoked the Inland Revenue Department’s ability to report on the unfairness of our tax system. I wonder why the Taxpayers’ Union wasn’t up in arms about that one! But, then again, the Taxpayers’ Union was also missing in action when the Government chose to dish out $200 million in taxpayer money to subsidise new fossil fuels in the middle of a fossil fuel crisis. Of course, the problem, Christopher Luxon believes, is not with corporate greed; Christopher Luxon’s problem is not the bloated corporations that are ripping New Zealanders off on their energy and their grocery bills. His problem isn’t that our infrastructure is failing or that we are too dependent on imported fossil fuels and therefore exposed to imported inflation. No, Christopher Luxton’s problem is the environment, that pesky Treaty, those school kids and their lunches, the teachers, the nurses, the firefighters, the small businesses, and those pesky frogs.

Nothing will get in the way of the Government’s growth agenda. Not the climate that is necessary for life on Earth as we know it. Not the health of our soil or our air or our water. Not those bloody fish in the oceans. Not the biodiversity on our public conservation land, and not the endangered geckos or skinks or moths. Indeed, Christopher Luxon has decided that it’s the kiwi who are the problem, getting in the way of all of those motorways that he thinks we need to build. It was a dedicated ministry for the environment that was the problem, so he disestablished that. Christopher Luxon decided that women actually are the problem, so he took away the rights of 300,000 of our lowest-paid working women to access pay equity. In fact, it’s actually renters who are the problem! So he passed law to allow landlords to evict 1.5 million people without any cause, undermining every single other right that they have.

In Christopher Luxon’s New Zealand, it is the Public Service and the poor who are the problem, so his Government has cut benefits for the severely sick and disabled, pushed 47,000 more children into poverty, and intentionally increased homelessness to the highest levels that we have ever seen. But don’t worry, the Government has decided that they will just empower the police to move those homeless people out of sight and out of mind! Christopher Luxon has delivered us the highest unemployment that we have seen in 11 years. Then he decided that we’re going to sanction those who are struggling to find work. But don’t worry young people, Christopher Luxon has not forgotten about you! While one in three young New Zealanders is currently looking for more work that doesn’t exist in Christopher Luxton’s economy, he has decided to make those young people financially dependent on their parents, increase their tuition fees if they decide to turn to studying, and told them to just move to where the jobs are. So 178,000 New Zealanders have taken the Prime Minister’s advice, leaving their home and our country, along with taking their skills, their creativity, and their energy.

But here comes the Government with the full power of the Public Service to tackle the real problems! Under their direction, this Parliament has spent hours and hours making English an official language, and the three men in charge of this country have decided to waste all of our time defining what a woman is. Here we are, in the middle of the campaign, and Captain Simeon Brown is at the helm. I was first introduced to his handiwork two decades ago almost, when we were both students at the University of Auckland. Lecture theatres had been littered with flyers filled with disinformation about abortions. Simeon’s Pro-life on Campus was later disaffiliated by Arena Williams from the Auckland University Students Association, but it was an early exposure to just how this man works. Now he’s graduated to big boy tax billboards and AI slop.

Look, I know the National Party hates the arts and they hate artists, but you’d think with all of those corporate donations, perhaps they could pay some creatives to design their attack ads—although I will say one cool thing about all of these artificially generated illustrations of KiwiMart is just how popular it is. That’s the funny thing: this Government cannot run on its track record. It is, frankly, embarrassing. Instead, they have decided to attack the very idea that the Government could actually do something with the power that it is given to improve the lives of New Zealanders. In Christopher Luxon’s world, people don’t work together; they screw each other over to make as much money as possible. That is why this Government has no vision, no aspiration, no plan to bring us together to do the things that none of us could ever achieve alone. It wants us fighting each other as their donors laugh their way to the bank.

The Greens believe in the power of New Zealanders. We believe in this plucky little country’s ability to lead the world. We believe that nature should flourish. We believe in fixing what is so obviously broken. We believe in making life easier, less exhausting, and, God forbid, more fun for all New Zealanders, and that is why we are in this building.

I was actually probably a little bit dumb, given how long it took me to realise that that is not the same reason that all politicians are here. One day, early on in this term, when we were in the midst of one of the many urgency sessions spurred on by this Government’s lobbyist wish list, I must have had my head in my hands, and Rawiri Waititi turned to me and said something that made it all starts to make sense: “Politics is a game to these guys.” Politics can be a game when you’re wealthy and sorted. Politics can be a game when you’re entitled to your entitlements, Prime Minister. But politics is not a game when it is the difference between whether your family can eat, whether they have a roof over their head. Politics is not a game when you sit with the reality of the climate crisis. I know that means that we get a reputation for being uptight dorks. I know that it means that we get a reputation for being angry, but I make no apologies for caring about this country, because that is the point, if there has ever been one.

💬 Hon Shane Jones: Drill, drill!

CHLÖE SWARBRICK: I want every New Zealander to know that, in the real world out there, Shane Jones, we here in this place are fighting for you, to fix the real basics necessary for all New Zealanders to live a decent life—for Te Tiriti o Waitangi, because it is indeed ironic that the Prime Minister doesn’t recognise Māori sovereignty despite his co-Deputy Prime Minister being the most self-sovereign individual that Parliament has ever seen. Winston Peters is living proof that Māori never ceded sovereignty.

For affordable bills, healthy nature, and honest politics, the Greens are fighting for New Zealanders every single day, for a country that works for all of us.

Mr Speaker, thank you. I couldn’t help but think, if Chlöe Swarbrick’s speech just then needs background music, it could be set to “Help!” by The Beatles as a perfect accompaniment.

I want to thank you, Mr Speaker, for this term of Parliament and your work; my coalition partners, fellow leaders Winston and Chris, for the way we’ve worked together more successfully than our worst enemies’ worst nightmares to put a record amount of legislation through this House, making New Zealand a better place. I particularly want to thank all of those who work across the parliamentary precinct, some 700 people, and especially my colleagues in the ACT Party, who have shown up every day with courage and conviction to make New Zealand a better and freer society. Particularly, I want to farewell Mark Cameron and Brooke van Velden. I think their valedictories, for us, have been highlights of the term—a pure expression of why they came here.

I think, if we’re honest, this country faces some challenges that it has faced across Governments. Productivity growth has been too low, for 15 years at 0.2 percent. Houses have been too expensive, recently as high as 10 years’ income to buy one. These are challenges that require serious solutions, executed well, over time so that problems which grew up over a long period can be fixed.

The most urgent need is, first of all, to lock Labour out of power, because we know that they won’t make it better, but worse. The Labour Party was soft on violent crime and gangs. You can’t trust them on law and order. If you can’t be safe on the streets, you can’t produce an honest buck. But, even if you can, you know they’ll tax it and then borrow $120 billion more, putting debt on to you and your grandchildren. When you hear these speeches, the visionless, energy-less nothing from cynical Chris Hipkins; the madness of business class Chlöe—and we can only dread what may be to come; hopefully at least a laugh from Rawiri—you see why it is so critical to lock Labour out.

It is even more important—it is even more important—that we unlock this country’s potential. I would argue that the ACT Party has played a consistent, effective, and honourable role in this Government at unlocking this country’s potential. We do that in three ways. One is that we need a smaller, more efficient Government. We need to spend less and get better results. The ACT Party can point to $14 billion of savings from our Ministers and our policies over the last three years. We worked out that’s $57,000 for each person who voted for us. Now, when you consider it’s free to give your party vote to ACT, that’s got to be a good deal.

We’ve also stopped three new taxes during this term of Government. We welcome new disciples to the “Church of No New Taxes”, no matter how recently they may have sinned. All are welcome. We know Chris has changed churches before, and we’re glad to see him at our one, preaching “no new taxes”. But there’s something more than that. We don’t just need to stop reaching for people’s money in new taxes; we must ensure that our Government is smaller and more efficient, has fewer Ministers, fewer departments, and has clear objectives, with one Minister in charge of one department, with one chief executive that they’re responsible for and can hire and fire. When you do that, you get a real focus on efficiency, which I don’t believe we’ve done enough of in this Government, but I’m proud of the effort that our party has made to ensure that the savings are there—a smaller, more efficient Government that delivers the medicines on time, that gets the children to school, that makes sure that they’re safe if they’re taken into custody by Oranga Tamariki, that the court system goes faster, and that you can even get your passport so fast it’s almost not worth paying for the rapid service.

That’s just a few of the things that ACT Party Ministers have been up to in this Government. Even as Andrew Hoggard has acted as a one-man biosecurity defence army, keeping every kind of bug, from microbes to pests and—

💬 Hon Andrew Hoggard: And hornets.

