Speech start: 00:00:13
MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore) : E te Whare, tēnā koe. E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi o ngā hau e whā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. To the leaders, to the many voices, to all the diverse people and communities of the four winds, I honour and respect and greet you all. I acknowledge you, Mr Speaker, my parliamentary colleagues, and Sir Don McKinnon. I am indeed honoured to be one of the 26 new members of this 50th Parliament, which, more than any other before it, best represents us: the rich, cultural, and ethnic diversity that is modern New Zealand. Greetings to all my friends up there in the public gallery who made the effort to come along here today. Thank you very much for all your ongoing support. Thank you too to the National Party, to the president, to the board members, to Peter Kiely, and to those assembled—the loyal stalwarts. Many from the North Shore have made the journey here today; many others are watching it on the television or the podcast—there are so many ways to get involved in this auspicious occasion. I acknowledge you all with gratitude. Special thanks go to my North Shore team. I stand here today because of your accumulated wise advice, your enthusiasm, and your tenacity. A year ago, many of you did not even know me, and I am humbled by the loyalty, the trust, and the faith that you all had in me to deliver for the electorate your treasure, your taonga.
Heartfelt thanks to my partner, Grant. We met during an Outward Bound course, which turned out to be an excellent training ground for the campaign trail. Grant has been my mainstay and my No. 1 supporter, and I most certainly would not be here without him. All my love as a mother goes out to my son, Joe. He has taught me more about life in the past 14 years than anyone else ever has. I am incredibly proud of him and very thankful that he is here with us today. My boy, Joseph Vincent, was named after his two grandfathers. On my side we hailed from Counties Cork and Kerry, and my son’s father, Paddy Marron, was born in County Monaghan. Paddy, who is up there in the gallery next to our son, Joe, arrived here in New Zealand from the Emerald Isle on the good ship Southern Cross. It was the very day of his third birthday, and he was clamouring for his presents, as they do. His father told him that he was giving him a very special gift: a new start, and a new life, in a new country. My people were farmers, and this was their land of opportunity too. They were practical people who worked the land and, much like myself, were fond of reinvention and recycling.
Actually, as the crow flies I have not come very far at all—about half a kilometre, really, from where I was born in Tinakori Road. These parliamentary buildings—the precinct, as they are known—were always part of the backdrop of my life. It was my favourite shortcut into town through the leafy grounds, past the statues of the great and the good. I went to Sacred Heart School, the convent primary school across the road from here in Guilford Terrace. My family went to mass at the Basilica in Hill Street, which is the church where my parents were married, where I was baptised, and where we held both of their funerals.
My mother, Agnes, was the first single woman the Bank of New South Wales had ever given a business loan to. She opened her florist shop round the corner from here, in Molesworth Street, in 1939, the age of the corsage, the funeral wreath, and the American soldiers—all very good for building what became a highly successful business. Raised on a farm in the Depression years, Mum was a hard worker, and to save enough money for her first home she also ran a boarding house, and as part of her wartime duty she worked nights at the glove and munitions factory. On weekends she was the mainstay of the dig for victory vegetable garden team here in Thorndon. To borrow the Sam Hunt line, I am the fruit of old loins. Mum had me, her only child, when she was 43. Never one to peak too early, she later learnt to play golf—hitting a hole in one at the age of 72. Agnes was a remarkable and a determined woman, who taught me many things, including the value of a strong work ethic, the importance of trying your best if you want to achieve the things that matter, and never ever giving in on what you really believe in. In her later years she taught me how to live in the moment, which was perhaps one of her greatest gifts to me.
David, the old man, had a sharp mind and a quick temper. He was very fond of a drink and an argument, and I learnt early on to justify my point of view, or keep quiet. These are skills I feel will come in very handy in this Chamber. Dad had falsified his age to enlist to fight in World War II. He was keen to serve his country, as his father, Edward, had before him at Gallipoli. I was raised to believe that in peacetime the highest form of public service is to be a member of Parliament. I know that they would all be very proud of me standing here today in this Chamber as the first politician in my family.
My forebears picked this extraordinary country as the place they wanted to call home, and now my family and I have chosen to cross the harbour and be part of the North Shore community. It is a great privilege for me to be here today representing them, following in the footsteps of such honourable men as George Gair and Wayne Mapp. And I am breaking in some new ground of my own, becoming National’s first-ever woman MP north of the harbour bridge. I was born in the year it opened, in 1959, and I can assure you that we will not be waiting around patiently for another 52 years for a second harbour crossing. The North Shore is defined by water—the glorious Waitematā Harbour, the Hauraki Gulf, and the freshwater playground of Lake Pupuke. Shore people work and play on the margins between the ocean and the land. We enthusiastically sail, windsurf, paddleboard, swim, and fish. There is a sense of satisfaction, really, in being different from either our big city or our rural neighbours. There is a tangible sense that we are indeed fortunate to be still enjoying that “end of the golden weather” lifestyle that was made famous by local playwright Bruce Mason. Laid back—yes, indeed—but never lacking when it comes to energy and vision.
The North Shore is an unashamedly aspirational community. We have a rich cultural history and the mountains in Devonport were amongst the earliest areas of Auckland to be settled. It was occupied by Māori from the 1300s, European settlers, with their colonial architecture, began arriving from the mid-1800s, and there was a permanent naval presence by 1841—still strong to this day. Gradually farming was overtaken by shipbuilding, and now tourism and appreciative visitors are a substantial and increasing source of income, as they catch the ferry across from the city to sample the pleasures and diverse heritage of Devonport. Takapuna translates as “the rock with a spring”. Against the background of some of the finest beaches in the country springs a strong commercial drive, and along with a handful of multimillion-dollar businesses, the North Shore is home to more than 10,000 small-sized businesses. I pledge to help them overcome any hurdles and to grow their opportunities. Reflecting modern New Zealand, we are a culturally diverse community, with nearly 10,000 Asians making up more than 15 percent of our numbers. As their elected representative, I pledge to do all I can to continue to build on their successes, and to work with other MPs from neighbouring electorates. The Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman has been of enormous help to me, and I look forward to working with him more closely in the future, and with Nikki Kaye as well.
