Sittings of the House

Before I call on Government order of the day No. 5, as determined by the Business Committee, I’m going to take a few moments to make my own comments. Normally, in an adjournment debate, the Speaker gets to speak at the end of the debate, and one of the irritating things about that is, by that stage, there are only about two people left in the House, and so some of the really important information that might be conveyed at this very important time of the year is lost on most people. There’s also, from another function not too far from here, a slight droning noise that prevents any concentration.

All I want to say, really, is I want to thank the Clerk of the House, Dr David Wilson, his assistant, Suze Jones, and all of those who sit here day after day making sure that our procedure runs smoothly; and to all of those from the Clerk’s Office, who facilitate select committee work, the inter-parliamentary relations staff, and anybody that works here including all of the messengers that we have, and our House security staff as well. I want to thank Raf Gonzalez-Montero for his work as our chief executive, his two assistants, Amy Brier and Mitch Knight, and all of the around about 1,600 people who work for Parliamentary Service, making sure that the place works. They really are the mechanics of the democracy, and their work is very much appreciated.

I want to particularly sing out to the security staff, who do a wonderful job in making sure that we are kept safe in this place. We, all sitting here, know that the things that we have to deal with now are quite different to what has been the situation in the past, and so we keep looking at those changes. In the meantime, I also need to thank the VIP drivers—a lot of you don’t get to use them, but I do, and they’re very good. They’re very obliging, and it’s a service that really should be well and truly looked after. Can I also mention the buildings team. You’ll see the building going on out in the back. They’re doing a great job of getting it up and running on time. It’s inside budget, which is also another pleasing thing. Most of all, I also, from that team, want to thank Andie Lindsay, who serves as the EA to both the Clerk of the House and the Chief Executive of Parliamentary Service. Andie’s one of those people that knows where everything is. If you think you don’t know where something is, call her; she’ll oblige you. She does a terrific amount of work behind the scenes.

Other than that, can I say there are some interesting little facts here that should be recorded. This is, I think, particularly salient because the Parliament this year sat for a total of 87 days. Anybody hearing that would think 87 days out of 365 is not a lot. But we know that that is only a very small part of the work that everybody does in here. We had 55 hours of extended minutes, and 209 hours of urgency, compared to 630 hours of normal time. A question could be asked there that the Standing Orders committee might consider about how we—[Interruption] Did you say, “Is there a satisfaction measure on here?”

Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: He was noting my dissatisfaction was registered.

SPEAKER: Yeah. Oh, that’s all right. Thanks very much. I wish it counted, but, anyway, I’ll give my own satisfaction score in a minute.

Eighteen members’ bills—four were passed, six not agreed, 12 still in the process. There was one local bill and a private bill as well. But there were—and this is an important stat, I think—943 oral questions to Ministers—and, questions to members, there were nine of those—but there were 58,938 written questions lodged. If anyone wants to know what the Opposition aren’t doing for those 300-odd days a year when they’re not in Parliament, they’re writing questions to Ministers. I’ve, of course, got to make sure that you get answers. I’ll tell you what: the time it takes to pore over those answers absolutely takes a big toll on you. The other small facts: Bellamy’s this year sold 60,000 hot drinks—mainly coffee—at Copperfields. Some people might say, “If you’re only working 80-odd days a year, why do you need to stay awake so much?” Also, 73,000 people went through Parliament in tours this year—quite a large number. If you include visitors who came here for various meetings, that number goes up to 122,000. When you think about the number of people visiting here, it means, I think, that we have a strong democracy, and we’ve got to make sure that this place remains as open as it possibly can.

While I might like to offer some political advice to both sides of the House, which I know you’d find incredibly useful, I think I’ll resist that and simply say to all members that I wish you and your families and your friends and all of those who support you outside of that all the very best for this Christmas season and as much success as is reasonable for you in the 2026 year. Thank you very much.

on behalf of the Leader of the House: I move, That the sitting programme for 2026 be:

January 27, 28, and 29;

February 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19;

March 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 24, 25, 26, 31;

April 1, 2, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30;

May 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28;

June 23, 24, 25, 30;

July 1, 2, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30;

August 4, 5, 6, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27;

September 1, 2, 3, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24;

October 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22;

November 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12;

December 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17,

and the following dates are to be scrutiny weeks:

June 15, 16, 17, 18, 19;

November 30;

December 1, 2, 3, 4,

and that the House do now adjourn until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 27 January 2026.

After a big year, I want to start by thanking everyone who supports all of us to do our jobs: our cleaners, our messengers, sign language interpreters, security, the Dignitary Protection Service, VIP drivers, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Parliamentary Counsel Office, Cabinet Office, Office of the Clerk, the buildings and catering staff, select committees, Hansard, IT, tour guides, travel, finance, electorate offices, and everyone across this Parliament. I hope you all genuinely have a fantastic Christmas and a very well-deserved summer break. Merry Christmas, also, to all the families of every MP in this House. Nobody makes a bigger sacrifice for our public service than our loved ones, and I want to say thank you very much. To you, Mr Speaker, can I say thank you for your very reasoned and fair moderation this year—and I do promise to keep my haka very short!

Can I wish all of my National Party colleagues, firstly, a very merry Christmas. I have to say, I’m incredibly proud of our team. You all put in a huge amount of work representing your communities, delivering on National’s values, and making sure we’re fixing the basics and delivering the future. I have to say, the National Party, I think, is in great heart. We’re gearing up for next year’s campaign, and behind that campaign, of course, is a team of volunteers and supporters across New Zealand and our party HQ. I want to wish all of them a very happy Christmas, as well.

Can I also thank every Minister across the coalition Government for the work that they’ve put in this year, because this was a Government elected to deliver—and here’s what we’ve done. Wasteful spending is down, keeping a lid on inflation and leading to more and more Kiwis rolling on to lower mortgage rates. A Resource Management Act replacement, with up to $3 billion per year and seven fast-track projects already approved. Projects under way like the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, University of Waikato medical school, Ōtaki to north of Levin highway, Brougham Street in Christchurch, and more roads and more classrooms across the country. Faster building consents and more building products being available from overseas. Our trade balances back in surplus after four years of trade deficits. We’ve got more money being spent by tourists in our businesses, and record Australian visitors. We have a demonstrably safer country, with 38,000 fewer victims of serious violent crime. Youth offending is down 16 percent. Ram raids are down 85 percent. We’ve got more visible police out on the beat, we’ve got gang patches banned, and we’ve got faster trials and tougher sentences. We’ve had truly transformational progress in our schools, with better attendance and academic achievement already coming through. And we’ve got good progress on health, with 16,000 more elective surgeries, 33 new cancer treatments, and 2,000 extra nurses and 500 extra doctors.

On this side of the House, this is a team that has simply knuckled down and got on the job of fixing Labour’s mess and making sure we are fixing the basics and building the future. On that side of the House, though, is the Labour Party, and merry Christmas to each and every one of you. I find, myself, that they’re a bit like a picked-over box of Favourites at an office Christmas do. For starters, I think all the good ones have gone. After refusing to front the COVID inquiry, I’d say Chris Hipkins would be the Flake. I think the rest of Labour are a bit like a Cherry Ripe; they seem nice on the outside, but inside they’re deeply, deeply red—and, frankly, they’re just best left where they are. Of course, their mates in the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, they’re actually a bit like a Picnic, frankly—a bit rough and totally nuts.