He stopped the yellow-legged hornets by putting little devices on them. I mean, there is nothing that Andrew Hoggard cannot do in defence of the realm against biosecurity threats.

The second thing we’ve got to do, other than have a smaller, more efficient Government, is be safe. We brought back three-strikes. We defunded cultural reports after we found the last Government was spending more on sob stories for convicted criminals before they were sentenced than they were spending on Victim Support. Then we said, “If you attack someone working sole charge or at a place that’s adjacent to their dwelling, that’s an extra crime.” But we’ve got to go further. We’re going to make it a crime to coerce someone by animal abuse, perhaps the most despicable crime in this country that I’ve been shocked to learn about in the last few years. We’re going to make sure we throw the book at it. We’re going to get tough on shoplifters, with accredited security guards, and we’re going to ensure that burglaries—if you get caught for three, you’ve probably done a heap, so you’re going to jail for three years for three-strikes burglary.

Then there’s something else we’ve got to do to unlock the potential of this country and get prices down and productivity up, and that is stop the stupid rules and the red tape that has tied New Zealanders up in process instead of production. Again, this Government has made a fantastic start. We’ve done fast track. We’ve replaced the Resource Management Act with new laws based on property rights. We’ve got new medicines consented faster. We’ve got new agricultural and horticultural products consented faster. We’ve made sure that the Holidays Act has been replaced with something that actually makes sense for small business. The Ministry for Regulation has saved at least a quarter of a billion dollars by cutting red tape out, sector by sector by sector. This Government, I believe, will be seen as a turning point where we began to start saving money and saving time by stopping tying people up in red tape that draws people into process instead of production. That is work that we will continue in the next Government, carrying out a jihad on red tape so the potential of New Zealanders to produce more of the day, more creatively, with more Xeros and ZURUs, more Halters and Gallaghers. We’ll make sure that higher-paying jobs are available so New Zealanders can afford more of the things that we need.

Finally, if we want to really unlock the potential of this country, we must ensure that we each are valued as human beings with hopes and dreams, with equal rights no matter when it was that our ancestors made the pioneering journey to these islands. We should not be judged differently based on which wave of migration brought our family here, whether it was in our own lifetimes—or, in my case, starting 600 years ago. We are all united as New Zealanders who made that journey, and I’m proud that, in this Government, when two patients come in for pre-diabetic medicine, they both get the same treatment, based on their clinical need now, not treated differently, where one pays and the other doesn’t because one’s ancestors came here at a different time. It’s the same with bowel cancer screening.

💬 Hon Carmel Sepuloni: Oh David, that is not right.

Yes, that is right. That’s exactly what we’ve done. Carmel Sepuloni needs to keep up. Then you look at the Māori Health Authority, gone; three waters, no longer co-governed. This Government has brought about one law for all and one future together. Yes, we started a debate no one else had the courage to start, let alone follow through, on the true meaning of our Treaty. It cannot be the case that our founding document is the Treaty, that the Treaty divides us into a partnership between races, and that we are a liberal democratic society. You can have any two of those, but not all three at the same time. That is why the ACT Party will continue to campaign for one law for all, one future together, equal rights before the law as human beings, not discriminated against on the basis of when our ancestors arrived in this country.

This country has great potential; it has great hope. If we can ensure that the work of this coalition Government continues, that the streets remain safe because victims are the priority in the home, in the shop, and out in public; if we can ensure that the Government is smaller and more efficient—perhaps with 10 or 15 or 19 departments but far fewer than we have right now—and if we can ensure that we have a red tape jihad that frees people up to be more productive and spend less time in compliance activity; and if we can treat each other as New Zealanders, equal before the law, regardless of when we arrived, there is no limit to what we can achieve. There is no reason that we should not be the wealthiest country on Earth, and there is no reason we should not be proud to call New Zealand home, as the greatest society that humanity has ever known. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

As this Parliament adjourns, it’s appropriate to record our thanks to the cleaners, the library staff, the security teams, Hansard staff, committee clerks, chauffeurs, receptionists, and every other worker in this House, including yourself, Mr Speaker, your deputy, and assistant speakers.

Now, adjournment debates are traditionally a time to outline a politician’s record in this House across the term of Parliament. Unlike others, we have the rare privilege of actually having a record. That is why we say thank you to Shane Jones, Casey Costello, Mark Patterson, Jenny Marcroft, and their teams supporting them in their Government portfolios and, indeed, to the entire New Zealand First caucus and our team.

We are a party limited by the Standing Orders to only four member’s bills at any one time, but we have introduced 56 private member’s bills in the last term—56. That means we’ve done the work, we’ve done the research, we’re not all talk—fast on the lip and slow on the hip—no, we do the actual work.

These bills represent—[Interruption]—no, you can cheer later; you can applaud later—new ideas in line with New Zealand First’s values of social conservatism, patriotism, economic nationalism, and common sense. Our bills will be ready to be adopted in the forthcoming coalition agreement, and members of our supporting governing parties will, no doubt, look forward to advancing the interests of the common man and woman in the next term of Parliament.

We cannot get too far ahead of ourselves, because there is much too much good news to share in our record of this term. When New Zealand First makes an agreement, we keep our word. We’re famous for it too. You need to not judge us only by our words but by our deeds. We said the regions needed investment. We invested $1.2 billion into the regional infrastructure fund—money directed into productive and resilient assets around this country. Jobs, jobs, and jobs and wealth created in New Zealand with training chances for our young people.

We said that the Therapeutic Products Act was the wrong law, overtly complicated, over-bureaucratic, and a threat to the natural health products sector. And it was repealed. We said young New Zealanders waiting for mental health assistance needed practical help right then with providers like Gumboot Friday. We kept our promise. By November last year, more than 40,000 counselling sessions had been delivered through the Gumboot Friday programme.

We said English, the international language of commerce and the language used overwhelmingly in this House—including by the Greens, on a good day—should have the same statutory recognition of its official status that other official languages have. On 7 August this year, that became the law.

We said New Zealanders were entitled to a wider examination of the country’s response to the COVID-19 occurrence and not a mark-your-own-homework exercise as happened under Labour. The expanded royal commission completed its work and delivered its final report in February this year. It found young people between 12 and 17 were given second doses when Chris Hipkins and Ayesha Verrall were told not to do that; 311,000 young people wrongly got the dose.

Labour were found scurrying amongst nurses and teachers—meaning training professionals who were desperately, desperately needed in hospitals and classrooms—and they sacked them. They mandated them out of a job. And then they get in this House every day and talk about a lack of nurses and doctors—hundreds and hundreds of which they sacked. The Opposition yells about the need for more teachers and nurses—well, shame on them for mandating them out of the profession.

We said our citizens deserved recognition and practical support. Budget 2026 funded the next generation of the SuperGold card, including the option of a free physical ID that seniors have long called for.

Then there is the question of the infrastructure. While others campaigned to get our country back on track, you need look no further than New Zealand First to get evidence of who actually delivered it—$1.075 billion for rail network funding in Budget 2026. This is the first time ever a full three-year programme has been funded in advance—not fiscal cliffs like under Labour.

On the Cook Strait: we fixed the ferries for road and rail, and we’re going to save $2.3 billion from the idiocy we inherited, where the ferries were going to cost 20 percent of the total cost. So you go to buy ferries and they spent 80 percent of the money on infrastructure. How foolish. Go look at Tasmania and see where that would have got us; $2.3 billion saved—

💬 Hon Rachel Brooking: Government by text message—what a shameful way to govern!

Don’t argue about the common sense of this. I know you’re slow. Can I ask you this question: what’s your business background? What’s your business background?

💬 Hon Shane Jones: Zero!

Zero—exactly. It ain’t hard to get it right when you have experience—unlike the last lot who pursued palatial department allowances and wanted to lift the arts so high that Noah could berth his ark. When the fuel crisis hit our shores, who ensured we finally sorted out increased storage at Marsden Point by nine days, just like that? That’s right, it was New Zealand First.

Likewise, this House has finally grappled with the 1980s misadventure of the legal fraternity to invent Treaty principles. Now, I know imitation’s the most sincere form of flattery, but how many people now agree with us? Māori leaders like Ngata, Pōmare, Buck, and Carroll all understood the Treaty was a pact between two peoples to create one nation, one people under one flag and with one name. They understood the Treaty has no principles in it. This country has had it up to here with the wah-wah-wānanga delivering nothing but grievance founded on spurious words invented by the Labour Party. The country respects the Treaty signed in 1840—not the made-up nonsense written in those 1980s university clubhouses. That is why we have repealed those provisions with certain legislation—and we have more work ahead of us.

