Valedictory Statements

Members, following the valedictory statements, the House will suspend for the dinner break and resume in committee at 7.30 p.m. for further consideration of the Appropriation (2023/24 Estimates) Bill. I call on Marja Lubeck to make her valedictory statement.

Raurangatira mā, tēnei te mihi ki a koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te rā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[To the many esteemed leaders here today, this is my convivial greeting to you on the subject that has brought us together. Thank you all.]

And in the legendary words of my colleague, “g’day”. Whānau, comrades, friends, and frenemies, it’s humbling to see you all here. Even though I’ve risen to speak more than 300 times since the first time I got up, I’m still standing in this House with a sense of wonder at the sheer privilege of having had this opportunity.

I didn’t expect to stand up here, when I was asked in 2017 to help get the party vote out for Labour in Rodney. I remember Tolley told me that I could get a bit of an idea what it was all about, and, if I liked it, who knows what would have happened in 2020 or 2023. Well, mate, who would have thought that here in 2023, I would have served two terms as an MP, and that, I’m told, is about the average time for an MP to serve.

But there was nothing average about the last six years. A lot has happened between 2017 and 2023. It was a privilege to serve in the Labour team during some incredibly tough times that our nation went through. I am for ever grateful for how the then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern led New Zealand’s response to March 15, COVID, and other challenges. Together as a society and with very special leadership, so many lives were saved during the worst pandemic in a century, where other countries could not. But despite the challenges, these were also six years where lots of progress was made.

If I may sound like an advertisement just for a moment, I’m a proud member of a team that from day one started to tackle those long-term challenges in New Zealand, strengthening workers’ rights, massively building our apprentices workforce, increasing the minimum wage, and addressing gender pay discrimination. From making abortion a health issue and giving women choice, we’re building more houses than any Government since the 1970s to taking action on climate change—and everything in between. Now, in the Chris Hipkins - led Government, our team continues that mahi, focused on building back better—what our finance Minister always refers to as “the silver lining on the darkest of clouds”.

But I couldn’t have known that was going to happen, when I started my first speech in this House in 2017. It was for the most about a topic that I was then and am now passionate about: workers’ rights. I spoke about the decline I had witnessed over so many years of working conditions for hard-working Kiwis; the erosion of longstanding protections. It was a main motivator for me to start my law degree at 44 so that I could better serve my fellow union members. It was after that speech in 2017, which was so heavily dominated by a topic that I knew so well, that someone said to me that I wasn’t trying to be all things to all people. What I didn’t know yet was that being an MP means being all things to all people, especially when you’re an MP for your communities.

There is this misconception that as a list MP we don’t make positive changes in our area. But one of the most rewarding parts of the job has been advocating for the communities of, first, Rodney and, after the rezoning, Kaipara ki Mahurangi and Whangaparāoa. I won’t have time to tell the stories of the many people that came through our office over the years, but I’m proud of all we have achieved in the area. Some issues had been languishing for years and decades and I was able to advocate, on behalf of the communities, for investment in our schools, the restoration of the Mahurangi River, and, of course, Penlink. We are the first Government that put actual funding with the promise to build—so thank you, transport Ministers Phil Twyford and Michael Wood, for listening to the communities and committing that $830 million.

My Warkworth office has served not just constituents but hundreds of businesses and community organisations. The staff in our electorate offices are unsung heroes. Alan, you’ve been my steady force in the electorate office, a source of infinite knowledge. You were joined a couple of years ago by Tania, community outreach extraordinaire. Here in Parliament, Nick, you made my first term so much easier. My time on the 11th floor of Bowen House was probably my happiest time in this place. Yes, Jan and Aupito probably played a large part in that, and Nina and her cooking. Eva, Jack, Laura, Christine, thank you for holding the fort at different times. A special mention of our roving support team—especially Wendy these last couple of months, you’ve been invaluable.

When I first started, I found out the hard way that without a job description what you can take on is pretty much limitless. The responsibilities of representation weigh heavily, the hours are long, and the work is endless. It’s all-consuming, and it’s difficult to accept that you can’t do everything. It’s challenging to manage work and personal life in that environment—I did try. Early on, I joined one of the walking groups, there were two at the time, one with Ruth Dyson and one was Kris Faafoi. Ruth already had a few members in her team, so I thought I’d go with Kris; except, many months later, I found out that this particular walking group was for those who don’t like walking. So if anyone needs a brand new pair of sneakers, size seven, come and see me.

