Valedictory Statements — Hon Peeni Henare

Mr Speaker, tēnā koe. Reo Māori. Tuatahi, ka tahuri atu ahau ki a Te Ātiawa, ki a Ngāti Toa. Ka noho tonu ahau ki raro i te maru o Tangi Te Keo e tū mai rā. Kati, e kara, e Kura Moeahu, aianei ka hoki atu tēnei uri nā Kupe, nā Nukutawhiti ki Te Tai Tokerau. Tēnei e tūohu atu ana.

Ka tiwhatiwha te pō, ka kākarauri te pō. I a au i te pō kerekere, i a au i te pō tangotango ka tangi tonu ahau ki ngā mate hūhua o te wā. E te pāpā, e Hone Wharepapa; e te pāpā Anaru Kimura; e te ariki, e Tumu Te Heuheu; e tōku whaea, e Tilly Reedy, koutou katoa kua huri atu ki tua o te ārai, haere mai, haere. Ka hoki mai ki te ao tūroa, e te Māngai o te Whare, tēnā koe, tēnā tātou katoa. E ōku whanaunga o Ngāti Whātua i tiaki mai nei i a au ki roto o Tāmaki Makaurau, tēnā koutou.

[I will speak in Māori. Firstly, I turn to Te Ātiawa and to Ngāti Toa. I still reside below the shelter of Tangi te Keo that stands yonder. Well, my friend, Kura Moeahu, shortly this descendant of Kupe, of Nukutawhiti, will return to the North. I go with gratitude.

The night became gloomy and dark. As I was in the extreme darkness, as I was in the intense darkness, I wept for the many who have recently passed. Hone Wharepapa, Anaru Kimura, the great chief Tumu Te Heuheu, my aunt Tilly Reedy, all who have crossed beyond the veil, return in spirit, go well. I return to the light of day, and I acknowledge you, Madam Speaker, and all here. To all my relatives of Ngāti Whātua who looked after me when I was in Auckland, I acknowledge you.]

To the multitudes of Tāmaki Makaurau who saw fit to elect me to represent them here in Parliament, I will for ever be thankful. I extend that thanks to the many people across New Zealand who supported me and continue to support me today. Mr Speaker, in my 12 years here in Parliament, I have been truly blessed to have been served by so many amazing people, so, with your indulgence, I would like to acknowledge them, for without them my time here would’ve been very different and, I suspect, very difficult.

For most, the journey into Parliament starts with a strong local committee, so I want to acknowledge Grant Williams, the chairperson of my Labour electorate committee (LEC), and the many members and volunteers who did amazing work to support our efforts in Tāmaki Makaurau. In particular, I want to acknowledge Francis and Kaiora Tipene, who led our LEC in the past and were key to many of my campaigns. One can’t mention Tāmaki Makaurau without mentioning Uncle John and Auntie Christine Panapa, who were approached by my father 12 years ago and asked to support me. They have been my backbone and my greatest strength through the highs and the lows of local and national politics. So to auntie and uncle, Tracey and Dave, Sonya and Dunn, and Johnny and the many mokopuna, I will for ever be indebted to you.

To the many others, in particular my good friend and brother Mr Andrew Kelly, for his support through many campaigns and through many trials, I owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. Our local electorate office worked hard to serve the people of Tāmaki Makaurau, and I would like to thank Shannan, Jade, Aunty Christine, Kaiora, Laughton, Jennae, Jaleeza, David, and Natalya.

Here in Parliament, can I start by thanking Mr Andrew Little, Dame Jacinda Ardern, and Chris Hipkins—or our man “Chippy”—for the belief they showed in me and the support that they gave me. To my first Parliament staff, Tim and Ben, who carried the office in my first term, I say thank you.

My second and third term saw me return as a Minister, and I was blessed to be given the opportunity to serve as Minister for ACC, Civil Defence, the Community and Voluntary Sector, Defence, Forestry, Tourism, Veterans, Whānau Ora, and Youth Development. Over that time, I also held the associate roles for ACC; Arts, Culture and Heritage; Environment; Health; Housing; Social Development; and Tourism—as you can see, I’m a sucker for punishment! I was blessed with an amazing team during this period, so I want to thank all of the private secretaries: Avi, Jason, Alana, Stefan, Lisa, Duncan, Alice, Matt, Sophie, Shane, Kiara, Tilly, Matt, Shaan, Jane, Tessa, Libby, Karen, Andrew, Megan, Jesse, Shane, Nat, Renee, Charles, Tom, Julia, Pernelle, Hina, Clyde, Alex, Rupene, Wetini, Libby, Huriwai, and Hikurangi.