That is what it looks like to understand reality. We know what a Treaty is; we know what a woman is—[Interruption]. Oh, it’s got them going. One more time: we know what a woman is—hush for a while—and we know what realpolitik looks like in foreign affairs. We’ve got the experience; the others are all talk.

In our efforts, we have spent eight months abroad rebuilding New Zealand’s relationship with the world, including visiting all 17 Pacific member States and China—yes, I’ve been to China, not once but twice. Yes, I have a great relationship with China. Of course, I was the first guy to ever have a business connection with China when I did the export education in 1997—the first deal ever; you’ve all forgotten. So we’ve been offshore for eight months.

But, look, we’ve spent more time in this House than every Māori Party MP combined, including the two who got chucked out. Now, tell me, what on earth is going on in the mainstream media when I have to tell you that information? All this time, since 1867, the law was changed to accept Māori into this Parliament and they don’t turn up, for the first time ever.

Members, there is much more work ahead to fix this country. To govern a country, you need to know the ropes. The world is tough out there in reality and away from the cloistered comfort of the Green and Labour Party MPs in the leafy suburbs.

We are the party who ensured the minimum wage, who lifted and strengthened the fast-track legislation to enable industry to create jobs for our own, and who knows what hard work looks like. New Zealanders are sick and tired of globalist ideologies capturing politicians and leading to industry closing down and people losing their jobs—

💬 Hon Member: Tell us about the gays, Winston!

Look, come to Tauranga on Saturday afternoon at 2 o’clock to Trinity—it’ll be wall to wall again. The only party that is filling the halls in this country—it’s called democracy, it’s called market share, and it’s called logic. Now come and learn; you just might find out something.

You see, the Greens have been here trying for Parliament since 1972; 54 years and they’ve never been in Cabinet—54 years, never been in Cabinet.

💬 Francisco Hernandez: And we’re still bigger than you, mate. You won’t be around next time. Bye-bye, Winston! Bye-bye, Winston!

Oh, “Bye-bye, Winston!” Stand back, sunshine; I’ve got news for you. I’m coming back real big-time. We’re coming back with an army. We’re going to come back much bigger. Oh, don’t wave out to me. You should get up shortly and make your valedictory speech, because you guys are going to be out of here. No, we’re coming back—not for the first time. Out there, there are hundreds of thousands of people who’ve realised one thing: there’s a party that understands this country better than any other and that offers real hope for tomorrow. Thank you very much.

Thank you. How generous. Thank you for that applause. Ngā mihi nui ki a koe e te Pīka. This is the second time I’ve mihi-ed you today. I just want, again, to pass on these sentiments and thank you for the hard mahi, and also to all the staff here in Parliament for making the House work. This is my last speech I will give in the House under this Government, but like Arnold Schwarzenegger said, I’ll be back. This has been the most anti-Māori, anti-Tiriti, anti-taiao, anti-worker Government in a generation, and they have finally run out of numbers on the clock. On 7 November, we will issue their move-on orders from this House.

This is a Government that challenged our resilience, who we are forced to activate against, and although we couldn’t count on them, we have run their numbers. It took them two days to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora. They removed 24 Māori wards from local councils across Aotearoa; that’s 24 tables that will no longer have an unapologetic Māori voice. A hundred thousand voters—that’s how many people will be disenfranchised because the Government’s parties are afraid of our voting power. A hundred and eighty thousand women—that’s how many hard-working wāhine had their pay equity claims cancelled under urgency so that this Government could give out handouts to landlords and corporations.

They removed section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act, and they have weakened Treaty obligations across education, pae ora, and the Resource Management Act. There are 19 more Treaty clauses that they will weaken or remove if we don’t vote this Government out. Four million dollars—that’s how much taxpayer money was wasted on the failed Treaty principles bill. Fifty days—that’s how long Te Pāti Māori MPs were suspended from this House for daring to challenge the most racist and ignorant bill of this century. This Government overturned at least three major court decisions; they entrenched the theft of our foreshore and seabed with the marine and coastal area amendment bill; they protected the biggest polluters in Aotearoa from litigation; and they legalised the killing of those, Chlöe, pesky kiwis. They have prioritised the erasure of our rights and privilege of our whenua—wow.

Over 112,000 people in Aotearoa don’t know where they’re sleeping tonight. One in seven tamariki is living in poverty. One in four tamariki Māori is living in poverty. Māori continue to die seven years earlier than non-Māori, and Māori unemployment has gone from 6.8 percent to 10.8 percent under this Government’s watch. These are the numbers under this Government, yet when Te Pāti Māori challenges the lived reality of te iwi Māori in this House, we are met by excuses and justifications centred in statistics of crime reduction and incarceration. A Government that measures the success of te iwi Māori in crime reduction is one content with keeping our people incarcerated. A Government that measures its wealth in the tax breaks afforded to the 2 percent is one content with keeping its country in a cost of living crisis. A Government that measures its “clean, green” New Zealand image in only tourism sales is one content on allowing mining and drilling and the further degradation of whenua Māori for profit. A Government that measures its unity in the regression of equitable policies is one that doesn’t understand Te Tiriti o Waitangi and has never read Matike Mai.

When Te Pāti Māori stands in this House, this Government calls statements performative. I would argue that should be said for the Government’s ability to create positive change for this country. The Prime Minister can reject the characterisation of our questions in the House, but we reject how this House characterises te iwi Māori. Despite everything this Government has subjected te iwi Māori to over this term, and the harmful rhetoric and narratives they have generated, I want to share the real stories, and stats, our people live in: 312,000 people are on the Māori roll; 100,000 people hikoi-ed against the Treaty principles bill and this Government; 300,000 submitted against the Treaty principles bill; and te iwi Māori’s population is now almost one million.

💬 Hon Member: 30 seconds.

Our stats live—point of order. I was under the understanding we all get 10 minutes?

💬 SPEAKER: No, it’s a split call.

It’s a split call.

💬 SPEAKER: Yeah, sorry.

I will go to the back page, Mr Speaker; 8 November will be an opportunity for New Zealand to see a brand new Government. If you want to see more Māori in Parliament, if you want to see a one-term Government, and to maintain an unapologetic Māori voice, the only way you can do that is candidate vote Te Pāti Māori. That is how we do that. This is the last stand that this Government will make. Come 7 November, you’ll be bye, bye, goodbye. Kia ora tatou.

Democracy should work for all of us, not just the wealthy few. Te Tiriti has always been about taking the best possible care of each other, but right now a handful of very rich and powerful corporations can buy access and influence the Government for their private benefit.

In 2024, an Ipsos survey revealed that two-thirds of people feel that the economic system is rigged totally in favour of the rich and the powerful. Yet, it is Te Tiriti that has been weaponised as being divisive, despite the generosity that Māori have shown to all people for generations, whether it is marae opening up when the roads are closed, feeding and caring for multitudes of strangers with the utmost manaaki, whether it is iwi and hapū restoring the health of our rivers and oceans, native forests, and native taonga species for all of our mokopuna to enjoy, whether it is iwi and hapū providing social and health services to whoever needs it in their communities.

They label Te Tiriti as being divisive, despite the overwhelming majority of select committee submissions from the public and diverse organisations pleading to the Government that Te Tiriti and the relationships with local Māori have been vital to improving their work; that’s churches, unions, local and regional governments, local businesses, even developers, environmental groups, migrant groups, professional bodies, health bodies, and just ordinary members of the public who outright reject the attempts of these Government parties to sow division, who come with all the receipts of how Te Tiriti is one of the last bastions of protection for the environment, for workers, and for a community voice. That is why Te Tiriti is the target: because it stands in the way of the outright exploitation of our living systems, of workers’ rights and safety, and of community voice.

Which brings us back to where the real, unelected representation has always been, and it’s not Māori on boards wanting to ensure there is accountability for environmental protection that benefits everybody. No, the real unelected representation has always been the underhand, backdoor connections between political parties who are refusing to tax their billionaire and big corporate donors, and who instead want working people like tradies and nurses and the local barbers to keep paying twice the effective tax rate of someone who owns 50 houses. To copy and paste the demands of the wealthy straight into their law; that is where the real divide has always been.