The North Shore people reward excellence, and we look after our own with the AIMES Awards. We love to crow about our local heroes, our literary greats: Sargeson, Fairburn, Tuwhare, and Mason. There is no certainly no shortage of sporting greats, either, to celebrate: Sir Peter Blake, Ian Ferguson, Ralph Roberts, Buck Shelford, Allison Roe, Kirk Penney and the New Zealand Breakers, Jacko Gill—I could go on; the roll-call does not stop there. As the MP for North Shore, I am committed to building on that outstanding record, and focusing on achieving our aim of becoming the New Zealand centre for high performance sport. North Harbour is already home to the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health, and I would like to acknowledge and commend the hard work and determination of my colleague in the adjoining electorate of East Coast Bays, the Hon Murray McCully. I enthusiastically endorse the proposed National Ocean Water Sports Centre on Takapuna beach. The NOWSC centre will be a world-class training facility to develop up-and-coming athletes across the four codes of yachting, windsurfing, kayaking, and ocean swimming. I commit to helping overcome any hurdles in the formation of that centre.
The most commonly asked question of me in the past year has been: “Why on earth would you leave the wholesome pursuit of plants and go into the dirty business of politics?”. My erstwhile colleagues in the media had a field day when I said I was standing for Parliament: “Gardener of the nation takes on the parliamentary jungle.” There were references to “weeding out the opposition”. Malodorous and odious comparisons were made between MPs and mushrooms, both thriving in perpetual darkness and nourished on manure, and although I do expect that some manure will come my way, I certainly did not come here to be kept in the dark and fed a load of rubbish. Of course, I am not exactly gaining ground by this shift into politics. In last year’s Reader’s Digest most trustworthy professions, poll firefighters came in first, as usual—and fair enough too—journalists came in 38th out of 39, just above real estate agents, and politicians did not even feature in the 40, so I am staying in familiar unpopular territory.
I have known this Chamber for the past 30 years as a broadcaster and as a journalist, reporting and questioning the not always so honourable members. For all of those whose antics and machinations provided me with that bumper harvest to feed upon, you know who you are and I thank you kindly. I know firsthand from my days in radio and television news about the daily grind of finding news stories within tight deadlines, and I think on the whole the New Zealand media work hard, do a good job, and I congratulate them. But after 30 years of being part of the tribe that reports from sidelines, asking what and why and how, I decided the time was now right for me to step inside the legislative tent and to make a different contribution to the country that has given me so much.
As well as being a strong voice for the North Shore, there are also wider goals I am aiming to achieve in my time in this place. It is fair to say that I have some experience in broadcasting, and thanks to my family I have more than a passing interest in the health sector, having led a review into maternity services and palliative care, and being involved with Hospice New Zealand. During my mother’s 10-year decline with dementia I saw with sadness too many older people in residential care who did not have family around, and were without advocates to keep an eye on them. Our elderly deserve dignity and protection. I believe they have earned our respect and we certainly would not be the society that we are today without them. I agree with John Key that the measure of a civilised society is how we treat our vulnerable: our very young and our very old, and the one in five New Zealanders with disability.
Given my green-fingered background and lifelong love of plants, I hope that my knowledge and skills may be helpful to shape our environmental and conservation goals. Producing and presenting the garden show for 12 years on television gave me privileged access to people’s lives. Some of them were overwhelmed and daunted by the sheer scale of the planet’s problems, but personally I never doubted that saving the world starts in your own backyard. I share the views of many, that we are only the custodians of this land and the guardians, the kaitiaki, of our grandchildren’s heritage. We have to be vigilant and face up to our responsibilities and our woeful environmental track record. Over many days, over many decades, we have let too many introduced pests decimate our native plants, we have not treated our oceans and our waterways with the respect they deserve, and I want to be part of the Government that puts that right. As the convenor of this year’s up-and-coming Bluegreens Forum, we will be making progress on these issues, and I am excited to be involved in shaping the agenda for discussion around the country’s environmental and conservation concerns. I remain convinced we can both grow our economy and manage our environment better, and that improving the economy must not and need not be at the expense of the environment.
But in these troubled times we need to explore all our potential advantages—to tap into that famous traditional Kiwi ingenuity, increase our dairy production and returns, while looking to limit the adverse effect on water quality. In the 20 years I had my garden show business I travelled all over the world visiting over a thousand gardens. It was a dream job and I loved the places I went, but this is my home. New Zealand is my tūrangawaewae. I know where I stand. This is where I belong, and for me I am at my most patriotic about my homeland, and, believe me, I am not about to let anybody harm it. When I walk with the kauri, the pōhutukawa, and the tree ferns, these are my precious inhabitants of my “Cathedrals of Green”. I intend to work very hard on my select committees: the Finance and Expenditure Committee and the Local Government and Environment Committee. I will personally welcome the opportunities to work constructively with politicians from other parties to secure the best outcome.
But ultimately I did not want to join Labour’s ranks, or become a Green Party MP. My values are different. I stood for National because I believe we have the right financial policies to see us through these troubled times. I agree with our goals. My mother and father raised me to believe that hand in hand with individual freedom comes personal responsibility, and that people sometimes do need a hand up, but a lifetime of handouts is not the answer. As a mother I am raising my teenage son with the same values, because I believe that they are as relevant today as they were when our party was founded 75 years ago. My constituents will always have my first loyalty, and I will do my very best to represent their interests with courage and with energy. I will be a strong voice for the North Shore, and I am very ambitious for my electorate. It is a privilege to begin my service to them today as their member of Parliament. Thank you.
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Speech start: 00:15:23
IAN McKELVIE (National—Rangitīkei) : I rise with a sense of great history to present my maiden speech to Parliament. My Rangitīkei electorate has had a representative in this House for 150 years. My family have lived in the lower Rangitīkei for 160 years, and I am the 27th person to come here as a representative of the Rangitīkei electorate.
I am following some great people into this House, and I want to particularly take this opportunity to acknowledge the wonderful role my predecessor, Simon Power, played in the affairs of both the Rangitīkei electorate and New Zealand. He made his mark here, and left an impression that will last a long time. Simon is a man who in his time in politics was able to bridge the divide that the Westminster system of democracy creates. I sincerely hope that in my time here I may be able to encourage consensus that sees this House able to make the best possible decisions for our collective futures.
I wish to thank all those who have helped make my first few weeks in this place as easy as possible. From all those security people, who look after us on a daily basis, to the Prime Minister, they have been of great assistance. I wish to thank those who have helped me get here, particularly those who supported me during the election campaign, both with the campaign and with my induction into the National Party. A special thanks goes to my wife of 38 years, Sue—she is my No. 1 campaigner—and to our family, Diana, Cam, and Rachel; to Angus and Harri; to my mother, Rosemary; and to two brothers and a sister, who are sitting in the audience today and who have put up with many hours of following, filling in for, making excuses for, and supporting me in my somewhat unexpected career path to date. This career path was probably instilled in my blood by my father, John, a shy man who enjoyed politics and played a part in local government in all too short a life.