During my time as a Minister, I had the privilege of working alongside a very close-knit and hard-working team. I start with Cami Van Ausdal for keeping our office running smoothly. Irena Smith, thank you for standing by me during some very challenging times, but, more importantly, for helping me learn and love my East Coast whakapapa—something that’s very hard to do as a Ngāpuhi! Phillip Little, who must be the only press secretary I know who has a fear of flying, thank you for your sharp eye and hard work, and for catching the bus to every hui we had across the country! To Penny Arrowsmith, thank you for hard work and attention to detail—iron certainly does sharpen iron. To Haidee Hemsley and Ellie Amiri, I couldn’t have asked for better senior private secretaries: not only did you run the team; you ran my life. To Ethan Bryant, despite supporting terrible sports teams, it has been an honour to watch you grow from strength to strength, my friend; you have performed so well through so many challenges, and I say thank you.

Finally, to my closest advisor and tuahine Patisepa Helu, I recall your interview, sister, where I asked you if you were intimidated by me and you didn’t even flinch and, with that staunch Tongan stare, looked me straight in the eye and said, “Hell no!” For my entire time as a Minister, you led with great poise and dignity; thank you from the bottom of my heart.

This amazing group of people worked long hours to progress and implement policy through to national emergencies. However, before I come back to some of those matters we worked on, I want to briefly acknowledge the Parliamentary Rugby Team. Thank you to all I played alongside, to all I played against. I am proud to say that through rugby, we supported charities and kaupapa across the country.

I want to reflect on one particular story. Shortly after COVID-19, we were allowed to play rugby again. There was a charity game held in Wainuiōmata—as Ken Laban would say, the home of rugby league; however, on this occasion, it was rugby. Just before we all warmed up to head out on to the field, to duel on the rugby field, I got a phone call from Dame Jacinda Ardern, who said, “Peeni, if there is a hair out of place on Ashley Bloomfield’s head, you will pay the price.” Little did I know, he was playing openside flanker that day, the hardest-working position on the field, and as many in this room will know, despite not admitting it, the knees at this age aren’t meant for stepping. So the call was one-two cut; I’m the second five, and my job was to run straight. I ran straight, and as I looked up I saw Ashley Bloomfield, quickly pulled the handbrake, and stepped off my left foot, only to be cut in half by former All Black Rodney So‘oialo. I dare say part of me was left on the field that day! But it was one of those occasions that reminded us that despite our political affiliations, sport—and, in this case, rugby—was one of those things that brought us together.

To the many portfolios that I had—and I apologise because I can’t cover all of them, but there are some that I particularly want to speak to. For five years, I had the good fortune of being the associate health Minister, with a particular focus on Māori health. I want to say that we worked hard to make sure that equity was right across all of what we did. We succeeded in some places and, sadly, failed in others. One of the crowning moments for myself during that time was the establishment of Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. I said at the launch of that particular kaupapa in Waitangi, amongst my people, “Kua oti taku mahi.”—“My job here is done.”

Well, it would turn out that we would return to this House, sadly, to dismantle something that these very hands had built. Yes, I feel sad, but I don’t, however, hold any grudges. Myself and Dr Shane Reti—who I acknowledge not just as my former family doctor but, of course, as my duelling buddy that day—went toe to toe in this House in rigorous debate on the matter of Māori health. As a testament to the good nature of the man, we walked across the floor here after a tough debate, and days of debate, gave each other a hongi and a hug, and said we have work to do for Māori health. So I lay that challenge to all who remain in this House, that Māori health, yes, is important. Why? Because equity matters. When we serve our people, we must make sure that equity continues to drive the decisions for the benefit of all and not the few.

During that time as an associate health Minister, I was fortunate to be part of the COVID response. Now, I know it’s a hot topic at the moment, so bear with me—hopefully, we can keep it civil. It was a particularly difficult time, one that can only be described as a challenging time for the entire country. We worked hard to make sure that people were looked after. We worked hard to make sure that people had what they needed to survive during that particular time. That is why the world looked to the New Zealand response as a world-leading response. I can only say how proud I am of not just my colleagues but the many health workers right across the country who served our people during this challenging time. They all went above and beyond, and we must remember that at the heart of all decisions, while perfection was the pursuit—but rarely achieved—indeed, it was for the wellbeing of our people. I stand by that record and I’m proud of that record, and I will look back, no doubt fondly, over that time and reconnect with many who did the hard work.