The good news is that the Green Party will take big money out of politics. We will cap political donations at $30,000 and ensure that only people can donate and not companies. The Green Party has consistently stood by our values and our evidence-based policy solutions, to prioritise the wellbeing for the many and not just the few. We have not just a powerful opportunity to get rid of this Government, who have shown outright that they are here to serve billionaires, and bugger everyone else, but people have the chance to demand a Government that prioritises affordable living, healthy nature, and democracy for all of us, not just the powerful. Thank you.

Well, I thought that was a very good example of the co-leadership in action. Marama Davidson has certainly been taking Chlöe Swarbrick’s advice to touch grass. I think the only problem is there is such thing as touching too much grass.

Colleagues, this is a time for gratitude, and I want to express some gratitude to a few people; first of all, to you, Mr Speaker: this is the first term of Parliament I have not been kicked out once, and I want to recognise you for that. Thank you.

💬 SPEAKER: Well, thank you for highlighting my failures.

Ha, ha! In particular, I want to acknowledge the extremely special piece of correspondence I received from you—in your handwriting—reminding me, as the Minister of Finance, of the existence of the Parliament Act 2025. I shall always treasure that correspondence.

I want to also acknowledge the staff at Copperfields, especially the baristas who pour long blacks directly into my veins, along with all of the unsung heroes of the precinct: the cleaners, the messengers, security guards, the Crown car drivers. These people don’t just deliver apricot danishes—but they do do that—they provide numerous moments of genuine kindness every day in this place. Chamber staff, Office of the Clerk, Parliamentary Counsel Office, Parliamentary Library, researchers—all these people who keep the democracy going. The members of the Press Gallery: in an age of declining trust, short-format video, clickbait, you soldier on and democracy is better for it, thank you.

I want to acknowledge my caucus colleagues in the National Party, and also our dedicated National Party members and volunteers all over the country. They are the very, very best people, and I am so looking forward to campaigning with them.

Our coalition colleagues: it has been an honour to have delivered this country’s first three-way coalition, and boy oh boy, have we got stuff done. Yes, there have been things on which we have differed, but we have gotten so much done for the good of this country.

I want to acknowledge the agency staff, especially, in my case, the Budget and fuel response teams; departmental private secretaries; my extraordinary political office staff, who have saved me from so many potential troubles, and whose grace and kindness continues to astound me.

But I feel that while we have achieved a lot for New Zealand—the first tax relief in 14 years; Investment Boost, ensuring tax incentives for those investing in growth and development; extending contributions to KiwiSaver; the tightest spending allowances in years, and yet prioritising investments in things that really matter: 33 new cancer drugs on our watch; the biggest boost for special education in our schools in decades; the FamilyBoost payment to help parents with the costs of early childhood education; funds in each of our Budgets to restore the dignity of the New Zealand Defence Force and the men and women who put their lives on the line for our country; backing our police; building infrastructure; getting things done.

But it is wrong in a speech like this to save all congratulations for the Government. I do want to recognise the Opposition. I really want to hand out some awards to them. I think the first thing we need to recognise is that if Parliament handed out medals for political gymnastics, Labour would have swept the podium this term. Yesterday, in a routine that would have scored a perfect 10 from the East German judge, Chris Hipkins performed the finest backflip this House has seen in a very long time. For three years, that member, backed up by his chorus of MPs, has practised one routine and one routine only. For every problem that has been ever described under this fair sun, he has had something to blame: it’s the tax cut for landlords! Interest deductibility—that was the problem. Whether it was the cost of living, whether it was unemployment, whatever it was, the problem was tax cuts for landlords. But then yesterday, we had a dismount, and we had—what I’ve been told they call in gymnastics—is a case of the “twisties”. Now, what happens with the twisties is that when you’re rotating in mid-air, you suddenly lose your sense of direction—completely lose your sense of direction—don’t know what’s up, what’s down, where you’re going, what you’re doing, and you panic. You panic in mid-air when you get the twisties, and I think this is what happened to Chris Hipkins yesterday. He was in mid-air, he realised he had no plan, he had no policies, he had no energy for the campaign, and he went, “Actually, I’m going to flip it and reverse it. That is exactly what he did.

Speaking of routines gone wrong: Ginny Andersen—can we just recognise her? She tried her signature move on live radio a few weeks ago, telling Mark Mitchell that road maintenance is not funded by the National Land Transport Fund. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”, she told him. “It’s a separate fund—you need to go check that.”—you need to go check that—“[if] you want to be credible on financial things, then you’re really kidding yourself.” She learned the truth during the ad break: there is no separate fund for road maintenance. She attempted a Hipkins-like backflip to correct herself, face planted on the mat, and then— this is the impressive part—got up and instead insisted that the beam had moved.

She is said to be receiving some coaching from Willie Jackson, her senior colleague, who is a master at never letting the facts, or your absence of policy, get in the way of the story. In fact, in Willie’s experience, the best way not to let the policy get in the way is to be blissfully unaware of it—that way, you don’t even have to defend it, you can just say, “I don’t know, ask Barb.”

This is actually someone I do want to spend some time on. On the one hand, I see in the member for Mana, a lack of imagination—51 times she’s asked me the same question this term. But on the other hand, I feel genuine sympathy for Barbara Edmonds, and let me let me tell you why: because she is surrounded by people who know one thing and one thing only, and that is how to spend other people’s money. That’s what they’ve done all their political careers, and that’s what they want to do with the rest of their political careers. They have gone out there and they’ve promised, so far, $18 billion worth of promises. And they’ve said, “Barb will tell you how she’s going to pay for it”. Barbara’s been sitting there with the calculator, trying to make it add up, and she knows it won’t add up. Maybe one of the little fig leaves she was holding on to with hope was, “Well, I think the leader will let me raid the landlords for the interest deductibility. I think I’ll do that.”—but, no, even that little glimmer of hope was taken away from her yesterday. But the good thing for Barbara is she knows that in a case of emergency, she can break glass. What is in that little glass that she can break if she really can’t make it add up? Well, the good news is Craig Renney’s got some ideas.

He’s been a bit painful for her, he’s been kind of competing for the role, but Chris Hipkins put him down the list, so he’s got his message. But he has come up with the idea—he said, “Look, this whole idea on a capital gains tax (CGT), don’t make it narrow, make it comprehensive.”, and that’s his plan. I just want to say with friends likeCarmel Sepuloni, Barbara—I don’t know how you do it. She was asked, on Morning Report, how Labour was going pay for its promises, and this is what she opened with: “Well, we certainly wouldn’t be giving tax breaks to landlords.” That was her answer! Poor Barbara, she’s left there going, “How on Earth do I make it up?”

But here’s the thing—actually look at the mates they’ve got in the Greens and Te Pāti Māori. Yes, Chris Hipkins is half baked and he’s got no energy and he’s got no policies, but look, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are brimming with ideas, they’re generating new taxes every minute. And don’t worry: Chris Hipkins says. “Well, trust us, we’ve sort of ruled it out.” This is the same guy who said he’d never deliver a CGT—and what’s he campaigning on? A CGT. If the leader of the Opposition can backflip on tax deductibility in the space of one press conference, why should anyone believe a thing he rules out between now and polling day? You can’t trust Labour on tax. You can’t trust Hipkins. There is a way forward for this country, we stick to the plan—no new taxes. Don’t let Labour ruin it all again.

💬 SPEAKER: The Hon—[Interruption] At least start with a bit of silence. I call The Hon Carmel Sepuloni.

In about 6½ weeks, the Hon Nicola Willis is going to look back on that speech and think, “Is that really the valedictory I wanted to deliver?”

I do want to reiterate some of the thanks to the staff that have been given by many of those that have spoken before me today. I also want to acknowledge you, Mr Speaker, even though Willie Jackson is speaking to you—not the first time that Willie Jackson has interrupted anyone—and, Mr Speaker, I want to acknowledge that I sit rather close to you and I do have a voice that carries—

💬 SPEAKER: Yep.

—so thank you for your tolerance over the course of this term.

I’m going to take a slightly different tack and acknowledge the fact that we are all going into campaign mode. Campaigns are hard work. They are not for the faint-hearted. I’m pretty seasoned now—not as seasoned as some in here—and as an experienced campaigner, I thought I’d offer up some do’s and don’ts to Government parties as we all head out into the wilderness of the campaign trail. These particular words of advice that I’m going to offer up are based mostly on the learnings of the past three years, observing the members of current Government parties, a Government that will go down in history as the coalition of chaos, and a Government that will be the first ever one-term National Government.

Now, what not to do on the campaign trail. My first piece of advice: do not ride scooters on the campaign trail. As we all know, our emergency departments do not have the capacity, let alone the nurses, to deal with avoidable injuries, particularly given there’s been only 54 additional nurses added over the last two years.

