Nick Smith, MP

386 Address in Reply 18 December mental disability are all too often used as excuses to divide us and to dismiss. The first step is to acknowledge that as human beings we have much more in common. The future of our country is at stake. The choices are simple. We can ignore the real inequalities of power and of access to the good things of life that exist in New Zealand, shut our eyes to the injustices, and leave our children and grandchildren to reap the catastrophic consequences, or we can acknowledge the problems and start asking questions about ways of solving them. There are no other choices. I have chosen the second course, as I believe has everyone else on this side of the House, for Panmure, for Auckland, and for New Zealand. No reira kei te mihi ki a koutou katoa i awhina mai i ahau e te wa poti. Kia ora koutou, kia ora mai tatou. [Subsequent authorised translation: Therefore I greet you all who assisted me during the period of the election. Greetings to you all, and greetings to us all.] NICK SMITH (Tasman): Just 25 years ago New Zealand had the third highest standard of living in the world. Today it has the thirty-fourth, and it is still falling. At that time we had full employment; today our dole queues exceed those of the great depression. At that time our education and health services were the envy of the world; today our own people have lost confidence in our schools and hospitals. As a nation we have lost our confidence. The task that attracted me to this House of Representatives was that of restoring that confidence. It is an honour and a privilege to speak in the address in reply debate on behalf of the people of Tasman. I join previous speakers in expressing respect and thanks to the former Governor-General and his wife, Sir Paul and Lady Reeves, and I congratulate Dame Catherine Tizard on her appointment as our new Governor-General. In 1990 two more bastions of patriarchal society have fallen with Dame Catherine becoming New Zealand's first woman Governor-General and the Hon. Ruth Richardson becoming New Zealand's first woman Minister of Finance. They and the record number of women in the House have a difficult challenge ahead. Society has some way to go in accepting women as civic and financial leaders. If they act with dignity and honour they are too often accused of snobbery; if they act with vigour and determination they are described as being too masculine; and if they act with calmness and feeling they are labelled as weak. All aspects of New Zealand society-Parliament, the news media, and the public at large-must begin to judge women leaders in their own right and not according to the mould of their male predecessors. In congratulating you, Mr Speaker, on your election to office I quote from a lady who, on attending a debate of the House of Representatives, had this to say: "Another general impression is the bad manners of the House compared to the manners of the ordinary citizen. It is rare to meet in the streets a man who is in liquor, whereas the Speaker of the House is constantly incapacitated by his duties drink, whilst the Leader of the House is frequently boozy in the evenings.". I am pleased to assure you, Mr Speaker, that this quotation is not from a recent observer of the House, but from Beatrice Webb in August 1898. Matters have certainly improved in relation to the behaviour of our Speaker. The north-western corner of the mainland has a proud history of representation in the House and I am humbled by the members who have preceded me. In 1932 the electors chose a little-known man in his twenties to represent the seat of Motueka, as it was then. That man, Keith Holyoake, rose to be one of New Zealand's greatest statesmen. When he delivered his first address in reply speech he talked of the needs of the people grappling with the hardships of the depression. He spoke of the need for confidence, the problems of interest rates and unemployment, and the difficulties that taxation caused the employers in his district. The issues and conditions today are not dissimilar. Sir Keith was followed by Gerry Skinner, who served the electors well for 24 years and rose to be Deputy Leader of the Opposition. His death saw the election of Bill Rowling to the Buller seat. That member respected by those from both ends of the political spectrum, and if I service the electorate as well as he did I shall be proud. Bill Rowling received a much deserved knighthood in 1984, and although he has retired from politics his efforts continue for New Zealand, and, in particular, for the Nelson region. 18 December Address in Reply 387 In 1984 Sir Wallace was replaced by Ken Shirley, a member who also worked hard for Tasman. In Mr Shirley's 6 years in Parliament he became notable for his friendly manner and his efforts in the fishing, horticultural, and forestry sectors. If his Government had had more people with a knowledge of the productive sectors of our economy it would not have suffered such a humiliating defeat in the recent elections. The bonds between this House and my electorate extend beyond the people who have served here. The very foundations of this building were quarried from Kairuru on the Takaka Hill, adjacent to the Abel Tasman National Park. From there the marble was transported by tramway line to Sandy Bay and on to Port Nicholson. I am sure that it would have been much easier to construct Parliament in the true geographic centre of New Zealand. What is more, parliamentarians could then have avoided the normally grotty weather of this city and enjoyed the sunshine and fruits of the Nelson Province. I hasten to add that the member for Nelson and I have brought this good weather with us today. For those who have not visited my electorate let me expand on its physical features. It is vast and diverse, spreading from Murchison in the south to Farewell Spit in the north and out of it the city of Nelson is carved. In the south it includes vast tracts of indigenous forest and mountain lakes drained by the awesome Buller River. Moving north over the Hope Saddle the electorate expands into 40,000 hectares of Pinus radiata plantation interspersed with high-country farms. Over the centuries the erosion from those hills has created the alluvial Motueka and Waimea plains that today support a diversity of horticultural crops seen nowhere else in this land. To the west of those plains the electorate flows over the Takaka Hill into the dairying lands of Golden Bay. The two national parks in the electorate are testament to the area's diversity and richness. Abel Tasman National Park hosts golden beaches backdropped by bush-clad hills, and is disturbed only by the world-renowned Abel Tasman track. The Nelson Lakes National Park encompasses the beautiful lakes of Rotoiti and Rotoroa, which are surrounded by the most northern peaks of the Southern Alps. Before the next member for Tasman delivers a maiden speech I should like a third national park to be created. The north-west corner of the electorate encompasses an area of exceptional character that is held in public estate. Its natural features comprise the most complete record of the geological progression that has formed this land of New Zealand. It contains more than 50 species of flora that exist nowhere else in the world, that being a consequence of its being a plant refuge during the most recent ice ages. Some of New Zealand's most rare species, such as the grey spotted kiwi, the kaka, the rock wren, and the giant carnivorous snail, depend for survival on the area's large tracts of undisturbed wilderness. The combination of those exceptional characteristics makes it the most outstanding area of natural land in the country, and it offers the best single opportunity to conserve the natural diversity that distinguishes the New Zealand land mass. For that reason I commend to the House the establishment of a north-west Nelson national park. It is true that when lands are set aside for conservation purposes short-term economic opportunities such as mining may be lost. A characteristic of the people who inhabit that corner of the mainland is that while many might not have been born and bred locally, they have chosen, as I have, to live in the region for reasons other than the size of their pay packet. The area's superb climate and recreational resources are unmatched anywhere in the world and attract people interested in the quality of life. The physical diversity of my electorate is matched by a variety of land uses. The horticultural lands of the Waimea and Motueka plains produce tonnes of pipfruit, kiwifruit, berryfruit, hops, tobacco, and grapes. The rich soils of the Golden Bay area and Murchison support a substantial dairy industry, while the pastoral lands of the upper catchment area support cattle, sheep, deer, and goats. Those farms are interspersed with the most significant forestry plantations outside the central North Island. Those land based industries are complemented by significant fishing and tourism sectors. Bringing the regional economy to life is one of the issues that I shall deal with this afternoon, for without a growing economy the health, educational, and social services that we desire are unaffordable.

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