I was once the civil defence Minister. It was a particularly hard portfolio, but one of those ones that I know others in this House, and indeed yourself, Mr Speaker, have had in the past. Well, there was a flood on the West Coast, which won’t surprise anybody in the House, and I happened to be down on the West Coast at this particular time. While waiting at the airport to return here to Wellington, we looked at the news and saw that Whakaari / White Island had blown. First, can I acknowledge those who were tragically lost, those families who are still grieving, those who are injured, and those who responded. They all stood up—they all stood up to make sure that whether you came from New Zealand or from offshore, we looked after you and this was a place that you could call home. Sadly, some of those people now call this their permanent home.

I was sitting in the airport and saw the pictures unfold across the television. The private secretary at that time was a man by the name of Stefan Weir—well known to many in this House. Without even looking or blinking, I turned around to talk to him and he had already run out on to the airstrip to stop a plane—that could have ended horribly by the way, but he ran out because he noticed an Air Force plane and he stood in front of it to stop it. He convinced the pilots—I don’t know how, but he must have had a bit of whitebait in his bag!—to fly us to Wellington and to pick up the Prime Minister after a briefing and head on to Whakatāne.

It was one of those occasions where I had the good fortune of sitting alongside our then Prime Minister, Dame Jacinda Ardern, to witness, firsthand, her poise, her calm, and her ability to discern what needed to happen at that point in time. For anybody who has been in those situations—if you can imagine—we walked into a room where there would have been north of 60 advisers and support staff. Well, the Prime Minister then turned to me and said, “Peeni, surely not everybody needs to be here.” So I stood up and asked, “Right, hands up if you are this, this, this, or this.”; everybody put their hand up. The hard part of that was actually making sure that we had the right people to fulfil the hard task ahead of us. The images and the work that we got through on that day will for ever be burnt in my memory. It was a particularly tough time. It’s a time that, when I reflect upon it, will be something that we will, no doubt, continue to talk about long into the future.

There is a lot I can say about the Civil Defence portfolio, but one thing I know is sure: our first responders in this country are amazing people. From the top of the North to the bottom of the South, regardless of what the issue might be, they are the ones who—as everybody runs away from the emergency—are the ones running towards it.

In 2017, I found myself the Minister for Whānau Ora. It was a tough initiation, you can imagine. My auntie Dame Naida Glavish, my other auntie Dame Iritana, my other auntie Dame Tariana, and my other auntie Dame Areta all of a sudden didn’t talk to me anymore. In fact, they were quite explicit. They rang the Prime Minister and said, “We want a meeting.” The meeting sort of went like this—I don’t know, I wasn’t invited, but I certainly heard about it afterwards—they said, “We don’t want Peeni as a Minister, he’s not good enough.” And then they came out and had a cup of tea with me and said, “How’s the whānau, boy?” Anyway, after that meeting, we were able to see past our differences and look towards a kaupapa that I believe is truly revolutionising the way that we look after families here in Aotearoa, not just for Māori but for one and all.

We invested heavily in Whānau Ora, and it couldn’t have come at a better time as we looked towards the response during COVID. I’m proud of the work that we did. We looked towards breaking barriers across silos in public sectors to make sure that when somebody needed help, their entirety was served—not just the immediate action that they needed then and there but in a holistic approach that made sure that not only did we look after one, we looked after their entire whānau.

I’m really proud of the time I was an associate housing Minister. We had record investment in homes across the country. I made it a point that, regardless of whether or not we were opening one home or many homes, it was my job to be there to celebrate with whānau who moved into them. Why? Because I firmly believe, today, that when people have somewhere warm, dry, and safe to live, it will transform the wellbeing of that family and, indeed, the face of that community. I travelled in some of the most rural places around the country and, of course, in urban settings, and I’m proud to say that the work we did there continues today under my tuakana Tama Potaka—thank you.

Mr Speaker, I was fortunate to be the defence Minister, and you’ll know this to be true: the Defence Force looks to you and tries to discover which one is your spirit service. Of course, the competition is fierce across the army, the navy, and the air force. It just so happened, because of my whakapapa and my grandfather, that the army won out. As a lieutenant colonel who returned the 28th Māori Battalion, it went without saying that I had a particular fondness for the army. In that time, I managed to witness the amazing work of our Defence Force personnel here in New Zealand and, indeed, around the world. I couldn’t think of a better force to continue to look after its citizens and our country during these particularly challenging times. They are amazing people. Most people, when they think about defence, think about ships and guns. What I ask is for everybody in this House to think about people. They are people—they are people—and they are amazing people.