Second piece of advice: steer away from discussing sports teams when you know nothing about sport. No one wants to be the guy who refers to his childhood respect for the Crusaders when the Crusaders did not even exist during his childhood; and no one wants to be the guy that gets the Waratahs and the Warriors confused.

Do not say, “What I would say to you”. People can see and hear when someone is talking out loud. You are not thinking in your head. There is no need to premise every answer with that statement. Best not to talk about growth, growth, growth, Nicola Willis. When people hear National say those words three times in a row, they think they are referring to the growth in unemployment, the growth in business liquidations, and the growth in Kiwis moving overseas. Even if the three words were said by Nicola Willis whilst she was clicking her heels together, no one would end up in a better place.

Please, also—and this is a serious one—do not pretend to be political parties who support women. Women are not stupid. The scrapping of pay equity and the decision not to pay women what they are worth will go down in the books as one of the most shameful acts of this Luxon-led Government.

Now, on to the do’s for the campaign. It’s important for politicians to sound like they are in touch with the everyday experiences of New Zealanders. Telling them to cry you a river when talking about the cost of living is out of touch. Try hard, Government parties, to be honest about the alternative policy positions of other parties. People will tire of lies about taxes. I know how hard it must be for the current Government having nothing positive to talk about after three years, but people can sniff the desperation, and it is not mana-enhancing for any of you.

What parties must do is look like they actually support their boss. Two failed coups in National haven’t helped with their boss’s credibility. To be honest, you already look like the try-hard dad in the schoolyard or at the PTA meeting before his own team turned on him. I know that’s a little bit mean, but so was scrapping pay equity.

Most importantly, keep at the forefront of all statements and actions what is important to New Zealanders. Their jobs; not the jobs of politicians. Their health; not the healthy size of some political party donations. Their homes; not the multiple homes of those politicians trying to avoid a capital gains tax. Their cost of living; not the $60 a week one guy reckons is all he needs to do his grocery shopping. And finally, their country; the one thing they love, and the one thing they feel has gone backwards. It may hurt Government parties whilst out on the campaign trail when they hear people say over and over again that they simply cannot do three more years of this National-led Government. Suck it up and remember: “Better starts now”.

Well, that’s the end of the most anti-Māori, anti-worker, anti-rainbow, anti-disability, anti - New Zealand Government that we have seen in our lifetime. You’ve got to ask yourself, why are they so weak? Well, because they’ve got a weak Prime Minister, who has allowed David Seymour and Winston Peters to take this country to a place that would shame Chris Finlayson, shame Jim Bolger, and shame Sir Douglas Graham.

The Prime Minister can’t control New Zealand First and ACT, and they have polled 6 percent and 8 percent. My God, imagine the nightmare—imagine the nightmare and the influence—if they return with greater majorities. We’ll fight to make sure this never happens.

💬 Hon Shane Jones: Bye, bye, Willie. Haere rā, haere rā!

We’ll never forget what they’ve done—never forget what they’ve done. Their assault on Te Tiriti obligations. The Waitangi Tribunal found the Crown’s approach to the education changes breaches Treaty principles. That means nothing to Shane Jones. He’s a disgrace to his people in the North. He no longer supports principles he formerly supported when he was a young, recognised, and principled young man.

This racist friction that came about through the Treaty principles referendum cannot be complete without us acknowledging the honourable member for Epsom; the member who, this year, has managed the extraordinary feat of introducing a bill, losing it in the largest protest march in New Zealand history, and then telling us all he won. I mean, how delusional is that? The Treaty principles bill, 300,000 submissions against; the Regulatory Standards Bill opposed by every major Māori organisation, every legal academic who submitted, and at last count, the entire common-sense caucus of New Zealand; but the member for Epsom marches on, because he’s on a mission—a mission to erase kaupapa Māori and change the Treaty.

Meanwhile, on the National benches, the Prime Minister, whose biggest achievement this term was to fend off Chris Bishop and Erica Stanford and his mates—we want to thank the Prime Minister. We want to thank him very much for staying the Prime Minister. He’s Labour’s best chance of winning this election. He’s not here, but I wanted to thank him and acknowledge his acknowledgment of me earlier in the day.

💬 Hon Mark Mitchell: And you’re our best chance of staying in Government.

You know this, Mark Mitchell; you’re in big trouble. When you look at the Public Service and what’s happened here, at a time when every second news story is about the Public Service failing in terms of underfunding, they attack the Public Service. Look at the economic vandalism that sees one in three Pacific kids in poverty, one in four Māori kids in poverty, 5.6 percent unemployment, 10.8 percent unemployment for Māori. And, of course, let’s not forget the fast-track development that weakened environmental protections—

💬 Hon Shane Jones: Fast track! Gold! Gold!

Hon WILLIE JACKSON:—for Shane Jones’ donor mates. For Shane Jones—that’s what the Greens said—and for their mates. We’ll never forget the school lunches, where hungry kids became an experiment in how cheaply lunch could be made, thanks to Mr Seymour again. What about the appalling pay parity betrayal? New Zealand women must never forget the betrayal of this coalition Government. New Zealand women do not count for this Government. They are a disgrace. Pay parity means so much to us, and we will change the position and reinstate equity.

This Government came to office promising to fix the basics. Instead, they have made it worse. Three years later, unemployment rose, thousands of public servants went, hungry kids became the norm, environmental protections were weakened, and Māori spent the term watching rights and Treaty obligations stripped from statute after statute.

They told New Zealand they were cutting bureaucracy, then spent three years restructuring the machinery of government. They told us they were restoring accountability, while their own officials warned that some of the Treaty changes had no apparent benefit and risked serious damage in the Crown-Māori relationship.

Perhaps that arrogance, in terms of ignoring officials, is how we should remember this lot. Because when the experts warned them, they knew better. When communities protested, they knew better. When Māori marched, they knew better. Well, now there’s one group of New Zealanders whom they don’t get to tell that they know better, and that’s the voters. Kia ora Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, tēnā koe. [Authorised reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

[Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

Mr Speaker, thank you, and thank you for the call today. I’m going to take my opportunity to just present a little bit about what hope and vision has looked like for te iwi Māori over the last 50 years. The story of advancement and development for te iwi Māori over the last 50 years has been one of clear vision, of hope, of determination driven by the people. It’s never been about gaining things from Parliament and Governments, although they’ve played their role. The people have driven that growth and that development. We thank everyone involved, and to the people, [Authorised reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.], and the people of Te Tai Tonga, tēnā koutou.

The debates, or the kōrero, this afternoon—it’s quite defensive, you know? It’s what we’ve done, and what we haven’t done, what they’ve done or what they haven’t done, what we’re going to do—all of this type of thing. But, really, the people in our country need to hear vision. They need to hear vision and commitment, drive, hope. What does the future Aotearoa look like, instead of just stones going across the aisle here?

And then I’m reminded of some things that great Māori leaders have said. One of them was Dr Ranginui Walker. And he said, “I have little time for people in privileged positions in our country, who use that privilege to attack the most vulnerable of our society.” Those aren’t my words; those are Dr Ranginui Walker’s words.

And as I think about the actions of this House over the last three, six, 30, 50 years, they ring true—they ring true. They are great words that last for ever, not like these ones that are just going to be here now and gone later. But those people shaped the course of Māori development. Those people shaped the course of Māori building out of what is one of the darkest ages for any people across the globe. And the story of Māori advancement, Māori development, is one of those stories. Māori have to live with the reality of it. The Māori whānau out there, living right throughout Aotearoa, have to live in the reality of it, and the reality is crippling.

Our people were once trapped in low-income work and poverty-type situations. They’re now firmly entrenched in poverty and homelessness. They are being shuffled further and further down the ranks, slipping through the cracks, while some in the country just keep going the other way. But when the majority are left behind and a few advance, that’s not the story of a people’s development; that’s the story of the development of only a few. And it ultimately won’t last.

Our development and our potential as a people has always been in our hands, e te whānau. It’s always been in our hands, and our story of Māori advancement, Māori development, is an astonishing one.

Over the last 50 years we’ve reclaimed more ground than was taken from us in 180 years, and that frightens a lot of people. The parliaments and people of power and influence in this country held that power in their hands for a very, very long time, and in the last 30, 40, 50 years, that grip has slowly come undone. And that’s an uncomfortable thing, for them. But what we should never forget is that that’s the story, that’s the reality, and despite the temperament of Governments that come and go, we remain and the story of advancement continues.