Now, it’s just after 7 a.m. in the Netherlands, so if my parents are awake, it’s the first morning with internet in their new home. It’s a big thing to shift out of your family home after 51 years, and Papa and Mama, I’m so proud of you. Thank you for your unconditional love and the sacrifices you made for us. It has been especially difficult being away from you these last few years. On the topic of thanks, also a big shout-out to my sister Petra, her husband Herman, and my nephews, Mike and Lars, because this wouldn’t have happened without you. I’ve been privileged that the sacrifice of my family has enabled me to give it my best. I’ve been away so much and absent, even when I was home. I tried the best I could, but Shane and Max, I know at times I let our whānau slip way too far down the list of priorities, and I’m sorry.

Thank you, Max, for all those messages you send me. It always brings a smile to my face when I read “Mum, have you eaten?” And, Shane, you worked so hard taking care of the rest of life, and I know your body suffers. When you broke your leg, things got even harder, and you had to miss out on being here today. It’s been anything but plain sailing, but you were and always will be my best friend—thank you for always letting me do what I needed to do.

Some of that involved creating tighter connections with Dutch and Indonesian communities so that they feel represented in Parliament. Being the first Dutch-born MP from Indonesian descent, I have seen it as my role creating tighter connections with those communities. To the ambassadors, leaders, members of the communities, thank you for your manaakitanga, welcoming me into your spaces. Dank je wel and terima kasih for your support for me. With our phenomenal and largest ever ethnic caucus, you’ll be in good hands, but I’m planning to stay in touch.

Speaking several languages has come in handy—I’ve always had a thing with languages. When I first came to New Zealand, I was helping out another immigrant worker with some English lessons, and we joked between us that she was possibly the only Chinese woman in New Zealand who spoke English with a Dutch accent.

It’s been a privilege to co-chair the New Zealand - Europe cross-party group, building on our relationships and sharing best practices with MPs from other countries. A lot of that occurred over Zoom—especially during COVID; that was the way to keep in touch. Zoom meetings have their own challenges, and I’m sure everybody is well aware of that, but none took such an unexpected turn as our first Zoom with Lithuanian MPs. Halfway through, one of them abruptly disconnected from a meeting with the words: “Got to go, the Russians are coming.” Now, this was 10 November 2021, and we now know it was not just an excuse to leave the meeting early, but it was an early sign of what was to come. We were able to show our support for the Baltics when we were the first New Zealand delegation to visit Lithuania, in July 2022. As the EU Ambassador, Nina Obermaier, has said, “although New Zealand is distant geographically, from the very start, New Zealand has stood shoulder to shoulder with Europe in solidarity with Ukraine”. New Zealand’s support was acknowledged and appreciated by all the Parliaments we visited.

Another great privilege was being welcomed as an ally in the rainbow community, and in 2018, I got to know a fierce activist called Amanda Ashley. Her Rodney Rainbow petition, combined with the one from Young Labour and Young Greens, collected more than 20,000 signatures. A long story short, I’ve been blessed to have had the privilege to be part of the kaupapa to ban conversion practices. We’ll never know the specific individuals whose lives were impacted by this legislation, but we do know that the world is a safer place for it. Thank you to everyone who’s doing the mahi to protect particularly our rangatahi against the dangers of prejudice, discrimination, and intimidation.

There’s more work to do, but there’s also a lot of good stuff happening. It doesn’t always get the airtime it deserves, and that should change because it’s so much easier to give people hope by showing them the positive initiatives and the wins—that there are a lot of people in this place who care and are working hard to make things better. They often give until there’s nothing left in the tank to give, and that is a story worth telling. But in the era of social media, clickbait, and the 40-minute news cycle, trolling and rampant misinformation, it feels, at times, that it’s not the good stories that make the headlines. I wish politicians and media could stop their focus on catching people out with perceived or real slip-ups—or 10-year-old tweets for that matter. Feeling powerless witnessing the take-down of some of my colleagues over the years has been the source of my greatest frustration. That, and possibly the change of the breakfast menu in Copperfield’s!