But, I have to say, there are some Labour MPs I’m particularly fond of. I would like to thank, in particular, Willow-Jean Prime: by ignoring requests for Labour to get involved in our education policy, I think she has done more than any of her Labour predecessors to advance the education of our kids, and so thank you for that. And, of course, we’re very sad to see Duncan Webb go at the next election. In a recent interview, Paul Goldsmith was heard to remark or to refer to him incorrectly as “Roger Somebody”—not to be confused, of course, with Labour’s new tax policy, which is “Roger Everybody”. Now, Labour claims to have gone on a tour of reflection, but, actually, the only conclusion is that they didn’t tax people enough. That’s what they’ve come back with. But that’s what you get with Labour: a group of people who have never actually had to take a risk or to worry about making a payroll, telling those who have that they don’t deserve the life that they’ve actually worked so hard for.

Can I just say, Michael Wood has been in the media a lot recently. With every interview Michael Wood does, he achieves two things: (1) Chris Hipkins gets even angrier; and (2) Carlos Cheung gets even more popular in Mt Roskill. But you can’t deny that Michael Wood is truly tribal Labour. I mean, he has already proven that he will stake his whole career on Labour’s core commitment of no asset sales.

I want to wish, in particular, the Leader of the Opposition well, though. He certainly has one of the toughest jobs in politics, right behind whoever is Te Pāti Māori’s accountant. Now, Labour’s very close relationship with Te Pāti Māori has gone from strength to strength over the last year. Not only did they let them win the by-election but Willie Jackson told the media that these two parties are 90 percent aligned. But I have to say, unlike Labour, we will not be working with Te Pāti Māori—but I’ve come up with a couple of policies that we could align with them on: (1) including their MPs in David Seymour’s attendance action plan; and (2) extending the social media ban to Tākuta Ferris. I did note—and I made the comment to Paul Goldsmith—that there’s a wonderful new Māori soap opera on that NZ On Air has been funding. It’s great. It does feel a little bit like double-handling, if I’m really honest with you, because thanks to Te Pāti Māori’s co-leaders, we get to see a taxpayer-funded Māori soap opera in this Parliament every sitting week. But, look, that’s enough about Te Pāti Māori. I don’t want to be accused of punching down as opposed to punching up, which is actually what happens in their caucus meetings.

Now, can I extend a very merry Christmas to my friends in the Greens.

Tamatha Paul: No.

Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Oh, you’re going to get it anyway, don’t worry—don’t worry. A few Green MPs have actually left Parliament this term for behaviour ranging from some quite serious things, like shoplifting and allegations of migrant exploitation, but, also, frankly, for very unforgivable things, like actually getting a job in the private sector—something so offensive to the Greens that even Ricardo Menéndez March refused to write a letter of support for it. But I would just ask my colleagues to give the Greens a bit of slack, because it’s not easy being Green. Just think how lonely it is to get to be the only Bolsheviks sitting in business class, you know?

But enough of the Opposition. Let me bring it back to our side of the House, and I want to say merry Christmas to Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour and all of our ACT Party colleagues. Earlier this year, David said that Jesus very well might support ACT, but I talk to the guy every night and I’ve never heard him talk about it. David then went on and accused Winston of cosying up to Labour, but I actually suspect it’s ACT who might be sending signals to the parties of the left, because, for example, Brooke van Velden’s changes to make it easier to dismiss people earning more than $200,000 has to be some sort of olive branch out to John Tamihere.

Can I extend a very merry Christmas to our foreign Minister Winston Peters and all our friends in New Zealand First. Winston, as you know, has visited 31 countries over the last year. He’s done a sterling job representing New Zealand on the world stage. He’s actually such a dedicated foreign Minister that he’s mastered French, and every time I post something on social media, he replies “Oui”. There’s actually been a lot of commentary, of course, about what was a rather unorthodox midterm changeover of some of the most senior roles in politics this year. Some people questioned if it would work, swapping an experienced stalwart of this place for a scrappy younger man who, I admit, is sometimes publicly critical of me. But I think Thomas Coughlan has actually done quite a reasonable job filling Claire Trevett’s shoes.

Now, like many Kiwis, I was actually shocked by the recent news that Labour has people—people actually operating from this very building—producing content that manipulates the things that we say and relentlessly attacks the Government. But, despite that, I’d still like to wish the press gallery a very merry Christmas and, I’ll say, I will miss you over the summer break. Speaking of my interactions with the media, I actually saw last week that I am a finalist or nominated for Quote of the Year—but I actually have to say I think the judges have actually overlooked some of my best work. There was the time I described the recently passed Sir Bob Jones as a “living legend”; and, of course, there was the time I was asked for my view on something Shane Jones had said, which is irregular, and I answered, “Well, I would say what I would say to you is that that’s not what I would say.” I have to say to all of you, I look forward to providing even snappier and more insightful comments to all of you in 2026.

In all seriousness, can I close by saying that the absolute best part of this job is meeting Kiwis across the country—I get to hear their stories, I get to hear their concerns and their aspirations, and that is a true privilege. They understand the challenges that this Government has had to face in turning the ship around, because they’ve faced those challenges, actually, with us over the last few years. Yes, it has been tough and difficult, but more and more people are starting to see and to feel that our economic plan is working. I look forward to asking for their support to stick with that plan in 2026.

Can I just say a very final merry Christmas and thank you to all of those working through the summer: our emergency responders, our aged-care workers, our essential services, and everyone keeping Kiwis safe. With that, can I say merry Christmas, everyone, and we look forward to 2026.

If we ever needed more proof that AI can’t come up with very good jokes, I think we just heard it, because that caps off a shocking year for the Government. The year of growth in which they succeeded in shrinking the economy. The year that they began by saying that everyone must go, and everyone went to Australia. The year in which they said they were going to get kids off the couch and increased youth unemployment. The year in which the Prime Minister said to New Zealand families struggling to feed their kids that they should just go down to the supermarket, buy them the ingredients and make them a Marmite sandwich, and saw the price of doing so increase by over 50 percent just in one year. The year in which they still couldn’t find one single family in New Zealand that received the full $250 a fortnight that they promised.

I took great heart this week when the Prime Minister declared that next year was all about them getting re-elected. That gave us great encouragement on this side of the House, because every time they declare that they are going to try and achieve something, they seem to achieve the opposite. And so that is great news for the members on this side of the House.

But more concerning, I think, for the members on the other side of the House is the news continues to get worse for them. As they head into the summer break, it’s barbeque at Bish’s place. It’s all about barbecues on the other side of the House. And we know what that means in the political circuit—when the barbecues start firing up, it means trouble for those who are already in trouble. So Chris Bishop, of course, invited all of his colleagues around to his house for a barbecue. Christopher Luxon heard about this and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll do the supermarket shopping.” Turns out you can’t get much for a barbeque for $60 a week. And so that started to set things off on the wrong foot.

But then Sam Uffindell said, “Don’t worry, I’ll go and do the supermarket shopping. I’ll give my wife a break once this year and I’ll do the supermarket shopping.” They sent Simeon Brown off to collect the grog, but, tragically for them, he forgot his 18+ card and so the rest of the caucus is still waiting for their drinks. It continued to go downhill when Chris Bishop realised that he forgot to check the gas bottle. Never mind, Shane Jones showed up with 200 million of them. The bad news for them is they were all empty, and when it turned out they were empty—the company that supplied them had buggered off—he asked the taxpayer to help with the clean-up.

