462 Address in Reply 15 Feb 2000

When we look at history and successive Governments we see that somebody has not been doing too good a job of recognising the risk to the Maori community. In trying to make a difference in the community we must move forward in a way that preserves the mana and tikanga of communities, and it should be done at their pace. I believe that the future for Maori is all about acknowledging who we are and determining where we want to go. We should encourage where Maori already excel and build on this-for example, kapa haka, waiata, and sports. It is important to understand that our people revel in tiikaro; that they do that with a gusto- firstly, because it costs nothing, and, secondly, it is about collectivity and enjoying each other's company in a quite natural way, as we have done in this country, as tangata whenua, for centuries. I do not just want to see more Maori doing things we are already good at; I want to see our rangatahi learning from our successes and taking due direction from governance and being allowed to get to where they want to get to-as rightly they should as the tangata whenua. Not every Maori will reap the same success as Michael Campbell, but we should be encouraging them all to swing that high. We have to set an example for the younger generation, and I accept that challenge as a new Maori member of Parliament. Let me go back a few years to the time when I was a schoolboy- a little fellow then! I vividly recall walking to school barefoot with my seven brothers and sisters. Every day, whatever the weather, we walked 5 kilometres to school and back. Although this may not have been unusual for Maori children at that time, there was a certain irony about this journey for me. Every day we would watch the empty school bus drive past us and our other whanau to collect the Piikeha kids who lived half a kilometre from the school and take them back to Tolaga Bay-members who know Tolaga Bay will agree it is a lovely place. This bus would pick them up, turn round, and drive back. As a child, the bureaucrats who made those decisions mattered little to me then. All I knew was that I had to walk and that the bus was leaving me and rest of my whanau behind. I used to dream of being picked up by the school bus, but as I grew older I and the others became more resilient. We went from wishing the bus would stop to thinking that if it did stop we would not hop on. I relate that story because it is often said to Maori that: "we've missed the bus", but in many cases Maori have not even had the opportunity to get on the bus. The irony in all of this is that now, as an Associate Minister of Education, responsible for school transport, I am not only riding in the bus but I am helping to drive the bus, along with my ministerial colleagues-Mr Samuels, Mr Mallard, and Mr Maharey. Rest assured, that as one of the drivers I am going to stop that bus and pick up a lot of Maoris on the journey forward.

Waiata

CLAYTON COSGROVE (NZ Labour-Waimakariri): Firstly, I want to congratulate the Rt Hon. Jonathan Hunt on his election as Speaker. I want also to pay tribute to the mover and the seconder of the Address in Reply, and to pay my respects to the Governor-General. I plead guilty to combing the hallowed files of Hansard for precedents of this, perhaps the most historically loaded speech a novice MP can make. It has been a daunting journey to make, and has often involved the humbling sensation of realising again just how superb some of our past politicians have been as orators. My search has strengthened the sense of connection with history that one gets when one joins the ranks of those inside Parliament. It is customary for retiring MPs to leave the Chamber with a few historical scars and bruises from the fascinatingly complex process that is politics in action. It is somewhat rarer for an entry-level MP to enter the House with the same interesting and scuffed set of baggage. Perhaps it is even rarer still for a novice to launch his parliamentary career with an apology. A few years ago, before the people of Waimakariri put their trust in me as their member of Parliament, some members on both sides of the House will know that I was a campaign manager within Labour. Cat herding, as we call it in the trade, can be sometimes a gruelling process for all involved. So all my present colleagues who may 15 Feb 2000 Address in Reply 463 have suffered at a certain time from my untender attention have my apologies; it will not happen again. To return to more conventional maiden matters, I was happy to see that in the past it has not been considered out of order to pay one's respects to the previous incumbent of one's seat. Both Mike and Yvonne Moore have played a hugely influential role in my life. I am honoured to follow on from Mike. I hope that in time I too can leave something like his legacy as a good MP in my electorate. In virtually every street I visited during the campaign, I would meet someone who told me how Mike had fixed some problem for him or her, without fanfare and without favour. He just got on and got things done. I think that is a superb legacy, and one that I hope to emulate eventually. I would also like to report that, from Geneva, Mike, who is secretly protective about his appearance, takes great exception to the clone comments that are bandied about from time to time in the media. He has correctly pointed out that I am short in stature and that he is not! Hopefully, that will be an end to the clone comments. In recent days we have heard maiden speeches that have forcefully reminded me that in this House we have a cross-section of gender, race, and experience that have led us further toward truly being a House of Representatives. I have been reminded yet again that my own life has been one of relative luxury in material and emotional terms. I grew up in a loving home with two parents who instilled in me the idea of taking part in family life, of discipline, and of the value of working hard to realise one's goals. In that context of saluting the value of family, I would like to thank my parents