It is appropriate to acknowledge my near neighbours Iain Lees-Galloway and the Hon Chester Borrows, who represent the cities that will help forge the future for the people of the Rangitīkei electorate, for without strong leadership from our cities, rural New Zealand suffers. I must also acknowledge Tariana Turia, whose electorate covers the Rangitīkei and beyond and who is hugely respected for the work she does for our people.
The Rangitīkei electorate—for those who need to know—contains 4.5 million sheep, 400,000 beef cattle, 175,000 dairy cows, and 63,000 people, of whom 28 percent are Māori. We are also the home to the North Island ski fields, Tongariro National Park, the home bases of the New Zealand Army at Linton and Waiōuru, the Air Force at Ōhākea, and New Zealand’s largest university in Massey. Our electorate contains the brainy part of Palmerston North, stretches over 300 kilometres north to Taumarunui, and contains some of New Zealand’s most beautiful scenery. It also contains the bulk of New Zealand’s fragile hill country, ensuring that the activities of our regional council are critical to the future of that sector.
My driver throughout my public life to date has been to create a better place for future generations of my family and yours to live and work in. I am a sixth-generation New Zealander and have eighth-generation grandchildren, and I hope that my family will still be here enjoying our wonderful but different country in eight generations’ time.
I will give you a brief synopsis of my life to date before getting into the things that really matter to me and those who encouraged me to aspire to a stint in our Parliament. My family have lived within 2 kilometres of the place I live in since 1850. They have lived in the house I live in since 1900. We are Rangitīkei people. I was educated a pony ride—2 kilometres away on a metal road—from home, before going on to boarding school for the rest of my school life. This was followed by a short stint at Massey University, where I learnt a lot but passed little. I then farmed for quite a time before venturing into the commercial world via the motor industry with two very good friends of mine—and they have survived too and are both here today, as well. This, in turn, led to involvement as a director of various insurance, property, finance, and farming entities. One of those was the Farmers’ Mutual Group, or FMG—the pre-eminent rural insurer in New Zealand—which, despite the events of the past year and a half, is still a very strong and much-needed entity in our industry.
Some 9 years ago I was elected as Mayor of the Manawatū District following 4 years as president of the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand. My election as mayor taught me so much about the people and things that matter to them, about how to get communities working well, and about disaster, as we were hit by the massive 2004 floods and storms and needed a very large—at the time—recovery package put in place by the Government of the day. It also opened doors for me, and I am currently chairman of Special Olympics New Zealand, a position that has taught me so much about the disability sector in New Zealand. In my life to date I have also been president or chairman of various racing clubs, A and P shows, rugby clubs, our local schools, and a number of other community-based organisations.
Enough on me and on to why I am here. I was offered an opportunity to stand for the Rangitīkei electorate seat when Simon Power unexpectedly resigned. It was something I had never aspired to, but it seemed logical that I would take what I have learnt to date and use it in an effort to better our lives as New Zealanders. Those learnings are as follows. My time in agriculture has left me in no doubt that we will always be one of the world’s most efficient food producers, and we will continue to have a very important role to play in feeding pieces of the world as its population grows rapidly. To continue to achieve this, there are a number of issues that we must give attention to. The environment, our people, and our agriculture must travel hand in hand as we grapple with the effects we humans have had on our landforms, our rivers, and our natural heritage. Ecological sustainability is the key to the future of agriculture and our economic fortunes, and whether dealing with genetic engineering or the emissions trading scheme—particularly related to the food production sector or to the environment—we must use the very best science available to us to resolve these matters. They must be resolved expeditiously, and it is vital for our country’s future well-being that we invest heavily in this area.
Agriculture in New Zealand has had a financial battering over the past decade and must be treated carefully or it could still fail us. It needs nurturing not with cash but with sensible, well-trained policy. Agriculture in recent years in New Zealand has not had a sufficient level of profitability to reinvest in its future through science and innovation. I am delighted to see the Government taking action in this area, and look forward to the sector being able to play its part as well. Whilst on agriculture I want to make a plea for us not to encourage, through suspect policy, the planting of pine trees on land that can be used for food production. Pine trees are difficult to eat, and they are certainly difficult to get income out of, as well.
I also urge you as a Parliament to give time and thought to our equine industry. We are good at horses. It is international in almost every sphere of equine activity, and it has great potential if nurtured in the correct manner. The horse, particularly through the racing and breeding industry, is a very large employer in this country, and I have yet to see a robot riding one—Mark Todd aside—or a computer mucking out a stable. Encouraging the equine sector to work with each other in a unified manner could boost this sector significantly as an export earner.
Rural New Zealand, its towns and its people, is very important to our futures, and we must endeavour to keep people living throughout our country. It is not in the national interest to push our population north. We must encourage people to live in our small rural towns and on our farms. To do this we must carefully consider the ramifications of much of our policy making, as often small changes can improve the lot of those people dramatically. And I refer particularly to the manner in which telecommunications, electricity, education, health, law and order, and transport services are delivered to rural New Zealand. An example of that is the poor supply of electricity to parts of New Zealand. It is a major inhibitor to economic growth, with a number of areas in my electorate not having sufficient supply to enable new cowsheds or irrigation schemes to operate efficiently. Part of the reason for this has been a lack of sufficient land use planning throughout our history, really—a factor that must be corrected. Another factor that is easy to overlook but which is a very important factor in an electorate like Rangitīkei is the time our children spend on the school bus, and 2 to 3 hours a day is not uncommon in my electorate—hence the ferociousness with which rural communities defend their small schools.
Briefly on the matter of our broader economy, a topic that I think we need to have some serious discussion on is our poor understanding of risk—how to evaluate it and how to manage it. This is one of the factors behind the increase in the cost of local government to our community and to businesses, and is driven, to some extent, by our interpretation of the Building Act, the Resource Management Act, and occupational health and safety, among other things. Without capacity to understand, manage, and utilise risk, businesses struggle to expand. Most of the great businesses in the world took significant calculated risk to grow.
I do not believe we should take anything for granted in life. I do not think we have any rights in life, property or otherwise. We must earn them. I have a strong belief in what I call social order or justice, and that often means that those who have should give a hand up to those who have not. Where I come from, unhappy people do not make a happy workforce, and our country cannot operate effectively with an unhappy workforce. To achieve this we must have a strong, progressive economy, enabling us to pay what a person is worth. We can no longer allow the well-off to claim on the welfare systems by hiding income or assets. There is no place in New Zealand society for greed, and we have seen and suffered from plenty of that in the last few years.