His colleague Casey Costello showed up with the smoker, insisting on cooking the ham in it and created a huge rift in the coalition when it turns out that Andrew Hoggard had also shown up with pork. David Seymour took along a few uneaten school lunches. Now, you’ve got to hand it to “discount Dave”; he is committed to value for money for the taxpayer. He’s combining his role as the Minister for Pharmac with his Minister for school lunches role, because now he’s providing free penicillin to kids up and down the country. Think of the savings to the drug budget that he has managed to achieve from that.

Mark Mitchell showed up with tough on crime brisket, which, like a lot of things that Mark Mitchell does, has been cooked aggressively on the outside, but it’s still raw in the middle. But he’s wrapped it up with a press statement saying that it’s safer than it’s ever been. Nicola Willis was on desserts, you’ll be pleased to know. She showed up with something she called Eton mess; everybody else in the House regards it as the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update. But then Winston Peters decided to outdo her. He brought along some reheated trifle from 1996. He said that it’s a proven recipe, but he won’t tell anybody else what’s in it, he won’t tell anybody else how it’s made, and anybody who criticises it gets greeted with a firm rebuke that he’s taking his bowl and the Government and he’s going home.

Erica Stanford missed the memo. Nobody sent it to her Gmail account, so she missed out on the barbeque altogether. But there was one special dish. The host of the barbeque prepared one special meal, and it was only for the Prime Minister, a wild mushroom stroganoff that was only for Christopher Luxon’s enjoyment.

But then it got messier at the National Party barbeque because they decided to play a few post-dinner games. Mark Mitchell suggested a game of Five Hundred and then blamed Casey Costello for not bringing enough cards. The new incarnation of “woke Winston” said that fireworks were not to be tolerated at any point, and so, unfortunately, that went out the window, and the game of musical chairs was also spoiled by Winston when he refused to get out of his at any point. Those undertaking or participating in Nicola Willis’ pass the parcel were very disappointed to learn that under each layer of wrapping paper there was simply an IOU note that they can only cash in at some vaguely distant point in the future.

It’s been a tough year for Kiwis. So moving to a more serious note, I do want to acknowledge all those New Zealanders who have experienced a great deal of difficulty this year—those who lost their jobs, those who have been struggling with the rising cost of living, and so on. I do want to indicate to them that help is on the way, and next year they will have an opportunity to vote for that help.

Mr Speaker, I want to thank you and all of the staff who work for you, the Office of the Clerk, the chamber and gallery staff, the Parliamentary Service, including the security team, who, of course, we have a greater need for their services now than ever before, and that is something that we do take very seriously and we thank them for their work. To the buildings team, a big thankyou to them. To all of the people who welcome visitors here, including our tour guides, a big thankyou to them. I won’t do to them what I did last summer where I showed up and had my family here and took my kids on a tour of Parliament. Unfortunately, the tour guide was a little intimidated by that and bailed out on taking the tour, and her supervisor had to step in, which was a little unfair. So I just want to say to her, I’m sure she would have done a brilliant job of doing that tour anyway.

To the Bellamy’s team, thankfully none of us are fussy eaters. We’re all happy at whatever food that we get delivered every day. But a big thankyou to the Bellamy’s team and to the VIP drivers. To all of our electorate office staff across the country, who deal with the public every day and who, in many cases, will see people at their worst and deal with some really difficult situations—a big thankyou to all of our electorate office staff. To the public servants up and down the country, who go to work every day to make New Zealand a better place, a very, very warm thankyou to you. To all of our other staff here at Parliament, in whatever capacity they serve us and the New Zealand public, a very big thankyou to you.

Finally, I want to thank our families—the families of all members of Parliament from across the House. I think it’s something that only members of Parliament truly understand, the level of sacrifice that our families make. We say this every year, and I’m sure the public appreciate the sentiment but perhaps don’t fully understand that the families of members of Parliament really do have a rough end of this deal. We get to do some amazing fun things in our jobs, no matter how challenging and confronting our jobs may be from time to time, but our families don’t always get to do those fun things that we get to do. And so we really do send our thanks and our aroha to the families of MPs from across the political spectrum, and we thank them so much for allowing us to do what we do. We couldn’t do it without all of their support.

Finally, to all Kiwis, I hope you do get to enjoy the good Kiwi summer. Contrary to the views of others, I don’t think the Kiwi summer holiday is too long. And, in fact, I think for far too many working New Zealanders, the holidays aren’t nearly long enough. So to all those who are working through the summer holidays, making sure that the rest of us who are enjoying a break can still go to the supermarket, can still fill up the car, and can still go and stay somewhere if we’re going away for a holiday, a particularly big thankyou to all of you for allowing us to have a break over the summer. And of course, to all New Zealanders, I hope you get a break, and let’s hope that 2026 is a better year than 2025. Thank you.

E te Māngai o te Whare, ngā mihi nui ki a koe, kia tātou katoa. Some things are completely different than this time last year. It was next week, one year ago, on Christmas Eve, exactly that I finished my final of 15 daily and consecutive radiation treatments to kill breast cancer cells, which had followed chemotherapy treatment and two surgeries. I was able to return to mahi a month later, to the aroha of the motu at Waitangi in February 2025.

So my first mihi, actually, Mr Speaker, is to you—to acknowledge the support for my leave for medical treatment and my oncologist-ordered careful return, as I know you have supported people across this House. We have the privilege here in this place of being able to role model collective care in times of need for everyone. All I wish for, and all I will keep striving for, is for all people to be afforded that same ability of putting whānau, treatment, and healing first when the unexpected happens. Thank you again, Mr Speaker.

My second mihi is to my incredible team of people, our Green MPs, and our kaimahi—our staff—who have been the stabilising force and support network behind a returning co-leader when, at one point, I doubted whether I would ever make it back out of my pyjamas, let alone back to this incredible role that I have the privilege of serving.

Although every experience is different, I have a responsibility to the breast cancer community to not put up any pretence about the challenges that everyone faces after cancer treatment. I have had to relay directly to those survivors that none of my return would have been possible without the privilege I have of financial security, of support from whānau and colleagues, of love from the community, and of the supportive place of employment, and that, even then, I am only just starting to feel my energy returning back to a level that I recognise.

But, Mr Speaker, let me tell you, I was rearing to come back, to play my part as one of hundreds of thousands of people standing for an Aotearoa that our mokopuna deserve, for an Aotearoa that truly upholds the mana of Te Tiriti, that truly protects and nurtures our environment, that truly knows that we have everything we do—because we really do—to ensure that everyone gets to live good lives in this beautiful country of ours, that they have everything that they need in this beautiful place we call home. It is an incredible privilege to be able to return back to that teamwork, to be able to turn back and come back to the collective visions that this team, that our kaupapa, has been putting forward for the decades that we have existed.

This time last year, whānau up and down the motu were preparing for a summer of submissions—many will remember the actual date of 7 January—7 January, to have their say on the Treaty principles bill. So many, in fact, that the submissions portal crashed on that day. We eventually found out that an overwhelming majority of 300,000-plus whānau opposed the bill—300,000-plus submissions, the most submissions, by far, to any bill brought before this Parliament. We actually should be proud of the mobilising and the networking and the learning that happened across communities, many making submissions for the very first time ever. Whānau hosted submission-writing workshops at dining room tables, on living room floors, in wharenui, on marae, on Zoom, in nightclubs. Many were surrounded by others, as a group; many in smaller groups; some people on their own in isolation—none of them bots. All were driven by a love for the relationship agreement called Te Tiriti and the desire to honour the promises this very country was founded upon.