for their guidance, support, and strength over the years, and I would like to thank my partner, Florence, for her love and support, especially when times got particularly tough. I would also like to thank my campaign team and the people of Waimakariri, both those who worked with me and those who did not, for showing me the wisdom and utter clarity that the public possesses when it comes to understanding the issues. It is fashionable nowadays to blame policy failures on inept communication and a lack of comprehension. My own recent experience is that the problem really is that the public understand, with a harsh realism, what the problems are that beset our society. I spent a lot of time last year engaged in the strangest of political activities: listening to the people! Waimakariri could be fairly summed up as offering one of the best cross-sections of New Zealand conditions available on the political landscape. It is a mixture of urban and rural dwellers, big on mortgage-belt concerns, and with a strong family focus. It offers the voices of both the affluent and the struggling. It is an electorate where an optimist would be inclined to say that many of the problems were the luxury problems of growth. It is one of the fastest-growing areas in New Zealand in terms of housing and population. We even manage, for the south, to have major problems with traffic safety and congestion in places like Belfast, Papanui, and Redwood. In other parts of the electorate, we have the peculiar mix of problems one gets when dormitory townships such as Oxford have an increasing population but diminishing levels of services once seen as part of the rural birthright. Oxford is alive and has some affluence, but the banks have left town. Elsewhere we have issues that are universal to New Zealand. The Kaiapoi River, where I once rowed with the rowing team from St Bede's College, is plagued with a pollution problem that would make me very reluctant to drink the water as we did not so long ago. While I mention St Bede' s, I can sense somewhat restive stirring amongst a few members in the House-perhaps long-term fugitives from detention, or, in other cases, suddenly reminded of a lesson never delivered! It is noted that St Bede' s is now something of a factory for the production of MPs. There is in the House perhaps the faintest whiff of what Jackie Kennedy used to call the "Murphia" -the Irish Catholic affinity for politics at play. I would just like to point out that while our number is legion, I am honoured to be the first St Bede' s alumnus to be elected as the college's local member of Parliament. I consider that a privilege. Waimakariri is also noteworthy as a community that has quite a number of strong individuals amongst its population. This roster includes Norm Withers, who, as we know, pursued his vision to the point that it became the subject of a referendum last year. I think 464 Address in Reply 15 Feb 2000

Norm initially had a very understandable human response to the horrific attack on his mother, Nan. This response became superhuman when he took the view he had formed to the public. As we know, Norm's wish for a clear-cut solution to the problem of violent crime got very strong support from that same public. It is my wish that we as a Parliament do listen to that view. The eventual resulting action may be different, as it is part of the role of Government to translate the wishes of the people into workable policy, but I do humbly ask that we show some sign that we have listened as a Parliament. Purely personally; I believe that the more robust and committed we can become as a society to effective early intervention programmes, the better our chances are of turning round potential young offenders. However, the victims must not be forgotten. As a very new MP, I can make no claim to having all the answers. Gaining office has left me with even more questions than I formerly had. What I do know is that throughout my electorate, across the gulfs of income, education, gender, and even political affiliation, I kept getting the same call from the public on what they wanted from me and the political process of this Parliament. I was told over and over again by the public that what they want is almost awe inspiringly simple: all that they want to see and hear is a degree of fairness and common sense. It would be extremely gratifying for me to enter Parliament and confidently proclaim that I have found the missing link between the Government and the governed; that the great gulf in trust and belief can be effortlessly bridged, and we can again lay claim to some degree of gravitas and sense of vocation as politicians. Again, as a purveyor of questions rather than answers I have to concede I have not found the missing link. However, I humbly offer the suggestion that the public may have provided me with the key to unlocking the door to a space where we can start to rebuild the frayed connection between the governing and the governed. Fairness is a concept that I guess we either instinctively understand or we exercise. As a new MP in a new Government it is pleasing as we stand metaphorically at the gates of dawn to be able to observe that I think this administration has already made great strides toward restoring some sense of fairness in our society. Again speaking metaphorically, I think it is fair to say that every time another grossly overpaid Armani suit wearer is seen to be hurled from the parapets of the public service, clutching his or her last snatch of plunder as he or she goes, the public feels that some sense of fairness is returning to our society. It is a lesson I hope we have learnt well-that the public revulsion at the plunder of the public purse by those who often produce complete chaos in the process is absolutely unacceptable to the Kiwi sense of fairness. I happen to be one of those apparently quaint antiques who believe that there is merit in public service that does not need to be sweetened to the point that common-sense taste finds it nauseating. Another formerly dated idea that seems to have swung back into favour is that of