The Māori economy is one of the newest players, the newest pieces, in that development story, and everyone is all of a sudden interested in it. I’m reminded of the words of Whata Winiata, who said to us as a people that the best way for us to reclaim and retain our rangatiratanga and our mana motuhake is to behave as if we never lost it. And the story of Māori development is that in action, e te iwi, so make sure that we keep that in our hearts—those things that our rangatira said over decades, and has been the bedrock, the driving engine of the vision, the hope, the determination of te iwi Māori, and that is how we continue on. [Authorised reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

[Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. This is a first, again, for me, to provide an adjournment speech. I’ve listened to a few so far, and I’m thinking, “Shucks, is that how those things are meant to go?” So I’m thinking, well, no, that’s not, from my point of view. So I’m going to approach it in a different way.

Firstly, the obvious thing to say is to thank you, Mr Speaker, for looking after us in this particular piece of this Whare—and I think in a good way, and I think in a fair way, and a loving way. So mihi atu ana ki a koe.

And I acknowledge the other Speakers as well, who in fact I had the opportunity to travel to Japan with, at your request. Thank you for that, too, because it was a bit of a homecoming for me, having the time that I spent there, and I appreciated being back in that particular piece of the world.

Ironically, you might recall, Mr Speaker, that we were at a summit meeting, which is interesting because it’s important in this context, because you never know when your name and your children’s names are going to show up. Suddenly somebody on this summit table on that side asked me about my son’s name, because he meets him every three months in Nelson. So, again, you know, it’s interesting, the privilege and the responsibility that this role provides us, which I’m grateful for, by the way.

To all the clerks and all the coffee makers, and all the people that keep this House warm, and look after us, mihi atu ana ki a koutou katoa.

I want to mihi to my mate Doc, sitting right here. I want to mihi to him—he’s a great man, he’s a loving man, he’s a family man, he’s a fisherman, and he backed me. And he backed me in one of the most important times that I needed that. He backed me—

💬 Tom Rutherford: An absent man from the House.

Tom, that’s enough, thank you, or whoever else is chatting over there. He backed me, as good men do, and I’m grateful for that, because that’s why I get the opportunity to remain in this House for Te Tai Tokerau and bring this speech to you today.

I want to acknowledge the team. So we’ve got Tapi and Sue and Maia. I want to say Maia’s name because Maia is beside me all the time doing the work that I need to be able to do to stand and take these speeches, and present at select committee. So, Maia, to you, big love to you, darling; good for you for sticking with me.

In my maiden speech, I referred to the word “lioness”, because everyone, when they knew I was coming here, just said, “Gee, Meno, you’re going down to that lion’s den.” You might recall I said, “That’s true, except it’s the lionesses that do the hunting, and get the work done.” So, as a lioness, yeah, again the importance of being able to be in this House for Te Tai Tokerau and—and I expect to do that on 8 November when I have my job interview on 7 November; I expect to come back and continue to do that.

But I also have a lion cub; as all good lionesses do, you have lion cubs, and I have a lion cub. He happened to be the one that led the biggest march in this country to the steps out here, and his name is Eru Kapa-Kingi. And he’s obviously known for other bits and pieces in this House, but, most importantly, he led the march from Te Rerenga, where I was born, all the way here, with near to 100,000 people, based on love, compassion, and for all people. He knew then what our tupuna Parāone Ngāruhe signed in 1840, and I’ve trained my kids to know this: that you must stand, you must fight, and you must speak for your people—Te Tai Tokerau people, Māori people, and all people that share this land. I want to make sure to make that mentioned in this adjournment speech.

Then, in closing, I just want to say this: I went to this interesting meeting the other night—it was a “meet the candidates”. You wouldn’t necessarily find me there, because there are lots of farmers and foresters and food producers, but it was one of the best meetings, because I once was a farmer, right? In fact, just before I came here, I used to manage 3,000 bulls, 37 ropes of mussels up in Te Kao, and I learnt what a R1 was and an R2 and what bull collars are and what fences are, and how much grass seed I need to make that cow fat to get it to McDonald’s. So, yes, I do know something about Māori economic development, and I want to be part of that after 7 November.

It has been a pleasure, even when it’s been a pain, to sit amongst you, to debate with you, and have a “pint of order” with you. Kia ora tātou.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Well, it’s the last day of Parliament in this term, and for some of the people across the other side of the House, you can see they are a little bit exhausted getting all the way to the finish line. For some of them, they might even need a little bit of rest, a little bit of sleep, in order to get there.

Of course, Chris Hipkins, with that lacklustre speech he gave at the start, you could tell why he made his slogan “Better start now”: because it’s not just about helping him warm up; it’s like a self-motivational statement. Every time he’s driving around the country, he says, “Better start now.” Well, the reality is he doesn’t actually drive around the country, as the Prime Minister says. He only manages to get as far as Rongotai, to the south, and slightly north of the Remutakas, to those public meetings. Well, of course, we wish him well as he tries to warm up for the campaign and get started.

For some people, when they’re sleeping, they like to count sheep, don’t they? Some like to count sheep. Well, some in this House also like to count nurses, as I’ve been hearing, quite obsessively. As tradition is in these adjournment debate speeches, having some numbers is always a helpful thing. Well, for the last time in this Chamber this term, there are 1,640 additional fulltime-equivalent nurses under this Government—a huge achievement. I’d encourage members who are trying to “better start now”, or just warm up, that counting to 1,640 might aid them with their sleep; it might put them to sleep.

Here are some other numbers: one—that’s the number of cats at Chris Hipkins’ first public meeting. No one knows what the cat said, only that the cat attended, but no one knows exactly what anyone else said, either. In fact, I have four children and we sometimes have more people at our home for dinner than attend a public meeting with the Labour Party. The number four—that’s how many parties will be needed for the left and the far left to be able to form a coalition Government after the next election: Labour, Greens, Te Pāti Māori, and Opportunity. What a disaster this country is going to avoid on 7 November. Of course, two of the four parties each have co-leaders, so that’s six leaders of one potential Government. What that adds up to—you know, maths and all of that. I must acknowledge Erica Stanford. She’s doing a great job getting our kids reading and writing. That all adds up to one big shambles, because 10 percent of the combined caucuses would be leaders.

The four parties, with their six co-leaders, are all promoting nine new taxes between them—nine new taxes between them. Well, at least nine new taxes, because they’ve got the capital gains tax from the Labour Party, but we’re not sure if that’s a capital gains tax or, as Craig Renney says, maybe it’s a “comprehensive capital gains tax”—ask Barb—a 45 percent top tax rate, an asset tax, an inheritance tax, a digital tax, a gift tax, a business tax, a rental tax, and a land tax. In fact, if you look at all their taxes, they will tax you on your income while you’re living; they’ll tax your house if you’ve got a rental property; and they’ll tax you on your inheritance when you die. In fact, they’ll keep taxing you—a land tax, which will be on top of your rates, as well. I know there’s also a proposition for a death tax, which means they’ll keep taxing you after you die. That’s the reality of the Labour Party, the Green Party, the Opportunity Party, and Te Pāti Māori. They want to tax, tax, tax, and this election is going to be about tax.

Some of our achievements: here are some more numbers: “32”—a 32-year high. That was inflation under the previous Government. They did it once, and the reality is they could do it again. That’s not a challenge—that’s not a challenge—even though I have no doubt they could rise to it, because that’s exactly what they’d do: spend more, tax more, borrow more. That’s why we’re campaigning so hard against the taxes at this year’s election. Eighteen billion dollars—that is the gap between what a Labour Government wants to spend and the money they’ve got available from just their taxes, just their taxes. That’s not the Greens’, Te Pāti Māori’s, and Opportunities’ taxes. No wonder they need those taxes from the other parties, because they’ve got no way of actually being able to deliver it themselves. The last number is unknown: the amount that Te Pāti Māori MPs have spent on lawyers; not to fight the system, just to fight each other. No one quite knows, do they?

Well, here’s some numbers on our side: zero. No new taxes under the next National Government. One oil and gas ban overturned this term. In three years, we’ve doubled the renewable generation that was commissioned—more in the last three years than in the previous eight. Five health targets, and all of them improved under this Government; they declined under the previous Government. Fourteen years: that’s how long New Zealanders waited for tax relief until this Government came to office and delivered it. Sixty-six new medicines, including 33 new cancer medicines, making a huge difference for patients up and down our country. Four percent: the new rates cap that we’re putting in place, which Labour still doesn’t know what they think about. Nine hundred and forty additional doctors, and add to that the 1,640 nurses you count at night if you’re an insomniac. We also have 14,200 fewer New Zealanders on the elective treatment waiting lists waiting over more than four months.