Through family experience, and more recently through my role as chairperson of Special Olympics New Zealand, I have a particular interest in the lives and circumstances of our disabled community. There is an estimated 55,000 people born with an intellectual disability in this country, a large majority of whom are males. There are nearly a quarter of a million physically disabled New Zealanders. We know that investment in this sector produces significant gains for the people and families involved and for our country as a whole. I will continue my strong advocacy for these New Zealanders and support them in their efforts to achieve better life expectancy and make a greater contribution to our society.
Sport and recreation is one of the gems in life—without it we do not survive—and we must continue to encourage young and old alike to participate in all levels of physical activity. To do this, some key changes are needed to our traditional thinking around sporting infrastructure. We need diverse, climate-immune facilities and we need to be able to provide easy access for people who wish to exercise from home—for example, walking, biking, and boarding. I call it door-to-door exercise, and to achieve this our communities must be safe and our infrastructure must be safe, well planned, and well maintained.
One could not have spent 9 years in local government without acknowledging there must be a better way, and there is and it does not involve dramatic change. In past years local government has struggled with the costs of implementing legislation passed on to it by central government. A good deal of it came care of the stringent but expansive conditions placed on councils by the Local Government Act 2002. There are, at the same time, many talented and able people doing a wonderful job in what is a complex and very demanding sector. I can only commend the Prime Minister for elevating the local government portfolio to an important place in Cabinet, and I think it is the first time I recall it being in Cabinet for some years. I wish Minister Smith all the best as he confronts the many challenges that lie before local authorities throughout New Zealand.
In this country we are seriously testing our talented people resources by the number of governance bodies we have created, and as a consequence we have the requirement for large numbers of chief executives, chief financial officers, and elected members or directors. Many of these are becoming specialised positions, often prescribed by law, and we need to ensure we use our talented people to the best possible advantage. We should also bear in mind that letters after one’s name are not necessarily a prerequisite for success in life. There is no question that the further we spread the talent pool in New Zealand, the lesser the talent we have available.
I am in awe of this place and its history, but was surprised on opening day when Parliament emptied out as our leaders spoke. Whatever our political persuasion, we owe each other the common courtesy of at least listening once in relative calmness. You cannot fool the people. Respect and common old good manners are still valued by most in this country, and they watch us closely through our friends—the media.
People are everything in life. Without each other we are nothing. No matter what race, creed, sex, age, or ability—mental or physical—everyone in this wonderful country must be cared for and encouraged to achieve their best. There is no left and right in good health, educational opportunity, having work, or preventing violence to one another. To achieve this, we must have an inclusive Government and take the people with us.
I am a great believer in protocol and tradition. It puts some order and discipline in our lives, and on that basis I wish to congratulate you, Mr Speaker, and your team of deputies on your appointments. Although I am absolutely sincere in this, it does remind me a little of dropping off a leg of lamb for the banker. Mr Speaker and fellow members of this great establishment, despite being written off as being too old and not expected to shine by some Australian tip sheet, I hope in my time here to make a contribution to New Zealand, and I hope that when I get to leave, and I hope to choose that time, that our country is a better place to live in. Thank you.
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Speech start: 00:30:53
MARK MITCHELL (National—Rodney) : I stand before you today filled with pride at being given the opportunity by the people of Rodney to represent them in this, our 50th Parliament, and I am honoured to be addressing the House for the first time. Mr Speaker, I congratulate you on your reappointment to the high office of Speaker. You have already been recognised across this House for your sound judgment and fairness, and I look forward to being under your guidance in this Chamber.
Mr Speaker, you have been Minister of Education, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Tourism, and Minister for International Trade during your career, and oversaw the producer board reform that ultimately led to the creation of Fonterra and Zespri Group Ltd. You launched our successful “100% Pure” marketing campaign, which was a global success. But perhaps most important, you were the original instigator of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. You are also renowned for your singing voice, and your annual concert in Rodney is an event constituents look forward to every year. I have made a commitment to continue with this concert, and although I feel my own voice is pretty good I have been assured by those closest to me that I need to find another way of keeping that tradition alive.
I live in Ōrewa, in the heart of the Rodney electorate. Rodney is a wonderful part of New Zealand, stretching from Albany Heights, Wainui, and Dairy Flat in the south, to Warkworth, Matakana, and Leigh in the north. We have been blessed with the beautiful Hibiscus and Kowhai coasts, stunning regional parks like Shakespear Regional Park, Wenderholm, and Mahurangi, and we are home to two marine reserves, one of which, Goat Island, was the first in New Zealand. The new Northern Motorway has brought Auckland closer to Rodney, and our towns in the south of the electorate are experiencing strong growth while still retaining their unique character. Further north, our communities are more rural. Some have become famous, like Pūhoi for its pub and cheese factory, or Waiwera for its geothermal hot pools. We have the charm and history of Warkworth, world-class wine trails, great schools, strong communities, and a real pride in our beautiful part of New Zealand.
However, there are challenges ahead and I am focused on finding solutions that will allow us to develop our infrastructure and services in step with our population growth. This includes the Pūhoi to Wellsford motorway extension and the Penlink development, and I will work hard on common-sense policies and legislation that will encourage investment and growth in our local businesses and economy.
I would like to acknowledge my superb campaign team, who worked incredibly hard, who did the basics superbly, combined with innovative ideas, and really took the campaign to our opponents. I know many of you are gathered around the TV today in Warkworth and Ōrewa, and although I cannot mention everyone, you know that our result was a testament to your drive, passion, and belief in the National Party values and vision for a brighter future. I would like to make special mention of our electorate chair, Jennie Georgetti, and campaign chair, John Evans. Your determination and will were contagious. Thanks also to our regional executive, Alan Towers and Stephen McElrea. Stephen, your solid, dependable advice and guidance was of great assistance to a new candidate. Thanks to our National campaign team who provided a steady rudder and reliable compass to us all, and to president Peter Goodfellow and our board of directors for your support, guidance and counsel.
I was born on the North Shore of Auckland and spent my first years living on the Whenuapai Airbase. My dad was a flight lieutenant, flying Orions in No. 3 squadron. My mum was the daughter of the base commander, Air Commodore Frank Gill—my grandfather—who was also the National Party MP for East Coast Bays, Minister of Health, and Minister of Defence, and our New Zealand Ambassador to Washington. Dad managed to catch the eye of my mum at a base dance and the rest, as they say, is history.