So that was a particular portfolio that I enjoyed. It gave me the opportunity to engage on an international stage. It was a stage that I relished, a stage that I enjoyed, and I made some amazing friends. One of them is the current Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Richard Marles. I can tell a story, and I’m sure he won’t mind: after a particular conference in Cambodia, it was our job to, of course, go and play golf. While on the golf course—Mr Marles, for those of you who know, is an exceptional golfer. In fact, I showed up two minutes before tee time; he actually showed up two hours before to warm up. Straight off the tee, he proved that he was going to win the day. None the less, we continued with the day and as one of my many slices made it close to the edge and into the rough, he happened to land his ball not too far from mine. As we both chatted and walked towards our balls, I noticed a snake on the ground. It’s the only time I was scared in front of an Australian. To his credit, Richard Marles literally grabbed the snake and threw it away. I said, “Thank you, Richard.”, but still took a drop somewhere else.

It’s those memories that I carry with me beyond this place. In my maiden speech, I called Parliament “an august institution”. With all of my heart, I still believe that to be true. I have seen this place work hard for the benefit of this country. I see it as a true mechanism of change, and we must protect it as a bastion of representative democracy when the world is turning against it. I am not surprised to see, however, the waning of trust and belief in this institution. We have a role and a responsibility, each and every one of us, to rebuild that trust.

Can I impart some of my thoughts on this matter: this House must make our select committees a true platform of refining and making legislation representative and truly allowing the voice of the people to be heard. I also believe that we must work to devolve power to communities and families. The minute we release that power responsibly, our communities will thrive and grow. We must move beyond “gotcha”-style politics and actually engage across parties with mana and integrity. It sounds old-fashioned, I know, but he mana tō te kupu [words are binding]. My ancestors believed a word is binding and means something. Many times in this House I have heard my ancestor Meri Ngāroto, of the Far North, quoted. She uttered the phrase that many in this House have used: “He aha te mea nui o tēnei ao? Māku e kī atu, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.”

[“What is the most important thing in this world? I will tell you, it is people, it is people, it is people.”]

I want to remind everybody in this House that we must humanise this House. We must make sure that we don’t stand here out on an island but, more importantly, as a community that looks towards the welfare and prosperity of this country.

In conclusion, to my family: to my son, I look forward to supporting you in your health career. I apologise for the fact that while I was a Minister, you had to listen to all of your colleagues giving you advice to hand on to your father. I love you, Tawera, and I’m here for you. To my daughter Tahunakura Uruwhakareia Henare, I can’t wait to be your biggest cheerleader on the sidelines of all that you do. You have sacrificed much, and I want you to know that I love you. To my baby Maraea Te Aweawe o Te Rangi Henare, I look forward to seeing you grow and blossom into an amazing wahine toa. I love you.

E te tau, e takutāringa [To my partner, my darling], for too long, my dreams have been your dreams. It is now time for your dreams to be our dreams. I look forward to the next chapter and all that it will bring.

To my mum, Te Hemoata Henare, thank you for teaching me patience and resilience. To my siblings, I look forward to—someday soon, perhaps—standing in the ranks of the haka whānau of Waerenga Te Kaha. In the second row, of course; oh no, maybe the middle front row. Hoi anō.

Nearly 11 years ago, my father left my office in this very building for the final time. It was a particularly difficult time, but I am so glad that we were able to take him home, where he lies beside his beloved mother and all of our whānau who have passed beyond the veil. I say to him: thank you. Thank you for being a guiding hand as I felt your wairua with me on this epic journey. It is now time for us to go home. I suspect that I won’t be the last Henare, however, to stand in this House and represent our whānau and our people. Until such time, we will return to support them. Pāpā, me hoki tāua.

[Father, let us return.]

In my time here, I made 545 speeches, and I said 716,675 words in this House—all of huge mana and integrity! I’ve been asked to withdraw and apologise once by Speaker Rurawhe—I’ll be taking that up with him!—and, of course, the wee matter of a haka that was addressed by the Privileges Committee. As I have done many times in this House and, indeed, around marae across the country, I say: Mr Speaker, tēnā koe. Ki te Whare e noho nei, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Mr Speaker, my acknowledgments to you. To everyone here in the House, I acknowledge you all.]

Applause

Waiata—I Taku Tūranga Ake

Haka

SPEAKER: The House stands adjourned until 7.30.

Sitting suspended from 5.55 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.