There is so much that’s been achieved and so much more to do, but of course, every election is a choice. I want to just highlight the choice and the member of the Opposition, the Opposition leader. I call him the Opposite of the Midas man—you know, the opposite of Midas. I’ve got four young children, and I love reading them stories. One of their favourites is, of course, the story of King Midas, who turns around and touches everything and it turns to gold. Well, the Leader of the Opposition, the man who wants to be Prime Minister, he’s got the opposite of the Midas touch. He was Minister of Education and achievement kept sliding; Minister of Police and ram raids became a nearly daily event under his watch, while gangs flaunted their regalia on our streets. Minister of Health: wait-lists and emergency department waits blew out. Minister for the Public Service: 47,000 public servants became 65,000 public servants, growing three times faster than the workforce at large.

Minister for COVID-19 Response: well, he forgot to order the vaccine, and kept Auckland locked down longer than needed. Of course, he then didn’t even follow the health advice, as the royal commission has now confirmed. Chris Hipkins doesn’t have a record of fixing things. He has a record of breaking things; in fact, breaking everything he touches. He’s failed upwards, and now he wants the top job again. So, when Chris Hipkins asks New Zealanders to trust him and this country again, understand what you’re actually being asked; not to trust someone new but to trust the man who’s already run the Police, the Public Service, Health, Education, and the Covid-19 response, and delivered exactly what you just heard.

In closing, it’s important that we thank all of the people who play such an important role here at this House. We want to thank you, Mr Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Assistants. I do try hard to be good, as you know, Mr Speaker. The officials who have worn the carpet, coming in and out of my office, from Energy, Health, State Enterprises, Transport, Auckland, that I’ve held over this term; my private secretaries; my political office staff, electorate office staff, electorate team.

It’s also important to acknowledge the families. In this Chamber, all of us know the price of us doing this job. To my own family, especially my wife Rebecca, my four children, for whom, too often, I’m simply a face on screen saying goodnight at bedtime—thank you very much.

Finally, my favourite number: it’s 45 days until the election, when New Zealanders choose who they trust to form the next Government. I say to the Opposition: don’t take it personally, but I hope to see fewer of you when we return to the House. I also wish everyone all the very best on the campaign trail. Good luck and may the team offering the fewest taxes win.

Fifty-four is the magic number, not of today, but of the whole of the term. He talked about the favourite number that he has, in the countdown to the election, but Mr Simeon Brown is the “54 nurses” man. I think, if we look back, we have Studio 54, which was a famous studio that was famous for glamour and glitz and parties and celebrities—very opposite to the current National Party; they have none of that. As I listened in, the comment was made about being continually obsessed with the Labour Party; all they could talk about was us—in fact, for the last three years. All I can say is, if they’re still talking about fixing the basics, it’s because, clearly, the basics are pretty broken for themselves and what they’ve done, and they need to obsess more on what they’re going to do, as opposed to what we are going to do.

Now, three years is a long time in this place. For me, it was a different experience. At the start of this term, I was out, then I was back in—something you won’t often hear a gay man say, but I will say that this afternoon. For many of you in this room, this will be your last time in this space. We acknowledge the work that people have done and how tough that is, but I want to comment as the chief whip of the Labour Party and the privilege I’ve had, and the responsibility, to take on that role. I had one key performance indicator when I came into this role and that was to never be seen on the black and white tiles as a chief whip. You know what happens if a chief whip is standing on the black and white tiles? You have not done your job, because you’re standing behind an MP who’s either apologising or resigning. Thank the Lord—touch wood; we’ve got about 40 minutes left—it has not happened under my “whipship”. Thank you to my caucus for being so diligent, so focused, so passionate, and so driven; to my colleagues, to Tracey and to Cushla for your support. Also, I do acknowledge whips from across the aisle and the work that you do together.

I was listening really carefully as we gave our speeches and comments this afternoon, and David Seymour had some really interesting comments—which I would never have thought I’d bring up. He talked about this cultist church that he was drawing the Prime Minister into—his strange Seymour-ACT church. Well, if his church is one that is callous, if his church is one that punches down and is compassionless and is mean, that’s a pretty stink church, and I don’t want to be part of that church. I don’t think the Prime Minister should either. But then, if I look at the meanness and the punching down that we have seen this term—look at our trans whānau, our rainbow communities, our Māori, our ethnic communities, when it comes to working women, when it comes to 18- and 19-year-olds, our disability sector, the homeless, the list goes on and on and on—that is a church of unkindness and meanness and we will have no part of that.

As I was listening to the Rt Hon Chris Hipkins, as we’ve been preparing for the election over recent weeks and months, it’s really got me thinking about what church I want to be a part of. I think about Michael Joseph Savage. He talked about applied Christianity when it comes to the work of this place and looking after society. Then I look at the Rt Hon Dame Jacinda Ardern, and she talked about kindness, which, again, is that same thing, around how we look out for and work for people here in Aotearoa. And then, as I’ve listened to Chris Hipkins, over recent months, he uses this phrase about “a fair go for everyone”—a fair go for everyone. I think that is what the people outside of this building are looking for: a fair go for everybody; lifting people up, not punching people down, being kind, not callous and rude. I want to be part of the Labour Party whānau and church that is advocating, that is lifting people up and not pushing people down.

We do want to say thank you, because we don’t always look this beautiful and sound as wonderful on our own. We do have people all over this building and around the country looking after us—when it comes to, I think, it’s Colin and Keith in the booth up there, keeping our microphones going; when it comes to our security teams; when it comes to our electoral office staff, our staff here in this building; when it comes to the caterers, the building team, the press gallery; when it comes to the library and Hansard; the cleaners, the clerks, the messengers, the Chamber staff, and, of course, you, Mr Speaker, for really holding this place together and in good stead.

We look forward to counting down to the election, and we look forward to having more nurses in our hospitals. Better starts now.

[Authorised reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

[Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

People get ready, change is coming.

You don’t need no ticket, just enrol and vote.

We need more than faith to get New Zealand humming.

Get out and tick it, and give Labour your vote.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That’s right, Aotearoa. Change is coming, and that change sits with you. Māori enrolments are up, and, whānau, the mana is in your hands to make sure that this National-led coalition is a one-term Government. Let’s turn out, let’s vote, and make history, whānau. Ka nui tēnā. Aotearoa can’t afford three more years of this National-led coalition.

For three long years, whānau across Ikaroa-Rāwhiti and Aotearoa have told this Government what matters most to you. You have told them that the cost of living is the number one issue facing your family. They have blatantly ignored you. They have made other choices, choices that begin with

[Authorised reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

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They’ve also takahi-ed on workers’ rights, kaimahi, the backbone, the pillars of our economy, the people at the coalface with our whānau each and every day. Even worse, whānau, they have takahi-ed on you. They have left whānau out there feeling bereft and without a voice. Well, now is the time for change, and the change starts with you, whānau. Come 7 November, you need to get out there. You need to take your mokopuna, auntie, uncle, all your breathers, whānau. Get out there and vote to make history and make sure Aotearoa doesn’t have to endure another three years of this National-led coalition. Māori mā, this is our call to action. Each and every Anzac Day, we gather to remember our fallen; those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Well, we don’t have to take up arms, e hika mā, to enjoy the freedoms they fought for. We simply have to pick up a pen and make two ticks on paper. Get out and do it and take everyone with you.

That said, during my maiden speech, I acknowledged the members opposite who serve in general electorates throughout Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, and I want to acknowledge the members opposite and Ministers with whom I have worked, collegially, in my service of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti. I am sure—I’m confident—that, as we prepare to swap sides of the House, we can commit to continuing to work in that same spirit.

Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, it’s been my absolute privilege to spend the last three years serving you. I’ve spent those three years moving amongst you and bringing your kōrero back to this House and getting ready to govern, whānau.

[Authorised reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

[Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

It’s time for change, and that change is in your hands.

To my colleagues, what a privilege. Thank you for teaching me the tricks of the trade and getting ready for Government.

[Authorised reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

[Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

Get out there, make sure you vote, and

Remember, the mission is an easy fix:

Put two ticks in 26.

Give it to me one time—two ticks.

Give it to me two times—two ticks.

Two ticks are in that for Labour in 2026, whānau.

[Authorised reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

[Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

Better starts now.