To our shared community of Tiriti lovers and defenders, we thank you today and every day for honouring the promises of our shared ancestors, the promise of peoples to take the best possible care of each other. That is what Te Tiriti has always been about. That is the vision and the unity that we should all be upholding and be proud of. That is the leadership that we witness every single day in communities around the country, wanting to fight for.

So while that bill is now a distant nightmare, the coalition Government have asked the public to submit on other horrendously unpopular proposed law: boot camps for youth who, really, are young people who need what everyone else needs but don’t have access to it; benefit sanctions, stripping sick, disabled, and unemployed people of their ability to make ends meet, by taking away their only source of income; the treacherous Regulatory Standards Bill—overwhelming opposition again against this bill that seeks to further undermine Te Tiriti, undermine the environment, and undermine community voice—restricting lifesaving healthcare in the form of puberty blockers, a direct attack on the dignity and access to healthcare for takatāpui and trans whānau; and financial punishment for workers invoking their right to strike. The Government wanted submissions on all of this before the end of January 2025. While that also feels like a distant nightmare, every single one of these awful ideas that you’d think were plot points of a young adult novel destined to fail are our real-life descent into dystopia and are now law.

When Pākehā arrived in Aotearoa, people were hanged for stealing kai to survive. Before that, if someone was hungry, our tūpuna would pull up a chair at the tēpu or a wharekai at the marae and feed them. While the former has become the L-A-W, the law of this land, it’s that latter A-I—that ancestral intelligence—which reminds us of the L-O-R-E, the lore, of our whenua. Manaaki and curiosity were the first values that seeped into our whenua and have since had capitalism built over the top, because that’s the mate of colonisation.

But the foundations remain, they really do.

Tim Costley: Cheer up.

Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON: I am really cheerful about the foundations and the values of this country, actually, because this is what makes Aotearoa who we are. Those are the foundations of manaaki and aroha and the responsibility to be kaitiaki and good ancestors and guardians for our mokopuna to come.

So we know we have enough for everyone to live good lives. We know that, for successive decades and successive Governments, people have been led to believe that poverty is inevitable for some, that we are just going to have to normalise some people being without housing, that we’re just going to have to normalise privatising public goods and services for corporate gain and private wealth. We know that people are waking up to that. We know that we can offer solutions and pathways for something quite different.

Oh, look at that, I’ve got 50 seconds left! So I want to ensure that I thank, alongside my colleagues, the people who make this House work. While I was away on leave, I was delighted to actually be hearing from your security team, your cleaners, the people who feed us, also sending well-wishes. That’s the incredible manaaki that I was just speaking to that makes us who we are. It’s role modelled every day, not in the halls of power, necessarily, but in communities, in workplaces where our ordinary folk are. Ngā mihi ki a koe, Mr Speaker. I wish you a merry Christmas. Kia ora.

SPEAKER: Thank you.

Well, thank you, Mr Speaker. For nearly everyone in New Zealand, 2025 has been a challenging year, and yet it is one that ends with an uptick as the days get longer and the sun rests higher in the sky. There is a stirring in the Force as people take on new hope—new hope that our economic prospects are improving, that the hard work done by this Government is paying off, and that 2026 really is going to be a cracker.

There are many people that I would like to thank, who make this democracy possible. There are people who work throughout this building—people who clean; people who keep us safe from outside threats, in the form of security guards; people at the library, at Copper’s, and, I’m told, a place called Pint of Order.

There are also my many colleagues around Parliament, and I would like to echo what others have said and acknowledge their families and the impact that a political career has on the people in their lives. I want to particularly personally thank Alex for her unwavering support and boundless sympathy and patience that she’s shown.

I particularly want to acknowledge my ministerial colleagues and my partners in Government. Winston and I have united to help address the challenges that this country faces. For those who say that we fight like cats in a sack, hear this one simple fact: this Government has passed more legislation in the first two years of its three than any MMP Parliament has passed in its whole three years. That’s pretty productive. You may not agree with the pace. You may not agree with the legislation. That’s OK. That’s democracy. But it certainly shows that we have a united Government that works effectively together.

I’d like to acknowledge my erstwhile neighbour, friend, and colleague Christopher Luxon. We’re in different parties, for a variety of reasons—Jesus doesn’t call me every night—but none the less, it’s been a pleasure to work with you, and haven’t we got a lot done?

I should acknowledge the members of the ACT Party. I’m proud to lead a group of New Zealanders from all walks of life, united by our mission to be representatives of New Zealanders and to represent New Zealanders who believe it doesn’t matter where you come from; it’s where you’re going in life and being able to make a difference in your own life, being able to improve tomorrow through your efforts today—in fact, that’s what this country was founded on. That’s why each of us, at different times, from different places, move to these islands, taking the biggest risk that many people take in their life: to migrate and give their children a better tomorrow.

That’s the spirit that we believe in and it’s the spirit that’s advocated by Cameron Luxton, the only licensed building practitioner in Parliament that we’re aware of, ever. I believe Parliament needs more practical people who know the difference between a hammer and a nail, to make sure that we actually reflect all perspectives in our Parliament.

Laura McClure did an incredibly brave thing this year. She held up a deepfake pornography image purported to be of herself, to draw attention to something that so many people suffer in silence. She was prepared to stand up and do it in public. That legislation, now drawn and before members, I believe has not only the ability to make a big difference to so many people suffering from this modern scourge but also to demonstrate the power that a creative and diligent backbench MP has in this Parliament.

Parmjeet Parmar must be the hardest-working member of Parliament that I’ve seen. Every weekend, she is out there with a dizzying array of events and commitments, but she also takes on hard issues and campaigns and wins, such as with the end of the indoctrination at her old university and mine, the University of Auckland. She does this, I might add, while copping unbelievable abuse and flack for her identity from people who say they are in favour of equal rights and opposed to racism.

I especially want to acknowledge, and I do acknowledge, the words of Marama Davidson. To fight cancer and come back is a mission that none of us ever want to go on, but we are so happy that she and every other survivor has been able to do it. The ACT Party, in our caucus, has somebody who has faced a very similar challenge. As we speak today, he’s in isolation so he doesn’t take on any infection before he is able to have a kidney transplant, out of a pool to which his wife is donating so he can benefit. Our thoughts are with you, brother. And even from your sick bed, you are able, through social media, to be the authentic voice of rural New Zealand in a way that I don’t know anyone else could. The halving of methane reduction targets this year are a tribute to your dogged determinism, and saying, “Hello, all you good Kiwis, we will stand up and give rural New Zealand a voice it did not have before Mark arrived.”

I want to acknowledge Todd Stephenson, “the pocket rocket” and the kindest whip you could ever hope for, most of the time, and the person who is parliamentary private secretary for Medsafe and Pharmac, who has actually driven the change. Pharmac is a different organisation. People who used to be picketing outside are now inside the building, having constructive dialogue. Medsafe is now processing consents twice as fast as it used to, and we have pseudoephedrine to wake up and melatonin to go back to sleep again. He’s been incredibly effective in that role.

I believe the biggest thing that this Parliament will do, when people look back, is change the fundamental relationship between someone who owns land and those who give them permission to use and develop it. The resource management reforms that Simon Court and Chris Bishop together have driven are a generational shift for this country, based on property rights. I am proud of the change that has been driven by Simon Court.

Who could better embody the value of the ACT Party that it does not matter where you came from but where you’re going than to have somebody who was abused at the hands of then Child, Youth and Family Services to be in charge of Oranga Tamariki, with no more KFC on the roof, a reduction of harm in the facilities, and genuine compassion for all children no matter where they come from. I’m so proud to share a party with Karen Chhour, a truly great New Zealander.

