25 Feb 1997 Address in Reply 313

children who need time out. I ask the House's support to alleviate the conditions in our rural schools.

RON MARK (NZ First): Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, honourable members of the House, ladies and gentlemen, and members of the press: in standing to speak for the first time in this House I would firstly like to extend to you all my greetings and my respect.

Like most speakers before me, I too would like to take this opportunity to thank publicly those people responsible for my being here: my colleagues and members of New Zealand First, my campaign team, my campaign manager and friend, Tony Day, and those people of Christchurch Central who supported me with their vote. I am humbled by their faith in me and the honour they have done me by placing me here as their representative.

I would also like to thank my wife, Gail, who is here today, my sons, Paul and Cory, and the apple of my eye, my daughter, Melanie, for their tolerance and support. They have all put up with a lot over the last few years, and I like to think that from here on in it will become easier.

I would also like to make special mention of the late John Fursdon of Oxford, Canterbury, who passed away last week. I offer to his wife, Janet, my deepest sympathies and my sincere thanks. I shall miss John's ~.se counsel and his steadfastness in adversity. If there can be such a thing as a Pakeha kaumatua, John was it. I have much to live up to.

Standing in this House today I am reminded of my first impressions when we, the class of 1997, were ushered in here for the first time as part of the induction seminars. Like everyone else, I came in and took up a seat but, possibly unlike others, I took time out to gaze around at the decor of my new surroundings. From, I guess, being ex-military, the first thing I noticed were the battle honours-names like Palestine, Somme, and Gallipoli from World War I; names like Sidi Rezegh, Alamein, Cassino, and Crete from World War II; and others, somewhat forgotten, like Korea, Borneo, Malaya, and Vietnam. Then I noticed the sculpture of the camellia above the Speaker's chair, representing the struggle of the suffragettes.

The next thing I looked at was the roof, so huge and so grand, providing us here with protection, shelter, and safety. Looking more closely at the roof the next thing that caught my eye was the decorative plaster adorning the ceiling. If members look up now they may be amazed, as I was, to see that it represents food; it is fruit. All of this is held up by massive pillars of stone.

In those brief seconds of my first visit to this House I was reminded why I was here and that I should never forget it. Our people have the right to a roof over their heads. It is every Kiwi's right to be able to afford to buy food to feed themselves and their families . That great man, Norman Kirk, put it best when he said: "People don't ask for much. They simply want somewhere to live, somewhere to work, someone to love, and something to hope for."

I live in a wonderful little country. Its freedom has been bought with the efforts of our mothers and fathers, and the blood of young Kiwi men who went and fought in two world wars, and in the forgotten wars of Korea and Vietnam. It has been bought by the tears and the courage of suffragettes who would not take "No" any longer. Those people sacrificed everything so that I could stand here before the House today, and I make this pledge to them: I will try to honour their memory in the work I do in Parliament for as long as I am here.

I also stand here because of the contribution of some very special people. Many people seem to be under the impression that I was somehow disadvantaged in my early life. On the contrary I was, and am, a very lucky little Kiwi. I was lucky because there was a State welfare system in place to look after me, and to provide for me when those who had created me could not or would not. I was lucky that there was that State welfare system, and all the nameless, faceless civil servants who in their own way made sure that I was safe.

I was lucky that people had the courage and bravery to take me into their homes and look after me. They were good, honest, solid people who made room for another. No words can express my gratitude. The least I can do is to mention their names, or at least those names that I remember.

314 Address in Reply 25 Feb 1997

To my foster parents, the Wylies of Masterton, and the Seymours, who looked after me as a baby, my thanks wherever they now are. To my two sets of parents, Betty and Albie Field of Pahiatua, and Gordon and Sylvia Thorburn, now of Nelson, I offer my heartfelt thanks for their love and support. I also wish to thank the Hom family of Ballance, Pahiatua, for filling in gaps when there was no one else around. Lady Luck was certainly on my side when I was put into the care of these great people.

I am struck by the irony of the fact that I stand before members today as a Maori who was brought up completely by Pakeha people. When I hear Maori making racist remarks about Pakeha, and Pakeha saying similar things about Maori, I think of the upbringing I had with my Pakeha foster parents. They taught me the values and the principles by which I still live. They were not Pakeha values, and they were not Maori values; they were human values. They taught me about loyalty, about honour, about courage, about faith, and about conviction.

But more than this, they went out of their way to ensure that I knew at all times that I was Maori, and that I should be proud of that. They reinforced in a very positive way my Maori heritage. These people did not have any particular knowledge of things Maori, nor did they have close links with Maori people, but they ensured that I grew up believing that I was doubly blessed. Not only was I a New Zealander, but I was a Maori New Zealander. What more could a young man ask for?

Since I have come to Parliament I have started to discover more about my Maori heritage. Many of my colleagues have been able to fill in the gaps, of which there were many. It has made my time in Parliament even more rewarding as I discover links with tribes, my tribes, like Whakatohea, Ngati Porou, Ngati Kahungunu, and Ngai Tabu, and, through sub-tribes, the Motueka area in Nelson.