[Authorised reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

[Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

Vote for change. Better starts now.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I think, for anyone who is watching, they can tell it is the last day of school. It is the last day of the 54th Parliament. As the member of Parliament for Taupō—the very proud member of Parliament for Taupō—I do want to just reflect on this period of time. Every single one of the 123 members of Parliament who have sat in this House serve a number of people in their communities, and they do it with the best intent. But, today, primarily I rise as the Leader of the House, and I want to acknowledge our Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Christopher Luxon, and the privilege that he gave me in serving in this role. I want to acknowledge the support of my predecessor, the Hon Chris Bishop. We’ve worked together very closely over this term.

Most people look at this House, they look at this Chamber, as an amphitheatre of war, where members go into battle each and every day, and it’s something to win, something to endure—blood, sweat, and tears lie on the floor. It’s all about the legislative outcomes that people are willing to fight for, and that’s the end result, the political fight, the war which captures the media headlines. What is often not reported is the amount of work that goes in to getting a bill before this Parliament. I want to just run through some of the stats of the 54th Parliament, the collective efforts of the National Party, New Zealand First, and ACT: 230 pieces of legislation—210 Government bills, 14 members’ bills, four private bills, two local bills; 240 bills have been introduced by our Government this term. Yes, sometimes it’s felt like a bit of a political marathon. My thanks to this side of the House, who have endured many hours of urgency, overtime, over time. I do have to say the Hon Paul Goldsmith takes the gold medal for the most legislation, with 34 bills enacted. Chris Bishop comes up second, with 23. I’m a little bit down the medal table, on only 10. I do want to acknowledge the amount of effort that goes into each and every one of those bills—hundreds and hundreds of hours to get those pieces of legislation ready.

I want to acknowledge some of the unsung heroes in the parliamentary process. Firstly, we are blessed in this country with phenomenal public servants. They work incredibly hard to deliver for the Government of the day policy solutions to the problems that our communities and our countries face. Then there is the Parliamentary Counsel Office, more commonly known as PCO. They do incredibly hard yards, translating the policy ideas into legislation, and they often, in our term of Parliament, have had tight time frames to do that. I do want to acknowledge and shout out Cassie Nicholson KC, who is the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, and Richard Wallace, the Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel, who have been incredibly helpful for our Parliament and our Government, working through an enormous amount of legislation. There’s also the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. There is also the legislation coordinator in the Cabinet Office and all of the staff who support the legislative process for our Cabinet committees. Of course, then, when it comes here, it is the Clerk’s team who are really significant in terms of making sure everything is correct according to the Standing Orders. There are also other teams that make sure the Parliament runs as best as it can. As well as the Clerk’s Office, there is the select committee staff, and Hansard.

I also want to draw on my own experiences of the 54th Parliament and reflect on the people in my own team who have helped progress those 10 pieces of legislation. In our team, we call it the “middle office”. Thank you to you all. I also want to thank somebody whose name is probably on more emails that run around this Parliament than anybody else. Of course, he would never have put his own name in a speech, but I do want to acknowledge my trusted House adviser Carlos Webster, who makes sure, with lots of challenges at times, that the legislation gets through the House on time. Also, as in every Minister’s office—and in our office, we call it the “Team Upston Class of 54”—there is an enormous team of private secretaries who are seconded from agencies. Every Minister has them. They are absolutely worth their weight in gold. I think the private secretaries who work in the Beehive are a particular special breed of public servants who deserve our acknowledgment today.

As I approach the end of my speech, I also want, given it’s the end of the 54th Parliament, to offer a shout-out to the Opposition members. We do know that, in terms of accountability, question time is a really important part of this process. The public must have confidence that Ministers will be questioned robustly and—Mr Speaker and your presiding officers—if they transgress, they will be held to account. I’m reliably informed that, during the 54th Parliament, I have faced 153 primary questions, with only 99 of them coming from the other side. It is a really important part of the process.

As I said, 240 bills have been introduced by this Government, and they have all been about making New Zealand a better place for all New Zealanders. One group of people that we could not do without are the incredible staff who work in our electorate offices. To my electorate office team and to the electorate office teams of every member of Parliament, thank you for what you do.

I want to just have a look at the legislation that our Government has passed, because we have been fixing the basics; lowering inflation and interest rates to begin easing the cost of living; reducing taxes on Kiwis so they keep more of their own money; making it easier for Kiwis to farm, to build, and to grow businesses. National has continued to restore law and order, making New Zealand safer and putting victims at the heart of our justice system. We have been getting our kids back to school, teaching the basics and setting them up for life. And, of course, now, what are we doing? We are building the future. We are growing the economy to create more jobs and better opportunities for New Zealanders. We are maintaining disciplined spending so taxes are spent wisely. We’re upgrading roads, schools, hospitals, and giving Kiwis quality and reliable public services. By securing affordable housing for families and first-home buyers, hard-working Kiwis will have the security of owning their own home.

Do you know what, Mr Speaker? I thank you, and I thank your presiding officers, but I want to particularly thank the National Party team. You’re an extraordinary group of New Zealanders. I know how hard you work. I know how dedicated you are to serving our communities and our country, and I feel enormously proud to be part of team National. And guess what! We’ll be back after 8 November. We’ll be here to do it all over again for the 55th Parliament. There are two things to remember: firstly, under National, there will be no new taxes; and if that’s what you want, you’ve got one choice before the 7 November, and that is party vote National.

It’s usual, at the conclusion of this debate, for the Speaker to offer not only some thanks but also some statistics to the House, but Louise, you’ve just completely stolen my thunder, which leaves me—

💬 Hon Member: Kick her out!

I’m sure she’d be pleased to go, but it leaves me with some stats that aren’t quite so exciting, like Copperfields having sold 166,000 cups of coffee; 18,000 scones—Bish, where’s he; 5,690 doughnuts—that’s you, Willie, I think, is it? Oh no, it’s the pies, Willie—12,000 pies. Are you putting your hand up, Duncan?

💬 Hon Dr Duncan Webb: Could be me.

Yeah, it could be. Most of all, I was asked if I would say that the brilliant catering manager, Mr Bryce Hughes, has a personal favourite, which is the 1,000 servings of mince on toast.

I want to put on the record an acknowledgment of all the work that all the members of this House have done over the past three years. It’s not an easy job and, as many have mentioned in their speeches, it does affect families and it does take people away from all of the normal things that people might do in life, and you do that because you have that commitment to the democratic process.

Inside of that, there’s always this talk about the hours that we work here. There’s a lot of people today mentioning urgency, etc. Breaking it down, this House does about 600 hours—or, over the last three years, about 615 hours a year. It may not seem a lot if people hear that in a bald sort of way, but the time that MPs put into all of the knowledge that they bring into this House, all of the views they bring to this House, and all of the ideas they bring to this House is extraordinary, and I don’t think we should allow people to get too fixated on the time that people spend here in the House. There are always people away doing stuff. What I’ve learnt as Speaker, working with the whips, who I really do have a lot of respect for, is that there is an enormous number of things that people do that require them to be away from this House, and I fully respect that.

I just want to add my thanks to the Clerk’s Office for the work that they do, not only with select committees but also here in the Chamber, and the Chamber staff as well. I want to thank the Chief Executive’s Office for the work they do in making everything that is Parliamentary Service work for members, and I want to thank the security staff for the work that they are doing. Security is one thing that we’ve had to improve significantly over the last three years, and the staff here have picked up on that extremely well, with a great deal of pride, and they now also work, of course, outside of Parliament should any of us need them.

I want to mention the catering staff. They do a great job. I mentioned them before. I also want to—

💬 Hon Members: Ha, ha!

Well, look, imagine what it’d be like spending your time making 5,000 doughnuts. You’ve got to respect that. I also want to thank my executive assistant Laree Taula, and I also want to thank Kellie for stepping in when Roland Todd retired. I also want to thank Alyson Groves, from Parliamentary Service, who has done 42 years here and is about to retire, as well. I should thank the triumvirate of advice that I’ve had over the last three years, and part of that triumvirate is Dr David Wilson, who’s our Clerk and is a very learned man, and I’ve enjoyed our discussions with him; and also Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, the Chief Executive of Parliamentary Service, who genuinely has the best interests of members at heart; and also, the person that makes them both good, Andie Lindsay, in the joint office, who I’m sure everyone knows.

I want to thank the VIP drivers—I’m just going through my list here—and I also need to thank Barbara Kuriger, Greg O’Connor, Teanau Tuiono, and Maureen Pugh for the work that they have done, sitting in here for those long hours of committee.

With those remarks, can I wish everyone well as we go out on to the campaign trail, allowing New Zealanders to make a choice about how they want to be governed, in one of the freest democracies in the world.

Motion agreed to.

The House adjourned at 5.55 p.m.