Now, this is obviously an adversarial environment, and I’ve done my fair share of heckling. Jason Walls, you called it: I spoke my mind. Because you know what they say: “Many people are too polite to be honest, while the Dutch are too honest to be polite.” But as one of my colleagues said, politicians are not prey, and that is how it feels to me at times—preying on the imperfections. We are not robots; we are humans—good people, doing our best, often to the detriment of our personal lives. If we could just make the political and media culture less toxic, I think we’d make a lot more progress.

I’ve loved being part of my Labour whānau in Parliament. Thank you to so many of you for your kindness, friendship, and support. Ministers who, no matter how busy, gave their time, including one, often referred to as “Chippy”, who always made you feel listened to.

The awesome class of 2020: having you on our delegation, Rachel, was just the best thing. To my mates from the class of 2017, I’m going to miss you so much. In a place where you need to feel someone has your back, we’ve always had each other’s. I felt aroha at times when I felt lonely, overwhelmed, or I needed a sense check. It has definitely prevented some serious mishaps on Twitter!

Taking this time to reflect, I realise that what I will miss most is working with so many good, decent people, all different, but with a common goal of making New Zealand the best it can be. Lots of our changes are working towards that. I’ll mention a few—actually, I’ll mention one, because I’m running out of time. Cut, cut, cut, I’m not the National Party—oh, sorry!

Fair pay agreements: thank you, Michael Wood, for your determination. We need to keep going with ensuring people have fair pay, decent conditions, and a voice in the workplace. We are investing in our people and the economy, and fair pay agreements are part of that.

I’ve loved being chair of the Education and Workforce Committee. It’s a privilege to hear from submitters and to deal with legislation that often can have such a profound effect on people’s lives and that of their families.

So many people have been part of my journey, providing me with friendship and mentoring—and sometimes unsolicited advice. There are few of you here, but there are too many to name. But I’ll give it a go. Susan and Des, always there right from the start. Thank you; I owe you. Also for the jacket—Dunedin op shop. Sorry, Colin, I know you’re watching—say hi to Peggy and Hueline.

I acknowledge our formidable Labour electorate committee (LEC) chair, Hugh, and the Kaipara ki Mahurangi team Andrew, Guy, Neil, Olga, Mike, Robert and Pauline, Mike, Boudine for the cooking and baking for our meetings. Kura, Judy, Adam, Janine, Brad, Sam, Nisha, Brad, Dev, Marina, Ken, Rewa, Derek, Alan, and Joy. The Whangaparāoa LEC, Gabrielle, Tanja, Ernie and Velma, Glen and Nobu. James, you were only 13 when we met in 2017. Shane, our chief hoarding. Ann and Mike, Eric and Lane, Eanna, Scott and Dean for helping me at the markets. Greg and Cherie for the many elegant events held at your place. David and the late Mary at Herons Flight for your hospitality and support. Colin and Jeff—always making me feel good about myself and I’m counting on my parliamentary colleagues to make sure that Colin Morley Couture continues showing off.

Young Labour: your enthusiasm and energy is contagious—keep it up. E tū, my union, Council of Trade Unions, and representatives of affiliated unions present here today: you’ve been at the forefront of fighting for better pay and better working conditions. Thank you for your support of me and for my hinerangi. I’ll treasure my taonga for ever.

To clerk Edward Siebert for making the select committee job so much easier. Thank you to everyone who runs Parliament. There’s just too many of you to mention. But you’re all awesome, and we could not do it without you. And, of course, the Labour Party leadership and everyone in it, for you are these words: you’re phenomenal.

One of the biggest compliments I received in this place is that I haven’t changed from the day I entered Parliament, and while that can’t be entirely true, I do leave with the values I entered Parliament with and I still hold dear—in particular, relentless optimism and compassion for people. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Applause]