One of the great lessons I learnt early from my dad was about not giving up. When the inaugural Auckland Star Takapuna to Rangitoto race was cancelled due to bad weather, Dad decided to make the swim anyway. He battled strong winds and swells to complete a difficult swim. He won the race and set the best time. Being the only competitor did not matter. Because my mum was the daughter of a career air force officer and spent her childhood on different postings around the world, when she was finally able to settle in one place she nested. There were four of us kids, but our house was always filled with orphans whom Mum would take under her wing. I learnt early that not everyone is born into a loving, caring home, and that when we can help, we should.
I am from Irish Catholic, English, and Canadian stock, with my ancestors arriving in New Zealand from 1860 through to 1919. I was educated at Rosmini College in Auckland, a Catholic school, whose motto is “Legis plentido charitas”—charity fulfils the law. A Google search of social justice will result in the name of Father Antonio Rosmini, the original founder of the school. I am a strong advocate of social justice. However, I reject claims that social justice and conservatism are exclusive of one another. On leaving school I went farming in the central North Island. I was lucky enough to be given my first job by Gary Ramsay, who is here today in the gallery. Farming taught me what long hours of hard physical work and graft were all about. Our farmers and our rural sector is where our No. 8 wire attitude and common-sense approach to problem solving was born.
From my own time overseas in a competitive environment, I discovered that those problem-solving skills and “failure is not an option” attitude helped me stand out amongst the crowd. As a country we need to recognise the importance of these qualities and fight hard to retain them as part of our culture and psyche.
In 1989 I joined the New Zealand Police. I was a member of the dog section and armed offenders squad. I would like to acknowledge the officer in charge of the police dog training centre, Sergeant John Edmonds, who is here today. I was lucky enough to have been able to serve with you, and it is a great honour to have you present here today. My partner on the dog section was a small black German shepherd named Czar. When we graduated, our final report stated Czar was a natural-born police dog, and that if the team did not perform operationally, the handler should be replaced, not the dog. He loved children but did not have much time for adults. One of the first jobs we attended together put us head to head with an offender armed with a samurai sword, whose intent was to attack medical staff at Rotorua Hospital. During the arrest both Czar and I were stabbed—me through my right arm and Czar in the chest. We both recovered, although I never regained the full use of my arm.
I thank the Hon Judith Collins for the leadership she provided in making sure our police officers were given every tactical advantage and option available. Had Tasers been around in my day, I would have had a much better tennis swing. One thing I could see early in my career was the amount of damage gangs and organised crime did to our communities. Whether they be the Mongrel Mob, Hell’s Angels, or Asian triads, they are parasites living off the back of our communities and a bunch of low-life cowards. Hunting in packs, they rob, steal, rape, murder, intimidate, assault, and generally terrorise anyone unlucky enough to get in their way. Many of the social issues we face today are connected either directly or indirectly to the gang culture.
Our police service is now being led by leaders rather than managers. With morale the highest it has been for years and with the best police officers in the world we are on the right side of the ledger in continuing to tackle gangs and organised crime. Our brave men and women of all our emergency services have my full support, admiration, and gratitude for the services you provide our country. I make a commitment to my electorate that I will be strong on law and order and will support changes to bail laws that strengthen the rights and protection for victims of crime.
Our Rodney health services are very important, with a growing population and a high number of older people choosing to retire in Rodney. I support our locally driven initiatives, like the Rodney Health Trust and the Rodney Surgical Centre, which are providing local services for our communities. I am proud of how far we have come as a country in our understanding, caring, and tolerance of those suffering from a mental illness or depression. I was often asked if I was angry at the person who stabbed me, who at the time was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. No, I was not angry with him. He did not wake up one morning saying: “I want to be a paranoid schizophrenic.” He was ill with a sickness he did not want.
In 2000 I lost my younger brother, Sean. He was intelligent, the life of the party, an active member of the Auckland coastguard rescue team, and was diagnosed with manic depression. He wrote a letter to us, his family, and then swam into the Rangitoto Channel. We found him the next day washed up on Rangitoto Island. We love and miss you, Sean. I applaud John Kirwan and the courage it took to tell his own story about depression and the debilitating effects it can have. I am committed to supporting the mental health services in our communities.
In 2002 I resigned from the police to live a quiet life raising and training horses in Taupō. But fate had other plans, and in 2003 I found myself in Iraq as part of a small team establishing a safety and security programme for the newly formed interim Government. It was a tough year for me, because it was the first time in my life I was exposed to the ugliness of corruption and extreme ideologies in a country where there was very little regard for human life. The first election in Iraq had over 7,000 candidates for 235 parliamentary positions. Opposing candidates would dispose of each other with roadside bombs and hit squads. It helped me to put a little context around the teapot tapes last year. In 2005 I was asked to establish the Provincial Joint Operations Centre in southern Iraq. This was the command centre for all the newly formed Iraqi security forces. Iraq faces some very big challenges in its rebuild, but I was lucky enough to work with some very good men and women, and, where there are good men and women, there is hope.
In 2005 I was approached and asked to establish a security programme for a company that was providing food and life support to the coalition in Iraq. Seen as a legitimate target by al-Qaeda as they were supporting the Government, employees of the company were being attacked and killed. The security programme I put in place was successful and soon I was being approached by Governments, including the United States, Japan, and Australia, to assist with logistics and protective support in high-threat and difficult environments.
Although I have the deepest respect for organisations such as the United Nations, I also saw how difficult it was for big, bureaucratic organisations to move quickly when sometimes people needed protection and aid today, as it would be too late tomorrow. I am proud of the fact I was part of a dedicated team that formed an initiative backed by the World Economic Forum to create emergency logistics teams set up to deploy aid into areas struck by humanitarian disasters. I am proud that we led refugees out of Lebanon to safety when they were trapped in a war between Israel and Hezbollah, that we protected and supported scientists from the Hague to open and take evidence from mass graves in their case against Saddam Hussein, that we delivered food and medical supplies to flood-ravaged areas of Pakistan and ensured it got to the people who needed it, and that we were able to open up a supply chain to get food and medical supplies into Darfur and Mogadishu.
I have been a farmer, a policeman, a small business owner, and the founder of a successful global company. I understand the pressures they face, the responsibility they carry, and the importance that each one plays in the future of our country. But they cannot carry the weight by themselves. I believe that for the privilege of living in this beautiful country, regardless of when we arrived, we all have the same obligation, and that is to look for ways to contribute to New Zealand’s future.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge my family. To my wife, Peggy—I would not be standing here today delivering this maiden speech if it was not for your unconditional love and support. You have helped me achieve my dream, and I hope that I can help you achieve yours. To my children, Taylor, Spencer, and Jazlin—your father was taken away from you and New Zealand too early. Possum was the only sportsman in New Zealand to beat the Aussies in their own national championship seven times in a row—what a legend. But first and foremost, he was a loving and caring father. I will continue to do my best to provide you with the love and security that your father would have provided. To my daughter, Sylvie—yes, honey, it did feel like life had really begun for me when you came into this world, and I am proud of the caring young lady you are growing into. To my son, Nathan—you’re the man. Your energy and enthusiasm for life is contagious. To my sisters, Lissa and Tracey—I love you both. Thank you to my Auntie Francis and Uncle Rodney, and to Geoffrey and Lynda Bourne, for also being here.