I said we had the authentic voice of rural New Zealand in Mark Cameron, but people would be amazed at the number of times in meetings behind closed doors that Andrew Hoggard has turned a conversation with his practical knowledge—“Well, to be honest, before a storm, I can’t really do much with my tractor; it needs to be afterwards.” He’s been highly effective. If I was a yellow-legged hornet, I would just leave now because Andrew Hoggard is on the way. I tell you what, when he stings, he stings for sure.

Nicole McKee has done something that few get to do: to come into Parliament with a mission to make sure that we are safe from firearm harm and yet treat licensed and legitimate firearm owners with the respect and dignity that all people deserve as they go about their business, even as she cleans up anti - money-laundering and gets faster justice in the courts. That is a true achievement.

And to my friend and colleague Brooke van Velden, so many Ministers have on their epitaph “Did not fix the Holidays Act”, so many Government departments can’t follow the Parliament’s own laws when they do their pay, and so many small businesses have had it up to here with a law that does not work. Yet Brooke is getting it done, with changes agreed on this year that will actually simplify an annoying part of the world, even as she serves as a very able and popular MP for Tamaki. In fact, if people could stop coming up to me saying how great their local MP is across the border in Tamaki, that would be great for 2026! What’s more, to have Brooke van Velden also fixing up health and safety by actually going out and listening—wow, what a great team. I’m so proud to have had the leadership and the opportunity to work with this team, to drive the change across so many areas in order that New Zealand becomes a better place.

Yes, our party has also put on the table the idea that our Treaty actually gives us all equal rights, instead of dividing us into two different categories of human in these islands. While we may have lost the vote, we did not lose the argument, because check what Kiwis think—they agree with those principles. Whether you like it or not, they will be back, because universal human rights are the truth.

We’ve also introduced landmark legislation that when a Parliament or a Minister passes a law, they have to say what the impacts are on people’s property. That shift is exactly as big as the people on the left fear. But for everyone else in New Zealand, it is a wonderful development in our constitutional history.

It was a hard year, but we’ve come out on top as a country. I’m very proud to wish you all a very merry Christmas—including you, Mr Speaker—after a wonderful year of ACT driving the change. Thank you very much.

Mr Speaker, thank you to you and your staff. We must also acknowledge the Assistant Speakers, who have performed the role with professionalism. That is widely appreciated across all parties in the House.

To the cleaners, caterers, security staff, drivers, library, and Hansard staff, as well as the many office staff in the precinct, thank you for your service. This building would not function without you, and we wish you a happy and safe festive season.

We also acknowledge all of the first responders and essential services, our policemen and women, firefighters, paramedics, doctors, nurses, corrections officers, and all those front-line professionals and volunteers that have kept our country safe and running this year. We thank you, and a special thanks to those who will continue working and looking after us through this holiday period.

To our colleagues in New Zealand First, thank you for your support and excellent work to see us through another highly successful year, supported by all of our parliamentary and ministerial staff.

Now, by all accounts, as a party New Zealand First has had an outstanding year. At this time, we often look back from where we have come from to where we are and where we will be, and reflecting back to this time before the last election, no one gave our party any chance of being back here in this Parliament. Well, today, we are here, and the question is no longer if we’ll get back; it’s how many seats we will get. We’ve got some news, and it’s very good for everyone. We will turn these current polls into confetti. We are on a trajectory to make a major shift in the political landscape, and we aim to do even more than that. We have the team, we have the candidates, we have the party machine, and we have the support of Kiwis.

This year, we’ve been packing the halls around the country the old-fashioned way, with ordinary hard-working Kiwi battlers, who see the party talking common sense. They all see what it is that makes New Zealand First different from any other political party. We are the only socially conservative party, and we’re proud of it. We are the only nationalist party with a capital “N”. We are the only patriotic party, a word that is so often judged and criticised. We stand proud to be patriots of a country called New Zealand. What’s more important is that we’re the only party that brings political balance to the spectrum of extremes.

Now, New Zealand First is not just running in another election next year; we intend to turn the next election on its head, so watch this space.

Hon Carmel Sepuloni: I don’t think your partners like your speech.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Yeah, but how are you liking it? We have said many times in this House over the past two years just how far Labour has drifted from its origins. They are no longer the party of the workers. They are now a party full of apparatchiks who have graduated from some sociology department riddled with left-wing brainwashing propaganda. Most of them think that “manual labour” is the Prime Minister of Mexico! They are flawed in their thinking. They’re so flawed in their thinking they can’t even remember that, just two years ago, they left this country in such a state that we are even now struggling to clean up the mess. Yet, right here, right now, they’re starting to announce election promises requiring them to borrow, to tax more, and to spend even more. Too many of you know nothing about the economy and even less about politics.

Here’s one thing they do know. They will never win the next election when they sit there relying on those two other parties. The electorate never forgets, and nor do we. Labour has deserted the traditional blue-collar workers of New Zealand. The slow-boil movement of the party to the left has caused a huge number of long-time Labour voters to feel abandoned by a party that once stood for the ordinary hard-working Kiwi. Instead, Labour now seem to care more about left-wing social justice issues, ideological crusades, woke cultural Marxism, the very same failings and racial obsessions of the Māori Party and the Greens. The once great Labour Party of Savage and Fraser has turned into a party of moral outrage and political inertia. And, by the way, there is one party in this House who understands what a worker is, and you’re looking at it. We’ve got the record to prove it. For all those conservative and old-school Labour voters out there, you’ve only got one place to come, and we welcome you.

As for the Greens, they’ve proven themselves to be the most hypocritical, shallow, vacuous bunch of Marxists that we all knew they were. They’ve gone through more MPs than they have protests! By the way, where are your keffiyehs now? Where are your keffiyehs now? The biggest problem the Greens have is their name: they are not a “green” party any more. They’re not even a little finger of Rod Donald or Jeanette Fitzsimons—people I knew—who, despite all their flaws, stood up and had purpose and principles.

Chlöe Swarbrick: How dare you—how dare you?

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I dare because I knew them, but you don’t, because you didn’t. The Green Party today is nothing but a shallow shadow of their former selves. They don’t talk about the environment any more.

Francisco Hernandez: Keep their names out of your mouth.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Look at this guy. He arrived here five minutes ago and he’s telling me how this world should be! How’s that for damned arrogance—how’s that for damned arrogance?

Francisco Hernandez: Keep their names out of your mouth.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Here, listen—here he is. See, he’s off! They’re so desperate for candidates that’s what they’ve got. They’re so desperate for candidates they’ve got many people like him. The Greens don’t care about, nor do they understand, the reality of our economic and social future as a country. They care more about gender, wokeness, unicorns, and a geopolitical war happening on the other side of the world that they know nothing about. When was the last time they asked a question in the House about the climate or the environment? The Green Party of just 20 years ago has morphed from an environmentally focused party with some values to back that up—

Francisco Hernandez: Wake up!

SPEAKER: Mr Hernandez, that’s enough.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —to a valueless, rudderless party that thinks that anyone who disagrees with them is evil and should be shouted down. Shoplifters, cheap-labour exploiters, foreign-born Marxists, and unstable narcissists, the last two donning a watermelon yarmulke and Hamas scarf during Passover—just breathtaking what they’ve got away with here.