Waiata—E tū kahikatea

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to speak in this House for a final time. My journey to Parliament began in 2014 when I stood in the Taupō electorate, alongside yourself, Mr Speaker. And I remember phone calling the Labour Party stronghold of Cambridge! I made 30 calls—30 National Party voters on the end of the line. I soon realised I would need to develop a thick skin in order to become an MP. In 2017, I stood in the Hamilton East electorate under the leadership of Jacinda Ardern in the “Let’s do this” wave. I entered Parliament on the list—snuck in with a few other of my colleagues. Then in 2020, I won the Hamilton East electorate—first time a Labour candidate had won it since Dianne Yates in 2002; something I’ll always treasure. Now, in 2023, I move on with my family into new fields of endeavour and community service.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging my family: Angela, Jack, Brooklyn, Chloe, Charlotte—also our three cats: Holly, Snowy, and Sparkles. I may well be the first MP to put their cats in Hansard. Thank you for your support. I couldn’t have served in this way without you. Ange, we’ve been best friends during our 27 years of marriage, and I’m super proud of all the work that you are doing to serve our Waikato region. To our children, for the times that we’ve been out and about and I’ve started talking with people and probably talked too long, the times I’ve been in Wellington and missed some of your activities, but mainly for putting up with an oversized photo of my face on our Toyota Estima for six years—never give up on your dreams. You can achieve anything, and mum and dad are always there for you. To my wider family in Nelson, Perth, Hamilton, and my sister Chelsea who is here today in the gallery, thank you for your support.

Being an MP is a community role. The more I ponder this word “community”, I settle on the fact that everything we do is community, whether it’s education, health, housing, sports, arts, politics, business. It became very vivid to me when I recently heard a couple of local CEOs in Hamilton. They were talking about who would get the contract for a project. And one of them said to the other one “Well, it doesn’t really matter which one of us gets the project, the money’s all going back into the community anyway.” And they were right, because whether it goes back in wages, whether it goes back to support for various organisations for schools, everything we do, everything we have here is community. It’s about connection. And most of the problems in our society today can be traced back to people becoming disconnected. The more we can foster that connection, the better we’ll be as a society.

Parliament is not about us MPs; it’s about our open and liberal democracy. I remember someone say to me once that as an MP, you enter Parliament; it’s like diving into a swimming pool. You’re in the pool for a while, you hop out, the water covers over, and it was like you were never there. Because we have a strong democracy in New Zealand, it’s important that we continue to foster that democracy. It’s very important that our jobs do not define us. If our jobs define us, we can often have perverse outcomes.

Parliament is a difficult place to get into. In fact, there have been more male All Blacks than MPs. My first option was All Black, but far too small for that! However, it’s also a difficult place to leave. How do we measure the success of an MP? Is it longevity? Is it impact? Is it favourability ratings? I’d like to suggest that we ask those closest to us—we ask our partners, we ask our children, we ask our key local leaders. They’ll give us an honest answer of our performance.

I believe we need a four-year term in Parliament to allow Governments time to fully implement the policies that they went to the electorate on. I acknowledge we don’t have an Upper House and there’ll be questions around not having enough checks and balances for four years, but I believe that we are mature enough as a country to take on the four-year term. We have a stable democratic system that I believe could handle that.

Politicians are public figures—we know that. We get into this job and we understand that. But often, particularly around social media, people tend to turn politicians into an object rather than a person. There have been many times, particularly early on in my career, when people have shared their views on social media and I’ve commented and I’ve said, “Look. Book in a meeting.”, and I’m actually genuine, but none of them book in a meeting. So I’d encourage everyone out there who’s listening: please feel free to make your comments, that’s our free and open democracy, but also meet with MPs—meet with us, talk with us; we’re open-minded people.

We must continue to monitor the benefits of social media to our society and the purpose of this medium—we need to keep a close eye on it. I look forward to scaling back my social media presence and simply posting the odd random 1980s cricket video every couple of months. That gets a maximum of two likes: one from my father and the other from parliamentary staffer Peter Hoare, whose cricket blog “My Life in Cricket Scorecards” I highly recommend.

In 2019, the parliamentary cricket 11 took a trip to the UK, paid for by corporate sponsors and individual MPs. And while we were there, we contested the Inter-Parliamentary Cricket World Cup. We got thrashed in the world cup. But I remember attending the 2019 world cup final at Lord’s that we did not lose—I just want to put that on Hansard too! Ha, ha! I think that’s important.