I am back in the service of my country. There is no greater honour. Thank you.
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Speech start: 00:47:15
SIMON O’CONNOR (National—Tāmaki) : In 1854 this House met for the first time on the outskirts of Auckland. It consisted of just 37 people. Those 37 could scarcely imagine how New Zealand would change over the coming century and a half. Since that time 1,362 people have held seats in Parliament and each one has given a maiden speech. It is difficult to imagine how I might say something original, but I will give it a shot.
Maiden speeches seem to me a curious exercise. They are an introduction, a moment of history, and a statement for posterity all at once. They are also time for reflection at the beginning of a new chapter in which each of us can consider the events in our lives that have led us to this place at this point of time. I, like all who have stood in this House, have been asked many times why I decided to enter Parliament and politics. I have always noted that there was no one particular moment. It has been an organic process that has developed slowly over many years while working alongside people from all walks of life.
I have worked in many challenging environments, from prisons and homeless shelters, to rest homes and hospitals; from the streets of Brooklyn, New York, to the island of Taveuni in Fiji. In doing so, I have seen some of the best and worst aspects of humanity. I have sat with those mourning the dead, and celebrated the hope of a newborn child. I have encouraged those who suffer under the curse of drug addiction, counselled those who work on the streets, and listened to those off the streets who simply need to be heard. It has, for me, been the stories shared, the struggles endured, and the experiences lived that have drawn me more and more to this new opportunity to serve New Zealand here in this House.
The varied experiences that have filled my life thus far cause me to look forward to working for the great constituency of Tāmaki and engaging with its communities, from St Heliers to Glen Innes, Ōrākei to Glendowie, and all the suburbs in between. I love working with people and for people. It has defined my life to date, and I hope and expect it will do so far into the future.
I have come to Parliament with not only a desire to serve the people of this country, but also a conviction that ideas are powerful things. I believe that ideas, well articulated, can change the world. The importance of robust, rational debate is a passion of mine—one that requires the constant and consistent application of considered principles. I reject political fundamentalism where part of the truth is overemphasised at the expense of everything else. No great idea needs such a dishonest offence. Some might consider me optimistic to hope that in this auspicious Chamber there is still room for genuine debate and constructive discussion. About this I may be optimistic, but there are few things I think far more deserving of optimism than this place of thoughts and ideas, of discussions and debates. I hope that in the coming years I may contribute something to them all.
I seek to contribute because I am a proud New Zealander. I am a Kiwi through and through, having spent most—almost all—of my life in Whangarei and Auckland. There are those who question what it means to be a New Zealander. They suppose we lack an identity or lament that it is not what they would wish it to be. I have no time for such a myopic perspective. New Zealand has a clear and strong identity, which has grown and evolved over the centuries that have preceded us. Most Kiwis know who they are and what they stand for, and spend very little time worrying about labelling it. Some of our principles have changed over time, but the most important ones, our fundamental values, have not. The importance of family, hard work, personal responsibility, and a fair go for all remains central to who we are.
Of course one cannot stand in this room and speak of great Kiwi traditions without acknowledging our extraordinary democracy. I believe that New Zealand has the best democratic and constitutional structure in the world. I realise that this is not a thought that occurs to many people on a frequent basis, but this is probably more of a testament to its veracity than anything else. My belief in our constitution has arisen not from ideology or blind patriotism but from an appreciation developed over many years of observation and study. Democracy is not something that should ever be taken for granted.
At the heart of our constitution sits the Crown. It is an ingenious, ever-evolving entity that plays a role in so many aspects of our country. It is a valuable guardian of our democracy, a symbol of our independence, and a sign of our political resourcefulness. I am pleased to acknowledge today the 60 years of service that the Queen of New Zealand has given to all Kiwis. It is my hope that in the years ahead New Zealand may make its own monarchy ever more distinct and an even more uniquely Kiwi institution.
I suspect that most here today would agree that New Zealand is the greatest country on earth. But that is not to say it is a perfect nation. Again, I suspect that most here are cognisant of the many problems our society faces. Foremost among them is the scourge of violence in our society. If there is one general area to which I wish to apply my time and experience it is to ending, or at least greatly reducing, violence in our communities. Of course, there is no single solution, no quick fix. It is a perennial issue that has been grappled with by successive parliaments. I believe that this National-led Government is taking great steps in the right direction, but there is much work still to be done. Some is legislative, but the most difficult work is changing attitudes.
I fear that New Zealand accepts violence too easily. Aggression is celebrated, verbal and emotional abuse is tolerated in public discourse, and people are willing to turn a blind eye towards those suffering at the hands of bullies. The prevalence of domestic violence, violence against children, and the random acts of violence on our streets is a sad indictment of us all. I do not believe that it is a simple matter to resolve this tragedy, but neither do I feel that it is hopeless. Like all problems we face in New Zealand, we begin with a commitment to fix what is wrong, to persevere in what is required, and to accept only success. This is how we have tackled problems in our past, and this is what is required now to build a safe and secure society for all.
This room is full of leaders, representatives of their constituencies and communities. Their commitment to ending violence in our country is essential, but the work of many others outside this building is also required. Fortunately, New Zealand has no shortage of dedicated, principled, and energetic citizens. I feel it is important to recognise that none of us stands in this Parliament alone. We are born into a community, live in that community, and as individuals are at our strongest when we are in the midst of that community and those who matter the most.
There are many people to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude for their support and encouragement over the years and who have been very influential in my being here today. My parents, Rory and Colleen, are in the gallery this afternoon. A son could have not had better parents and my gratitude can only ever be a small measure of what I owe to them. If there is one lesson amongst the many they taught me and that I can bring to Parliament it is that love is not an economic commodity or one that is scarce when times are tough. Sitting with them are my siblings, Bernadette and Vincent. I am lucky to have such a great brother and sister. When required, they know how to put me in my place—a skill several people in this room will be interested in hearing about I am sure.