As for the Māori Party, they have tried their hardest to be the martyrs of the media for their shallow, transparent cause, but no one asks them, of the Māori Party, “So who do you actually represent?” They suffer from the same affliction as the Greens thinking they represent everyone green; oh no you don’t, just as the Māori Party don’t represent Māori. As the saying goes, to be ignorant of one’s ignorance is the malady of the ignorant. The fact is the Māori Party are not pro-Māori; they are anti everything that has given them the ability to sit in this very House. They are not pro-Māori; they are anti-democracy. They want a totalitarian, race-based, separatist country. They want a separate Parliament, separate laws, and separate land. That is why they’ll always be so divisive in their rhetoric. That’s who they are, and that’s what they do. And who wants to work with them? Come on, Labour, tell me: who of you wants to work with them?

The Māori Party’s in such disarray that their own party is no longer. It is an utter disaster for the left, and they know it. I stood in this House at the start of this term, in my very first speech, and said that they wouldn’t last long, and I wasn’t joking. In fact, this is what I said. Let me quote: “I know a bunch of losers when I see them.” Now, I wish them luck for the next election—I wish them luck for the next election—but they’re so hopeless they wouldn’t know what to do with it.

Hon Willie Jackson: Say something nice now, Winston.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Now, Willie, I know the tremor in the voice of desperation when I hear it, and you know what I’m talking about, don’t you?

Having said that, it is going to be a big year, for many reasons, in 2026. We are setting out to turn next year into a year that we look back on in wonder as a political watershed year. We are hearing all the talk and questions from the media even now, trying to get in front of the change they can’t understand but that they suspect is coming, trying to head it off with all their putative questions. They want to know what’s happening next year. Well, there’s only one thing we have to say to the media: get out of the way and watch this space. Happy Christmas.

Tēnā koe e te Pīka. First of all, I’d like to support all of my colleagues in our mihi to our staff, to the security staff, to the catering staff, to the cleaning staff, to all of those in the library, and to our interpreters and translators—those who keep us safe, those who keep us clean, and those who keep us connected. I’d also like to mihi to our teams—those who stay the late nights, those who have to sit there and make sense of what it is that is happening under urgency, and those who turn up and make sure that the electorates and those community members who are asking for things to be done—for thousands of Official Information Act requests and written questions to be done. We don’t thank them enough, and I do honour not only their work but their whānau that allow them to be here supporting us all.

I also want to mihi to David and to ACT—to Mark. I wish him well on what he is experiencing at the moment. We know what that disease is like, and unfortunately we weren’t able to get to this stage. But we do mihi to all of the parties that have had to contend with members who are unwell, who are desperate to get back and contribute to their communities because they are all valued members elected by their communities.

There’s a lot of noise out in the world, there’s a lot of noise in this House, and there’s a lot of noise out in our communities. Whether or not we agree with the noise, it’s for us a time also to reflect. It has been a tough year. It’s been a tough year specifically for our communities who spent this time last year, as Marama said, getting ready for submissions and being able to impress—through a very indifferent process—what it is that they felt about Te Tiriti. It’s been a year of extremism, and it doesn’t matter which side of the fence you sit on: extremism and extremists really hurt the cohesion of life. We have seen a lot of culture wars. We have seen legislation that has hurt our communities, and the removal and repeal of everything that a lot of our communities in te ao Māori hold dear has made them feel extremely under attack.

I’d like to share with you a story. It’s not the same one as the one I shared last week about Shane, but it is about our people who show up, and I would like to spend this time and give accolades to all of our people who show up—who show up during submissions, who show up when we are out there making sure that things have been understood from within this House, who show up to tangi, who show up to birthdays, and who show up when their members and their MPs are calling for kaupapa. I want to share how they’ve turned up in spite of and despite everything that is loud out there and shown their aroha for this nation.

I’d like to start with a bit of a love story—and sharing with the member before me in reflecting on the love that brought us into the kaupapa that we stand in today. For many, joining politics is about joining political parties. For some of us, it’s actually about joining the love of a kaupapa that you’ve shared. For me in Te Pāti Māori, it was in 2004 when my son, who’s now 22, was three months old and being breastfed as we took loads and loads of buses from Taranaki to fight against what the Government at the time was enacting. It was an experience that you never knew in the morning, as you mobilise, where you’re going to sleep that night. But people showed up and they showed up with charity and generosity to manaaki and to look after us.

It was a period when we had our whaea—who we lost this year—Dame Tariana, and she crossed the floor alone. Well, she crossed the floor alone because she loved her people. I have no doubt that we all do what we’re doing here today for the love of our people and the love to serve. For many, it was about shaping and designing policy. And we saw her come out and Te Pāti Māori—or the Māori Party at the time—come out with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, come out with Whānau Ora, come out with the Māori economic development strategy, some that we still talk about today. For us, it started and sparked the love of many people.

In 2017, we saw that movement go from being very, very big down to two MPs and then actually leaving Parliament—it was voted out. There were obituaries written about the party, about the movement, before the bodies were even cold, if I can say it like that. It really tested our love, and it really tested our love for the kaupapa and whether the kaupapa of Te Pāti Māori was real and if we could prove our love and the ability to sustain it. In 2020, Te Pāti Māori proved its love by the people who turned up, not by the politicians but because of the people who turned up—who showed up. They decided to put two MPs in. And those two MPs announced that they would be pebbles in the shoes of the Crown, who I think was Labour at the time. They talked about a Tiriti-centric Aotearoa, an Aotearoa Hou, and they talked about being unapologetic.

The love within the party sparked emotion, sparked connection, sparked relatability, and sparked connectivity to many things that come out of this House that otherwise aren’t known in a lot of our communities. We normalised our thinking, we normalised our fashion—we were actually allowed to show our shoulders at the time. But I guess as the love continued in 2023, we were able to grow to six MPs. My point being: we saw the biggest hīkoi, we saw the biggest suspensions, and we saw the biggest submissions. We see 300,000 now on the Māori roll and working towards an eighth Māori electorate. I think what’s really important in this lesson of love is that we should never be comfortable in this place; we should always be open to challenges.

I want to end this by acknowledging the people who don’t make the headlines, who actually are part of the love story of our movement: the ones who show up early and leave late; who volunteer on maraes; who are in branches; who are in unions, in schools, in kōhanga, and in community groups; who write submissions and sit with others to help them learn how to write submissions; those who drive kaumātua to hui; those who organise kai and make calls; those who host hui in a hold space; those who keep turning up even when it’s hard, even when it’s messy, and even when no one is clapping. Because those are the people that often are forgotten in the noise of politics, in the noise of decisions, and in the way that this place rushes and rushes and puts everything through urgency and makes sure that it’s impossible for those voices to be heard and seen when submission dates are so quick.

One of the things that I think is really important as politicians is to remember that the people who show up have the expectation that we behave in a certain way, even when we disagree. I think the people who show up outside of this place expect us to also hear them even when we’ve never been in VIP cars—even when we’ve never been in ministerial suites. Even if you don’t like what it is that they fundamentally stand for, those voices are still important to the fabric of Aotearoa.

I’m really proud as a movement that, yes, we have been through the toughest season that I’ve known, but we’ve done it in a way that makes sure that the movement for our people who turn up, who show their aroha for their kaupapa—they know that we will never ever forget that those are important voices. They are important people. They may not be seen on the line of those jobs and those flash investors and these people who are coming in from overseas; they may be trying to break cycles, they may be people queuing for mental health, and they may be people queuing and helping to figure out what it is that they need from Aotearoa.

But what I will say is that I hope we become a nation that stops leaving people behind. Te Pāti Māori will never ever ever stop having the love of the people—for those who show up for us; for those who may not know to show up. That is what we should be doing: always mobilising and bringing on another group who actually can see themselves in this place.