In April 2021, I remember playing for the parliamentary 11 at Seddon Park in Hamilton, and we played the Seddon Cricket Club. I was pretty nervous coming into bowl, because this was my childhood dream—to play on Seddon Park. And I just remember thinking, just pitch the ball in a good length outside off-stump. It’s all you’re trying to do. And I bowled it. The first batter got a single. The next batter came on strike—it was this batter’s first ball—bowled it, swung, and I thought I heard a faint edge, and I turned around and looked at the umpire and appealed, and he said “That’s out.” I was, like, yes! Saw my name up on the scoreboard. However, we got into the team huddle and I distinctively remember our co-captain, Chris Bishop, looking at me going “Jamie, he was the sponsor of this event.” And I got him out first ball! It was CEO Cam Wallace, MediaWorks’ CEO Cam Wallace, as some of you will know. He’d actually paid $5,000 for that event and I suitably felt pretty bad.

On the theme of sport, in 2023, our parliamentary football 11—we visited Brisbane and we played Australia, and I’d like to acknowledge my co-captain David Bennett here. Last time we played Australia we hadn’t won, so David and I were determined to win this game. We were leading one nil with five minutes to go and the Australians got a break. I could tell this guy was quick and I knew we were in trouble. However, all of a sudden from nowhere, David Bennett came flying in and just wiped out an Australian MP, and David was standing over the top of him and the guy was sharing his views about the tackle. I came across and David looked at me and he said “I had to do it.” He’s right; he did. And we held on and we won the game.

In fact, every time I visit Australia I often ponder the thought: will we ever become one country, Australia and New Zealand? My personal view, and it’s only a personal view, is that New Zealanders shouldn’t rule that out. There would certainly be economic benefits, economies of scale in the private and public sector, opening ALDI stores on our shores. In fact, technically the option remains open for New Zealand to join Australia under their constitution. The main problem I foresee, though, is: how do we integrate the Australian cricket team? But we conquered Everest, so you never know.

I’d like to thank a few people. I’d like to thank our Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins. You’re a very secure leader and that’s often quite rare in leadership. And I feel like I’m someone who has been a student of leadership over many years. I’d like to acknowledge that about you. You’re not afraid of having hard conversations. You have tremendous respect for the institution of Parliament and upholding our democracy and you understand the everyday New Zealander.

To all of the party leaders in this House, those who have served during my time and the current leaders, Chris Luxon and James Shaw, Marama Davidson, David Seymour, Rawiri Waititi whom I stood in Parliament for in 2014, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: servant leadership is a sacrifice and I acknowledge the sacrifice that you’re all making.

Class of 2017 members from Labour: thank you for your friendship and support over the years, and also class of 2017 members from the other parties. We’re forever bonded as the group that entered this House in 2017 to do our bit for our country. I’ll miss you all.

To my Hamilton office colleague Nanaia Mahuta: thank you for your advice over the years. You’re an inspirational leader and you’ve served the Hauraki-Waikato region with passion and empathy. We’ve shared an office for six years in Hamilton, but due to our busy schedules we have only spent one day in the office together and that was the opening. But she helped me share the cost, which is helpful.

I’d like to acknowledge a couple of other people. I’d like to knowledge my good friend Paul Eagle, the champion of the Chathams. If we tallied up how much Government funding each MP has attracted for areas of their electorate, per capita, Paul Eagle would win hands down. And I’m convinced that council passed a bylaw to ensure that the only mugs allowed on the Chatham Islands are Paul Eagle mugs.

I’d like to acknowledge the Hon David Bennett. I have huge respect for you and the work that you’ve done in Hamilton since 2005 as a member of Parliament. I’m confident you’ve knocked on more doors than any other MP in the history of this House. And I know that because when I used to knock on doors, people would say, “Oh yeah, David was here last week. I’ve been waiting for you to pop by.” I’d also like to acknowledge the work you did on the expressway. That, I know, will be one of your legacies, and it’s significant in terms of the Hamilton to Auckland corridor and the growth in our region.

I’d like to acknowledge key Hamilton parliamentary staff: Ray Stevens, Tom Rowland, Dan Steer, who are all in the gallery, and also Melissa White. Thank you for your support, your reliability, hard work, and for serving the people of Hamilton.

I’d like to acknowledge my MP gym buddies; you know who you are—I’m looking around the room.

Rawiri Waititi: I’ll miss you.