providing resources to services rather than subjecting them to the death of a thousand cuts. I am aware that the present Minister of Police, George Hawkins, has been heard muttering darkly that the subject of his first trespass notice is likely to be myself. I would like to take this opportunity to assure George that, thanks to his having got action in my electorate that will allow our local police to be able to work in a degree of space and comfort, my persecutions of his good office are at an end- for the moment! George was able to grasp that asking police officers to work out of what one could charitably call a large broom cupboard is not conducive to effective policing. I thank him for his rapid response to an utterly practical problem. The other huge message that the voters gave me was a heartfelt cry for this Parliament to move back from our historic antipathies and become big enough to pick up a good idea and run with it regardless of its origins. I think MMP provides us with the opportunity to work towards that goal, and, indeed, from the way the numbers stack up, it may even provide us with an incentive to try and attain to. My own objectives are almost as stark and simple as the messages I was entrusted to deliver here today. I was taught that the first and last duty of a member of Parliament is to look after and protect the local people. That will remain my paramount objective. So, too, 15 Feb 2000 Address in Reply 465 will the tandem aims of trying to apply the maxims of fairness and common sense to my actions in this House. Canterbury provides the country with a handy barometer of economic trends, in no small part because of the ingenuity and enterprise of its small to medium business community. I want to ensure that I do whatever I can to make sure we work beside the business community, never above or around its interests, for it is the business community that is the job creator. Again, I can note with some satisfaction that already this administration is moving towards developing measures that will aid regional and small-business growth. It is a heartening move that is manifestly overdue. Finally, and just to provide some proof that I have been peering through the files of Hansard, I would like to invoke Holy Writ in favour of regional development. In the Labour Party no tribal totem carries quite the same majestic clout as an utterance from Michael Joseph Savage. In 1920 Mr Savage had the following to say on the subject of centralization: ''I want to warn the House against that tendency toward centralization. You want decentralisation. You need to place the Government of the country as close to the firesides of the people as you can-to take it from within four walls out to the homes of the people, and make them acquainted with their responsibility for their own affairs if you are going to get anywhere." Government as a partnership between the governing and the governed is, then, not a new or novel idea. That does not make it any less valid. I am grateful and humbled that I have been given this chance to try to make that goal a reality. Dr the Hon. LOCKWOOD SMITH (NZ National-Rodney): Mr Speaker, may I first congratulate you on your election to high office as Speaker. I am sure that you will serve the role with tremendous distinction. Might I also congratulate the new members, some of whom have made very fine maiden speeches. As we listen to some of those thoughtful words from new members we sometimes forget the origins of this debate that we are involved in. Of course, this is a debate about the Speech from the Throne. What did the Speech from the Throne this year tell us about this Government's direction? I must say that I listened to it with amazement. One might expect that a new Government would put hard-line party politics just to one side a little bit, leaven the hard-line politics with the interests of all New Zealanders, and say: "OK, we're now governing in the interests of all New Zealanders." What was that Speech from the Throne? It was like a party political broadcast. It spoke volumes about the direction this Labour-Alliance Government plans to take. I counted 11 moves in that speech towards more State control over this country. There were 11 moves towards more political control over our society, ranging from renationalising accident compensation to removing schools' ability to decide how to spend their own funding. I counted 22 plans in that speech for more Government spending. There were 22 plans to spend more money, from raising national superannuation through to financing risky investments. The issue is what the current level of State control is in this country. If there is a very low level of State control, maybe increasing the level of State control over everything in this country does not matter too much. But it is sobering to reflect that the Government currently takes and influences 35 to 36 percent of everything produced in this country. The Government takes over one-third of everything produced in this country and chooses how it is spent. That is the extent of State control in this country. The previous speaker, a new member, Clayton Cosgrove, quoted Michael Joseph Savage. Let me refer to him as well. Was not he the Prime Minister of this country who set up the welfare State? When Michael Joseph Savage established the welfare State the Government took 15 percent of everything produced in this country. The Government controlled 15 percent of everything-less than a sixth of everything produced in this country. Today the Government takes more than a third-more than twice as much--of everything produced in this country and controls how it is spent. The level of State control is already high, and this Labour Government, in the Speech from the Throne, has announced more State control, more Government take of the total economy. Let us compare it with our trading partners. If our trading partners are up to the same level of total State command over the economy, maybe it does not matter too much. What Cosgrove, Clayton: Address in Reply [Sitting date: 15 February 2000. NZPD Volume: 581; Page: 462]