I think that’s probably the biggest honour: being able to come to the end of the year knowing that we did the best that we could do. Know that we will love everyone, and you may not love me but I will love you. You may leave me, but I will fight for you. That is exactly how tūpuna showed us. Nō reira, I wish you all well for Christmas. Look after yourselves. Be safe. Kia ora rā.

E te Māngai o te Whare. Thank you to all the people who make us look and sound good in this place and in our jobs. To Hansard; our security team; our messengers; the cleaners; our Copperfields and catering team, who caffeinate us and deal with us when we’re hangry; and, of course, the Parliamentary Counsel Office; the Office of the Clerk; our library staff; IST; our tour guides; our education team; our buildings team, those who set up and pack down multiple events every day in this place; the buildings team; the events team; the travel team, who get us where we need to be, when we need to be there; all the precinct staff; and all of our Electorate and Community Office staff out there around the country—we say thank you for looking after us.

I want to say one name this afternoon, and that is Colin in the little booth up there. Thank you for turning us on and for sometimes turning us off, and we hope you do more often than not sometimes—certainly the Government’s side. I also want to say thanks to our family, our whānau, who look after us and put up with us when we’re not here. We’re almost home and we’re almost done.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank your team and Mr Speaker for looking after us and for overseeing robust debate in this place—and sometimes not so robust debate in this place. We appreciate the Deputy Speaker, Assistant Speakers, and the Temporary Speakers, and we say thank you. To our Labour whips team, thank you for keeping us all in line on this side. To our whips across the floor, to our musterers and matarau across this House, thank you for keeping this place mostly in check.

I want to take a moment to think about my favourite movies at Christmas time. What are my favourite Christmas movies? Well, first of all, of course, we can’t go past Love Actually. Love Actually is one of my favourites. It’s a film about Christmas. It’s a film about love. It’s a film about joy, but it’s also a film about loss. It’s a film about heartbreak. It’s a film about breakups—big-time breakups. So I’m not sure whether the coalition Government MPs will be watching Love Actually this year because of what potentially is on the cards.

Particularly, there’s a story of Karen and Harry—Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman. That was a story of betrayal. That was a story of just constant blame. I think it sounds familiar. Even at question time this afternoon, all we heard from the Government Ministers was blame, blame, blame, and, from that Prime Minister, we can never even get a straight answer out of the Prime Minister. Sometimes I feel straighter than the PM’s answers!

I also want to talk about one of my other favourite movies, Home Alone—a pretty cool movie. I reflect back to recently when, unfortunately, the chief Government whip kind of had a bit of a whoopsie when it came to everyone rushing off around the country and no one left in the Chamber to support the Minister of broadcasting. He was left home alone as his bill didn’t quite make it through to be able to pass.

Then there is How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and there’s nothing really particularly funny about this movie that I can really share this afternoon. It’s around a grinch of a Government that has cut transport and subsidies to elderly and disabled people. It’s around a grinch of a Government who have cut support for 18- and 19-year-old job seekers. It’s about a grinch of a Government who made cuts for the school lunch programme. What a grinch I feel this Government can be, in that way.

I’ve been thinking about the fact of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve when he does his rounds and he pops into chimneys all around the world. I’m wondering if he’s going to bother turning up to one of Christopher Luxon’s houses or not, because I’m not sure if he’ll be getting his milk and cookies this Christmas. He’d be worried it might be half a stale Marmite sandwich and a slice of apple.

I want to be controversial as I finish my contribution on my all-time great Christmas movie, and that is Die Hard. Die Hard—is it a Christmas movie; isn’t it a Christmas movie? Isn’t it? Is it? Well, I’ll say clearly this afternoon on Hansard that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. As I think about that—and make it really clear, it’s the question we often get asked on this side of the House: is this a one-term Government or isn’t it a one-term Government? Well, I can say clearly this afternoon: this is a one-term Government just like Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Two red ticks—2026.

I want to finish on hope and our needs for hope at this Christmas time. As we look at our rainbow whānau, our ethnic communities, Māori and Pacific people, our beneficiaries, and those looking for work or homes, we need to find ways to bring people together and not to separate them. As we go into the Christmas break, may we find hope and be part of creating hope for a better 2026.

New Zealand is one of the longest continuous unbroken democracies in the world, and it takes a lot to run this place. I do want to start by saying thank you to everybody who helped make this place a very special place: you, Madam Speaker, and your boss, the Speaker; all of the Government and Opposition whips; my colleagues on the Business Committee; the Clerk’s office; security; Copperfields—I think I’ve taken quite a few thousand of the many thousands of coffees this year—

Hon Nicola Willis: Half of them were for me.

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: —half of them for Nicola Willis, as she says—the security staff; and the VIP drivers who get us home safely and to and from the airport and other places around the country. A genuine thankyou from all of us for helping to make this very special little democracy all that it can be and, I’m sure, will continue to be in the future.

It’s been a long year, and I’ve listened to a lot of music. I got sent my Spotify Wrapped the other day.

Hon Willow-Jean Prime: Oh, not Stan Walker!

Hon Carmel Sepuloni: Yeah, what happened at the awards?

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Don’t steal all my jokes; that’s coming! Give me a chance to get there. I’m building up to it!

It wasn’t a pretty picture. It was, basically, 1990s grunge with a sprinkling of 1990s and early 2000s New Zealand rock music, with The Wiggles. That was my Spotify Wrapped.

Hon Simeon Brown: Any Don McGlashan?

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Don McGlashan, sadly, did not feature, and nor did Stan Walker.

Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: I’m sure KPop Demon Hunters did.

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Ha, ha! But I have been thinking about other members of this House and what would be on their list. I reckon Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer would love a bit of Taylor Swift “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”, except that it would actually be “All’s Not Well (Te Pāti Māori Version)”.

For Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris, Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” would be on the list. For Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke and Oriini Kaipara, it would be “Stuck In The Middle With You”. John Tamihere’s would definitely be “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”, even if he can’t quite figure it out yet.

Ingrid Leary would pick up “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy, and, of course, Chris Hipkins has been on tour around the country saying, “We’ve been listening”—except we all know that the Labour Party’s agenda for Government, God forbid, is more of exactly the same thing all over again. His favourite song would be “Oops!...I Did It Again”, the Britney Spears classic.

David Seymour has had one song on repeat this year: Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way”. Now, he sings this a lot in Cabinet meetings, followed up by Mr Peters finishing up with Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”.

Nicola Willis has had a top song this year. It’s Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”, in relation to Ruth Richardson. In recent weeks, she’s changed the lyrics to “Debate Me Maybe”, and in recent days it’s sadly become “Debate Me Definitely Not”.

The Prime Minister has a unique and varied music taste. He has, I would argue, appalling music taste. His top song is Dolly Parton’s “Working 9 to 5”—or, in his case, the hours “Working 5 to 9”. That is also how he expects all of us as Ministers to be working every single day of the Christmas holiday season. Merry Christmas, Prime Minister!

It has been a long year for many New Zealanders; it is going to be a better 2026. As we reflect on the year, we reflect on better times ahead. We reflect on those who will be working over Christmas, working to make sure that those who don’t have as much as many people in this House have enjoy a bit of Christmas cheer. At Christmas time, I know many members will be thinking about those who have passed this year, including, sadly, those in this House and in this term of Parliament. I know we’ll all be thinking about family members that we have lost in the past.