JAMIE STRANGE: Yeah—Rawiri. I’ll miss you too, Rawiri. My children, whom I love, particularly love the parliamentary pool, but I’d like to take this moment to apologise for all the manus performed in the parliamentary pool—and also those done by my children as well!

One of my main goals was to attract Government investment into the Hamilton and the Waikato region, and I did have a list here but I’m running out of time. But there have been a number of significant projects that this Government has invested in, and these projects are absolutely vital for the Hamilton community.

I’d like to acknowledge my parliamentary colleagues who have regularly attended the parliamentary prayer meeting for the past six years. Thank you for your support, love, and friendship. Our prayer group is a sea of peace and tranquillity in the hustle and bustle of Parliament life. And thank you to David and Russell for your service to us.

I’d like to close with a prayer:

God of Nations at Thy feet,

In the bonds of love we meet,

Hear our voices, we entreat,

God defend our free land.

Guard Pacific’s triple star

From the shafts of strife and war,

Make her praises heard afar,

God defend New Zealand.

Men of every creed and race,

Gather here before Thy face,

Asking Thee to bless this place,

God defend our free land.

From dissension, envy, hate,

And corruption guard our State,

Make our country good and great,

God defend New Zealand.

Peace, not war, shall be our boast,

But, should foes assail our coast,

Make us then a mighty host,

God defend our free land.

Lord of battles in Thy might,

Put our enemies to flight,

Let our cause be just and right,

God defend New Zealand.

Let our love for Thee increase,

May Thy blessings never cease,

Give us plenty, give us peace,

God defend our free land.

From dishonour and from shame,

Guard our country’s spotless name,

Crown her with immortal fame,

God defend New Zealand.

May our mountains ever be

Freedom’s ramparts on the sea,

Make us faithful unto Thee,

God defend our free land.

Guide her in the nations’ van,

Preaching love and truth to man,

Working out Thy glorious plan,

God defend New Zealand.

[Applause, hongi, and harirū]

E te whare e tū nei, tātou o te Whare, tēnā tātou. Tēnā tātou i ō tātou tini mate, rātou kua huri ki te pō, kaore e hā ko Kara Puketapu, tērā o ngā pou e noho mahana tonu ki roto i ngā whakaaro. Nā reira tangihia rātou te hunga mate. Hoki mai ki a tātou, ō rātou nā morehu ki muri nei, kia ora anō tātou.

Te Ātiawa Taranaki Whānui, te iwi taketake o tēnei wāhi, tēnā koutou. Kei te mihi ake ki a Ahumairangi, te maunga whakahī o tēnei rohe. Kei te mihi hoki ki te moana o Te Whanganui-a-Tara e papaki mai nei. Ki taku rohe kāinga o Rongotai me te iwi e whai pānga ana ki reira tēnā koutou.

Tēnā hoki koutou ngā iwi o Whare Kauri, Rēkohu, Ngāti Mutunga, Moriori, anei tēnei o pononga e mihi nei ki a koutou. E te Pīka, Adrian, tēnā koe. Tēnā koe e pupuri nei i te mauri o te Whare. E ngā mema Pāremata, otirā ngā kaitautoko hoki o tēnei Whare, tēnā koutou, kia ora huihui mai nei tātou katoa, kia ora, kia orana.

[To the House that stands here, and us who are of the House, greetings to us all. Greetings to us and to our loved ones who have departed to the spirit world, including Kara Puketapu, that pillar that remains warm in our thoughts. And so we grieve for them who have passed away. And to return back to us the descendants who are left behind, hello to us all.

Te Ātiawa Taranaki Whānui, the indigenous people of this land greetings to you all. I acknowledge Ahumairangi, the illustrious mountain. I acknowledge the sea of Te Whanganui-a-Tara. To my hometown of Rongotai and the local tribe who have interest there, acknowledgements to you also.

Greetings also to the people of Whare Kauri, Rēkohu, Ngāti Mutunga and Moriori, I stand here as your servant to acknowledge you as well. To the Speaker, Adrian, thank you for holding intact the life essence of our House, and to the Members of Parliament, as well as the staff of this House, greetings to all of us assembled here, hello, hello.]