To my friends across this country and around the world, I would like to thank you for the insights and humour, lessons, and memories. William Yeats said: “Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends.” Truer words have not been spoken. To those friends here today, I say thanks to you and, through you, to all who could not be here. To Ben Lee, Charles and Leigh Hay, Lynne Francis and Sean Palmer, Gordon Pilot, to Paul Foster-Bell, Chloe Oldfield, Brian Anderton, Aaron Hape, and Paul Byers—thank you all for your help and encouragement over the years. I thank the Auckland University fencers for all the fun, the laughter, the debates, and the bruises. I am optimistic that my years of fencing may have well prepared me for the cut and thrust of this political place.
I acknowledge my caucus colleagues for the help and support that they have given me over the last few months. I would particularly like to thank Dr Jackie Blue and Dr Cam Calder, both of whom I have worked closely with over the past 6 years. The opportunity to be part of your electorates and to lead your campaign teams was great preparation for my own path to Parliament. I must also acknowledge my predecessor, Allan Peachey. His sad passing last year cut short the work he sought to undertake in this House. I want to recognise his family, and the kindnesses they have shown me as I have prepared to represent Tāmaki in this House.
Tāmaki is an electorate with a formidable story, a narrative known all over the country. I am conscious of the role I play in writing its next chapter, but fortunately I am not the sole author. I am pleased to work alongside the finest electorate team in New Zealand—Andrew Hunt, Christine MacFarlane, Jim McElwain, and Aaron Bhatnagar are here today. I am immensely proud to be your MP, and conscious of your expectations. I will not let you down. Ros Rundle, Adriana Gunder, Eric Hansen, Phil Martell, Simon King, Cher Reynolds, Mariana Nordmark, Sharon Ludher-Chandra, Todd Mulller, Dan Gardiner, Graham and Matt Malaghan, Kit Parkinson, and Cyrus Richardson form the electorate leadership team, but could not be here today. Without their help and support, I would not be either.
I am grateful to the National Party for the opportunities it has provided me. My commitment to our shared principles is absolute. I am conscious that my selection as an MP is both a privilege and a responsibility. The list of those who have helped guide me to this role is long, and I cannot thank each one by name, but I hope all of them know how much I appreciate their efforts and their friendships. I will thank in particular Alastair Bell and Alan Towers, Nicholas Albrecht, Josh Beddell, Alan Conlon, James Palmer, Murray Broadbelt, Chris King, and Scott Simpson, who was the first party figure with whom I spoke of my parliamentary aspirations. Scott, I am thrilled that we enter this 50th Parliament together.
It is an honour to be here as the member of Parliament for Tāmaki. It is a welcome opportunity to serve my constituency, to listen to their needs, and to articulate them here in this House. I look forward to the future in my new role but, in the finest conservative traditions, I will venture into that future with a clear understanding of, and respect for, the past. I will work hard to live up to the expectations of our first 37 parliamentarians who, 150 years ago, launched New Zealand’s democracy. I believe this 50th Parliament is the heir to all the hopes and dreams of the thousand MPs who have come before us. We are here today to build a better country, and I hope that those who occupy this House 150 years from now might look back upon us and say that we were successful. I can think of no greater honour than to know that I may have been a part of that.
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Speech start: 01:01:05
SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel) : Mr Speaker, congratulations on your re-election, and also to your fellow presiding officers on their appointment to roles overseeing the smooth and efficient conduct of our proceedings during this 50th Parliament of New Zealand. It is with a mixture of great pride, awe, and humility that I rise to speak as the new MP for Coromandel. I am very conscious of the huge honour I have been given by my party in being selected as a candidate, and of the even greater honour granted to me by the people of Coromandel in electing me to be their voice, their representative, their face, in this place. I acknowledge a fellow contestant for the seat, Catherine Delahunty, who sits in this House by virtue of the Green Party list.
Coromandel evokes in the minds of almost every New Zealander the very best images of the classic Kiwi summer—beautiful beaches, iconic bush, and natural scenery second to none in our country. Indeed, the peninsula proper is not only home to people who get to enjoy those gems on a daily basis, it is also the favoured holiday destination for tens of thousands of visitors each year, who now access and exit the area over our wonderful new Kōpū Bridge. No longer are they subject to long delays and frustrating traffic jams, and in fact a story published locally in Thames just last week commenting on how well the new bridge had coped with heavier than expected Waitangi weekend traffic summed it up beautifully with the simple headline “Thank you Mr Key”.
But the Coromandel electorate is more than just the Coromandel Peninsula. It includes the Hauraki Plains, our dairy heartland, through the scenic Karangahake Gorge to Waihī and Waihī Beach, and south to the jewel of the western Bay of Plenty, Katikati. It is a diverse electorate, an electorate with a rich heritage and a bright future.
It is an electorate mature in its demographic. We have the highest number of people aged between 50 and 64, and the second-highest number of people aged 64-plus of any electorate in New Zealand. When added together, those two age segments highlight a series of issues confronting us, not the least of which is how to encourage more young people to make Coromandel their home and to raise their families in our part of paradise.
The answer lies in economic development, jobs, and prosperity, and I am very pleased to be a member of a John Key - led Government committed to encouraging economic growth for provincial and rural New Zealand. I am looking forward to supporting existing well-established agricultural, fishing, tourism, and manufacturing businesses and to encouraging the establishment of new, innovative, and exciting enterprises. In particular, I am looking forward to the new opportunities to be created by an expansion of our already excellent aquacultural sector, which will bring further jobs and enterprise to our area.
My predecessor, Sandra Goudie, devoted herself unstintingly to the people of Coromandel. Today I pledge the same devotion in the hope that the aspiration she and I both have for Coromandel can and will be continuously advanced here in Parliament and within our wider community.
Although most of my working life has been in commerce and business, for the last few years I have had the very great privilege of being chief executive officer of the greatest little charity in New Zealand, Make-a-Wish. It is a charity devoted to a simple mission of granting the one cherished wish of children and young people coping with life-threatening, sometimes terminal, medical conditions. Members, let me assure you there can be no greater joy than to work in a job where literally, on a daily basis, you are a professional wish granter. It remains to be seen whether I will be able to transfer that skill set to this workplace.
Granting wishes to very ill youngsters taught me many things, most of which I guess I already knew, but some experiences certainly reinforced for me some simple life truths. Life is not fair. Bad stuff does happen. Bad stuff happens irrespective of family, circumstance, age, gender, wealth, or location. But on the other hand, small things count. Small gestures of kindness and goodwill have enormous power and magic not just for children and young people coping with dire medical conditions, but for all people, all humans, all mankind. These are things I hope never to forget during my time in this place.