Can I also finish by reflecting on the enormous family sacrifice that many people make, that the families of many members of this House make, to allow us all to be here and to do the jobs that we do. It is an enormous privilege to be here. I think we will all enjoy a bit of Christmas cheer this holiday and festive season, and we will look forward to a better 2026. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Rather than talk about a list of songs:

Two years on and the people are still

Pushing you-know-what up hill—oh man!

You know what I mean?

“Cut cost of living” is what the PM said,

But our whānau out there still can’t buy bread—oh man!

What a situation.

And so they wake in the morning and they step outside,

And they take a deep breath cos they’ve got to get by,

And they scream from the top of their lungs:

What’s going on?

And they say:

“Hey-ey-ey-ey, hey-ey-ey.” They say, “Hey—what’s going on?”

That’s the number one question I get asked across Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, around Aotearoa, and even from whānau living overseas: “Cushla, what’s going on with this Government?” Whānau throughout Ikaroa-Rāwhiti have told me, “This has felt like a year of attacks on Māori.” While I’m happy to simply convey that message, I thought, “Come on, Cushla, keep it Christmassy”. So here’s a compromise:

Jingle bells, jingle bells

The Treaty won’t go away.

Aotearoa won’t stand for it

No matter what you say—hey!

Sadly, this year will be remembered as the year this Government tried to take Aotearoa backwards, in a monumental way, seeking to erode national relations and systematically removing all that is Māori—the very things that make this country unique, the reo and tikanga manuhiri want to hear and experience when they visit our shores, and the taonga that makes us very attractive global economic partners. But this will also be remembered as the year Aotearoa rose united and said: “Kāhore! This is not who we are.”

Then there’s the attack on people just wanting to get ahead here in Aotearoa. The 200 whānau leaving New Zealand every day seeking better opportunities, leaving whānau and whenua—they’ve been told by this lot to:

Get a haircut and get a real job

Clean your act up and don’t be a slob

Get it together like that there mob

Get a haircut and get a real job!

I note, first of all, that there are more Māori in professional and entrepreneurial roles since records started. We’ve always been kamakama, but that aside—it’s fair enough to say that, but show me the jobs—show me the jobs. There are 36,000 fewer people in work than a year ago. Of course, it is not all doom and gloom, and I want to thank the people of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti for the light you bring to so many each day and for the honour of being your voice in this House. Ngā manaakitanga ki runga i a koutou katoa.

[Care upon you all.]

The second most common question I get asked is: “What are those fullas really like? Do yous get on?”; to which I respond “For the most part, yes.”—“most” might be a stretch.

Madam Speaker, may I wish you, your whānau, all members, and your whānau a very merry Christmas, and we’ll see you in the new year. And to all the kaimahi throughout this beautiful Whare of ours, and to all our Electorate and Community Office staff who keep things ticking over: enjoy your peace and goodwill away from us all.

And to end on a positive note, to you all, from Te Pāti Reipa:

We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

And a happy New Year!

Huri noa i tō tatou Whare, meri Kirīhimete ki a koutou katoa.

[All around our House, merry Christmas to all of you.]

Well, thank you, Madam Speaker. The National Party was asked who was going to sing and it was going to be Paul Goldsmith but he’s not available today—but he’s just turned back up.

Can I start by thanking all those who make this place work: the staff, officials, House Office, Parliamentary Counsel staff, Chamber staff, select committee staff, Hansard—who have had to transcribe some very colourful language this sitting block—the security team, cleaners, the Copperfields team, VIP travel staff, and of course our electorate staff, and of course you, Madam Speaker, and the team. I’d also like to particularly thank the staff in my office, who have had to explain to me the difference between a CT scanner—Grant McCallum—an MRI, and a SPECT scanner roughly 600 times throughout the year. It’s certainly been quite the year, and Kiwis have certainly faced their ups and downs throughout the year.

Of course, this Government has been incredibly focused on fixing the basics and building the futures so that New Zealanders can get ahead. Our Ministers have been working incredibly hard. Nicola Willis has delivered a fiscally responsible Budget without a magic money tree. I hear it sprouted up in Dunedin. I’ve been down there a number of times this year; still have not found it. Chris Bishop, of course, has been cutting red tape and keeping the House running smoothly. Paul Goldsmith from Ngāti Epsom hasn’t defected to Te Pāti Māori; they’ve defected from it. Louise Upston has, of course, helped to get more than 80,000 people off benefits and into work without needing to take a break on Celebrity Treasure Island.

Of course, the privilege of working alongside our colourful colleagues in our coalition parties certainly keeps things very entertaining. But as we head into summer and we write our Christmas cards—and it’s quite the thing here at Parliament; we write lots of Christmas cards—I’ve got a few Christmas cards that I’d like to read out.

My first one is someone who is not actually here in Parliament but is very aspirational, Michael Wood. “Dear Michael, congratulations. I do hope you’ve received Christmas cards from all your old friends: Auckland Airport, Chorus, Spark, National Australia Bank. I imagine they’re quite fond of you, given how long you held on to those shares—16 reminders, wasn’t it? That’s more than enough for the 12 days of Christmas. If they’re not, the third time’s the charm. First time is an MP; second time losing the seat; third time—well, the voters will elect Carlos Cheung once again. Merry Christmas, Michael, and may your campaign be transparent this time.”

Next one’s to Craig Renney: “Congratulations, Craig, on your selection for Wellington Bays, and on your book”—I mean, sorry, “your manifesto”. I hope you’ve sent a signed copy to Chris Hipkins, perhaps inscribed “To Chris, future former leader. Love Craig. The title alone is impressive: “How to spend money we don’t have: a Council of Trade Unions economist guide to fiscal fantasy”. Chapter 1: “Misquoting the finance Minister: an art, not a mistake”. Chapter 2: “Why Treasury security knows my name”. Chapter 3: “The curious case for permanent deficits.” It’s quite the manifesto—sorry, “book”. I’m sure Julie Anne Genter is thrilled Labour is running someone who makes the Greens look like moderate centrists. Merry Christmas, Craig, and may your economic theories remain theoretical.

Now, to Ingrid “ChatGPT” Leary: “Dear Ingrid Leary em dash Member of Parliament for Taieri. Merry Christmas, full stop. I particularly enjoyed your email sent at 11 p.m., full stop. The prompts were fascinating, full stop. When asked if you used ChatGPT, you said you did not, full stop. That was incorrect information, full stop. Then you said someone else sent it, full stop. Also incorrect, full stop. Then you admitted you sent it and used ChatGPT, full stop. I hope you enjoy your summer back in the homeland of Waiheke Island, full stop. Perhaps you can do some yoga and reflect on the importance of authenticity, full stop. Merry Christmas, Ingrid, full stop.”

Finally, to Chris Hipkins himself: “Chris, you’ve promised us different Labour this year. The only problem is your different Labour appears to involve a capital gains tax, which you’ve promised before; wealth taxes, which you proposed before; relying on Te Pāti Māori for the numbers, which you did before; and running Michael Wood again, which you’ve done before. I wish you a very Merry Christmas, and may your hundredth mention of “different” be the charm.”

What a year it’s been. I want to say thank you so much to everyone around this place who makes it work and my colleagues. And, of course, a huge shout-out to all of our hard-working front-line workers who’ll be working over the summer break: our doctors, nurses, ambulance officers, paramedics, police officers, fire officers. Each and every one of them is doing such an incredible job, keeping the country running while we’re on holiday. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Motion agreed to

Members, merry Christmas. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 27 January 2026.

The House adjourned at 5.58 p.m.