I rise one last time in this House. I rise one last time to pay tribute to members past and present, and those yet to be elected. I rise one last time to honour the invisible hands that make this great House function. The cooks and the cleaners, the clerks and the couriers, the security guards and switchboard operators, the techies and tradies. Without all of you, this boarding school for older kids simply wouldn’t work. So thank you all for your manaakitanga.

Less than six years ago, I delivered my maiden speech as a message to my son, Tamarangi. I promised him that I would be the best dad that I could be, that I would be a strong representative for the people of Rongotai, and that I would change our adoption laws so that thousands of people like him—and me—would know our whakapapa, our identity. Now, I’ve tried hard to keep those promises, but it will be for Tamarangi and others to decide if that’s true.

It might come as a surprise to many that my election night success in September 2017 was a bittersweet moment: sweet because I was the first Māori man to win a general seat for Labour in more than 100 years; bitter because I was giving up the deputy mayoralty of Wellington with the daunting task of filling Annette King’s very large shoes. People who know Dame Annette will understand what I’m talking about. It goes without saying that I owe a debt of gratitude to Annette and her husband Ray. I want to also acknowledge former party leader Andrew Little for opening the door for my bid to stand in Rongotai—kia ora, Anaru. Your belief in me paved the way for me to become an MP.

Now, some people think I came late into politics; the truth is, I was born into it, as my parents—who are watching from hospital, unfortunately—will attest. My dad was a Methodist minister for some 50 years who was heavily involved in the Labour movement. Mum, Judith, was a health worker who believed in community service. During my childhood our house was always full of visitors who came to talk about politics and social justice issues, and it was the same at church and party fundraising events alike. At one point I did say to Dad, “What is the difference between the church and the Labour Party?” I can’t remember the response, but there was talk of stopping the Dawn Raids, about apartheid in South Africa, and old stories about standing up to nuclear testing at Mururoa. These conversations seeped into me and influenced my thinking. They also helped shape my values and my politics, and those were values around honesty, integrity, authenticity, and approachability.

In the spring of 2017, my first campaign for Rongotai was going very well. My favourite opponent was the fearless Christopher Finlayson and at our first public debate I found it interesting that we mainly talked about the Chatham Islands, where he had done a lot of early work on the Treaty settlement for the Moriori and Ngāti Mutunga. At subsequent meetings, the crowds used to get quite testy—until my opponent at one of the meetings reassured everyone that if he unexpectedly won the seat, he would call for the recount. We got on pretty well after that.

Like the workers in Parliament, the activities of an electorate MP, as Jamie Strange has said, are often invisible. Our contribution is not measured in policy announcements, the passing of new laws, or the amount of column inches we generate. The work is done quite often in the humble suburbs of the electorate where local issues dominate, where constituents get help to find a job, a new home, a visa, or some funding for their school project, or help to understand a letter from the council or Government agency. But these are but a fraction of the many hundreds of issues that, as an electorate MP, I love to solve. And it’s been certainly a privilege to represent constituents who grapple, with difficulty, with such matters that affect their daily lives.

As you’ve heard—and as some people say—one of the joys of being the MP for Rongotai is that I’m also the MP for the 660 residents of the Chatham Islands and their diaspora on the mainland here and around the world. To our Chatham whānau here today, mayor Monique Croon, councillors, chief executive Owen Pickles, Ngāti Mutunga’s Deena Whaitiri and Gail Amaru, our Moriori whānau here, and the island fishing community represented by Pita Thomas—thank you.

I have to say, each year, the Chathams have this annual big festival, and I wanted to have a Labour stall there. I saw all these blue tents and I thought, “I must get a red tent in there somewhere.” So I talked to the event organiser, Alexandra Hind, and said, “Look, I’ve got this idea.” She said, “Yep, no problem.” But I just needed some heavy hitters to run the stall. So thankfully I found two people: the self-anointed selfie queen Anahila Kanongata’a and the Women’s Weekly cover man Tāmati Coffey, who agreed to willingly help.

We had a wonderful time. We met the locals and it came time to leave. But unfortunately, the plane broke down. This was normal, but with no mobile or internet coverage, we couldn’t even contact the whip’s office to say we weren’t coming home for three days. But also at this stage, Tāmati had developed a sore foot and got a quick health check, which we all agreed just to keep on the down low. As he hobbled back down the hill to our accommodation, only a couple of minutes away, where the hotel manager innocently asked with a big smile “How’s the gout, Tāmati?”