Seventy-six years ago the National Party was formed by far-sighted people with a far-sighted national vision for a better New Zealand. Seventy-six years ago New Zealand was a new, pioneering nation still struggling to come to terms with the worst local and world economic depression ever known—a country still reeling from the human and emotional impacts of the Great War, where the sacrifice of young New Zealand blood was greater than a new, developing nation found tolerable to bear.
Both my grandfathers served at Gallipoli. Both eventually returned home, although one was wounded at Gallipoli, patched up, and then sent to fight on in France. The plaques adorning this Chamber stand as honourable tribute to that sacrifice and to subsequent further Kiwi sacrifice, silent but powerful reminders to each of us of the past high price paid by others for our freedom to be here today.
Many of those early National Party founders were the sons and daughters of immigrant pioneering families. Like the tangata whenua who had arrived centuries earlier, they came with little in the way of personal possessions. But they came with the greatest asset of all: a gritty, stubborn, and unshakable belief that through hard work, determination, and passion their dreams of a better life than the one they had left behind could be forged for their children and grandchildren in a new, little country, rich in natural resources, and blessed with a moderate climate and fertile soils.
Today we are all the beneficiaries of that determination, hard work, and foresight. Each member of this House has progressed a journey to be here. Some have been catapulted almost unexpectedly here. Others, like me, have watched the affairs of our Parliament from the sidelines for years, and many, like me, have been volunteer activists within our party organisational wings for far longer than we care to remember. I have done so since schooldays.
Active participation in our democracy is important, and although I have had my fair share of ups and downs, it will always be my advice to political friend or foe alike to get involved, be active, have your say, and always fight for what you believe in. Doing so may not always result in the outcomes sought, but doing so will mean that you have had the satisfaction of being a participant, rather than a mere observer who simply has to live with the result destined by those who did choose to step up and get involved.
For me the game started early, while I was still at school. The year was 1975—hard to believe, I know. Rob Muldoon was barnstorming his way to a huge victory over Labour. My hard-working parents were running the small 7-day-a-week business they had established early in their married life. We lived in Mount Eden—the suburb, not the prison. It was my School Certificate year.
It was the Eden electorate. Aussie Malcolm was the National candidate running against a first-term Labour MP, Mike Moore. Eden was the most marginal bell-wether seat in New Zealand. Aussie Malcolm ran under the provocative campaign slogan “Malcolm will do Moore for Eden”. The politics was intense, exciting, and, as it turned out for me, highly addictive. I guess for a teenager in the 1970s, given the range of possible addictions on offer, politics was at the lower end of the parental concern spectrum. Aussie Malcolm went on to beat Mike Moore, and the rest is, as they say, history.
Over the years I have developed an enormous regard for the army of ordinary Kiwis from all walks of life who make up the volunteer wing of the National Party. No National MP sits in this House without the support, endorsement, and backing of those people. I would like to acknowledge and thank all those people who have helped me along the way. An embarrassingly large number are here with me in the gallery today, along with friends and members of both my close and extended family. Thank you for your ongoing support, friendship, and love. My Coromandel team was during the campaign, and remain so today, a truly outstanding team of people—too many to name individually, but so ably led by electorate chairman, Ian McClean, and campaign manager, Heather Tanner. Thank you, one and all.
For those interested in such things, the maiden speech of Sir Jack Marshall, delivered in this House 65 years ago, is regarded as setting the benchmark in terms of defining what we these days label as liberal conservatism. And it is to that subject I now turn. Let me make it clear at the outset that the concept of liberalism does not mean at all anything to do with the touchy-feely, namby-pamby, soft-soap approach so often the political homeland of parties on the left. Rather, liberalism is an acknowledgment that as a citizen I have the right to live my life in my own way, provided only that this does not interfere with the rights of others; that I should be free to do as I wish, subject only to the rule of law.
The Hon Chris Finlayson teased out these concepts in his own maiden speech. He said, and I agree entirely, that the left may have admitted that the right won the great economic debate of the 20th century and that socialism in its many and varied forms has failed, but the left still wants to regulate and control. Its natural instinct remains one of “only we know best”.
For me the contrast between that view and the view of the National Party could not be more stark. National Party principles are liberal principles: a belief that personal effort and initiative should be rewarded; a belief that individual responsibility and accountability for our own actions and, indeed, inactions provide the foundation stones of our society; a belief that it is individuals who are best placed to make decisions about their future, not the State; and that free, open, and property-owning democracy provides the best model of Government. These are the values and principles the National Party was founded on 76 years ago, and they are principles that are as relevant today as ever they were.
The principles on which our society is built, in spite of vocal minorities who would work to make it not so, are principles of liberal democracy. But liberalism and democracy are actually two different things. Democracy is a method for choosing and removing Governments. Liberalism, on the other hand, is a doctrine about what society ought to be, what Governments should or should not do, and, above all, liberalism is a doctrine that defines limits to Government power.
I am convinced there is a common thread of liberalism through our nation, whether we choose to recognise it or not. That common thread encompasses freedom of action and of individual rights, tempered by a willingness not to interfere with the rights of others whilst pursuing our own. It encompasses a society of racial and religious tolerance, one of equality of opportunity and equality before the law. The suggestion that a liberal is someone who wants to liberalise everything is, of course, entirely wrong. Merely recognising and respecting the ideas and opinions of others does not mean the same thing at all as accepting, embracing, or adopting those ideas.
It is not a question of what we are prepared to tolerate as a society but, rather, what we are prepared to defend. For me it is the defence of a relentlessly optimistic outlook for my electorate and for our nation; the defence of that gritty, stubborn, and unshakable belief that a brighter, more prosperous future lies ahead for our children and our grandchildren if only we here today, in this place and of this generation, have the personal and collective strength to step up and make it so. For a little country with so much going for us we spend far too much time and energy focusing on the things that hold us back, on the roadblocks and the reasons why things cannot be so.
As I conclude this, my first address in our House of Representatives, mark me down as one who stands firmly on the side of those who can do and will do. Mark me down as a supporter of growth and opportunity. Mark me down as a champion of individual rights over State rights, of freedom and tolerance tempered at all times by the often forgotten important obligation of responsibility for actions and inactions. Mark me down as a defender of our very best liberal democratic values, and as a staunch advocate for volunteer political activism. Mark me down as a new member who has come here now to be an active and energetic participant from within, rather than a casual spectator from the sidelines.
I am a fourth-generation New Zealander of European descent. My great-grandparents arrived in Kuatōunu on the Coromandel Peninsula in the mid-1800s. I am the very proud father of Andrew and Ashleigh. My name is Scott Simpson. I am the National Party member of Parliament for Coromandel reporting for duty.