So I’m pleased to say we did help get them a mobile phone network on the Chathams. We extended the runway and brought them into the jet age and will soon lower their power bills with renewable energy generation. These investments were made possible thanks to the previous Labour - New Zealand First Government under the Provincial Growth Fund, which enabled Chatham Islanders to get the same basic services we sometimes take for granted here on the mainland.

As I said earlier, one of my main goals was to change our 1955 Adoption Act. While we didn’t quite complete the reform during my time, the groundwork has been laid. I believe the next Parliament will bring the law into the 21st century, and I acknowledge Andrew Little again here. Members from across the House, I believe, recognise now that every New Zealander deserves to know who they are, where they are from, and not have to wait 20 years to know who gave birth to them, as happened to me. I do want to acknowledge my birth father, Jack; birth mother, Madeline; together with my birth sisters who are here—two of them—Lorraine and Courtney. Thank you for inspiring me to make those changes that, I reassure you, will come very soon. I look forward to the new legislation that will ensure the needs of the child are at the centre of any adoption. Kia ora.

One of the privileges afforded to backbench MPs is the member’s bill, and I was fortunate enough to promote such a bill with the support and guidance of Nanaia Mahuta when she held the local government portfolio. The bill sought simply to reinstate the four wellbeings to the Local Government Act and it became a Government bill. Thank you, Nanaia, for your insights and leadership there too. Also, alongside Nanaia, I want to personally thank Peeni Henare and Rino Tirikatene for their perspectives, and all the members of Labour’s Māori caucus for their support. Tēnā koutou e ngā rangatira.

I want to also thank my Samoan uncle and good friend Aupito William Sio, who rang me from Samoa—well, it sounded like it was Samoa—and who has watched over me ever since we first met in Manukau City some 20 years ago. But I’m truly grateful for his friendship and wisdom. Fa‘afetai tele lava e le avanoa.

No valedictory is complete without acknowledging those who have contributed to my time in this Whare. Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban is one of them, with Dr Peter Swain for their unwavering support for many years. The Greater Wellington City Council chairman Daran Ponter, who helped keep me grounded when I got too big for my boots. I’m sorry for harassing you about our city bus service constantly, but thank you, Daran. I thank all my support staff, volunteers, and helpers. These are the unpaid people who do so much and have done so much. Rita Evans, Taylor Arneil, Lauren Woolley, Dominic Shaheen, Kirsty Carre, Ray Tuffin, and Candice Russell. Louie Encabo, Tawhai Johnson, Sera Benseman, and Melissa White—and how could I forget the 30-year plus veteran, my super loyal volunteer, Robin Boldarin. You are all amazing and have gone above and beyond.

There is one staffer who deserves special mention. He has been my electorate office manager, media minder, trusted adviser, MC, event organiser, ordained Anglican vicar, occasional bus driver, and salt-of-the-earth character—up there in yellow and black stripes—my wingman, the Rev. Brian Dawson. Thank you, Brian. I also acknowledge the Rongotai Labour electorate committee chairs Bob Mason, Jo Spratt, and Maryan Street, who will continue the work leading our local Labour members.

But of course there’s one person who won’t be there to keep the electorate humming anymore, and that’s my wife Miriam. Without you, there would be no parliamentary career, there would be no political representation, and certainly no public service. You’ve been there through the thick and thin, the good times and the bad. We’ve had lots of good times, though, haven’t we? But thank you for everything. I love you and I appreciate all that you do.

In closing, I have one wish, and that’s to urge our future parliamentarians to rise above petty politics. Let’s see what unites rather than divides us—to know that pragmatism is not a dirty word. I believe we fundamentally sort of agree on most issues, but politics sometimes gets in the way from us seeing that. Everyone knows that a divided House is a recipe for failure, but a House underpinned by kotahitanga is a foundation for success.

Although I am stepping down from the political stage, I leave here with a full tank—or a fully charged battery, as I have to say now. I’ve got lots more to give and there’s lots more work to do. Community service is in my DNA, which means I will continue to be a servant of the people. Can I thank my Labour colleagues? Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou me rongo.

[Applause, hongi, and harirū]

Waiata—Te Aroha

Sitting suspended from 5.48 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.