I am inspired by this to try to find out more about my Pakeha side. My wife, Gail, has done some research into her family heritage. As a result my children are taking an interest in where they come from. I am delighted to know, and they are delighted to know, the fascinating mix of identities that they have in their heritage, in their whakapapa, both Maori and Pakeha. Their lines extend back to Ireland and England, and through Maoridom. I am looking very closely to see where my Pakeha roots go. I am hoping they take me to Scotland, because I reckon I look better in a kilt than Rana W aitai.

Many of you will be aware that I spent a lot of my time in the military. Indeed, this is probably the reason I have landed the job as whip. The Army was good to me. It progressed me educationally, it gave me a trade, and it educated me in a university of life that few New Zealanders are privileged to attend. I was able to travel widely. In those travels I was often touched to the core by what I had seen. Three instances stand out for me.

While recruiting men for the Sultan of Oman's Special Force in Pakistan and India, I was given the task of reviewing over 2000 applications from Pakistani and Indian men for just five positions. I do not know whether any members have been to such places as Rawalpindi or Bombay-I have. I will never forget how desperate all of these applicants were to get just one of those five prized positions. They were busting their guts to make a better life for their families and themselves. If I could have, I would have given every one of them a job. They were an example to me of what some individuals have to do to make progress in life. They were prepared to give their all for a job that they knew only a handful would get. They were prepared to travel to a foreign land, to separate from their families for a year, 2 years, 5 years, in order to seize a chance to better their lot.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the fortieth anniversary of the battle of El Alamein, and I will never forget looking out across the graves of over 2,000 young New Zealanders who had lost their lives so far from home. I remember thinking then ''Why?''.

I was similarly moved on a visit to Crete. It was not just the incredible warmth of the people, who have a bottomless well of gratitude to New Zealand for our actions during World War IT, and a particular special affection for the Maori Battalion, which fought in crete, but also the sight of so many graves of young German paratroopers in Marleme and Galatos that took my soul. Again, I asked myself why the flower of German youth lay there so many miles from their own country.

25 Feb 1997 Address in Reply 315

I believe that we are in danger of sending our own youth off to a similar fate as those young Kiwi and German soldiers who lie in El Alamein and in Crete. While we may not be sending our young people off to war any longer, it is my view that we are not preparing them adequately enough for the battle of life in the 1990s and beyond. We are allowing them in their thousands to walk off towards a future of unemployment; to the domestic drudgery of unwanted pregnancies, of babies they did not plan and did not want; and all too often off to a future of violence, drug abuse, and even death. Just as I am lucky enough to stand before you today as a result of help from the State and the love of people who did not owe me anything in life, I want today's youth to have the opportunity of one day standing here where I stand now.

To enable that to happen we need to take a long, hard think about how we deal with young people and their problems. We need to be brave enough and honest enough to realise that all is not well with all our young people. We need to have the courage of our forefathers to practise a bit of old-fashioned tough love. We need a work-for-the-dole scheme to teach our young about the value of work, along with the fulfilment that comes from doing an honest day's graft.

We also need to teach our young about responsibility; and that it does come hand in hand with freedom and choice. They need to be responsible enough not to get pregnant too early; responsible enough not to get addicted to drugs, glue, or booze; responsible enough to realise the benefits of staying at school and getting qualified; responsible enough to realise that crime and violence are no substitute for being a contributing member of mainstream society. In short, we need to teach our kids to be responsible enough to take charge of their own lives.

Most of that job falls firmly on family and whanau. Parents should be home with their children at night helping with the homework. We need an attitude change, not excuses. Parents need to accept responsibility for the future and their children's future, and to take the time to make sure that their children are developing properly. My foster parents could do it for a boy whom they did not know and to whom they owed nothing. Something is very, very wrong with our society when people would rather leave their own flesh and blood to their own devices and go to the pub than help them get a decent start in life.

If they will not do it, the State will have to do it for them. I want .to see a national service programme established for all young New Zealanders who need it, so that irrespective of their background all our young will have an opportunity to be of service to their community; to learn some skills, and, most important, to learn to take responsibility for their own lives. I also support the establishment of a New Zealand-style Peace Corps so that young people will have an opportunity to serve overseas as part of their national service. It is time for the hand-wringing to stop and action to start, otherwise we are condemning our young to no better a future than that of those young, dead soldiers whom I spoke of earlier.

I also pledge my support to the people whom I regard as the true heroes of our nation. I am talking about small-business people. I am talking about farmers, panel beaters, service station owners, corner dairy operators, the small manufacturers, and all the others who are forgotten time and time again as we talk about the value of the dollar and Telecom's latest profit. These are not the people who are discussed by the financial analysts, or who gather at meetings in grand ballrooms to discuss the appreciating dollar. In reality, these are the people whom we rely on most for jobs in this country. They are the true battlers. These are the people who take the risks, put their homes on the block, put their reputations on the line in order to give it a go, in order to provide an independent source of income for themselves and their families. Anything I can do in my term in Parliament to support these people I shall.

I want to end my maiden speech on a note of hope. I hope that New Zealand as a whole can work together, irrespective of colour, race, or creed, or ingrained prejudices, to overcome the obstacles that we still have before us, so that we can live together in harmony as one nation with many different and equally important parts. I am committed to working towards this end in the time I am in Parliament, and I believe that we owe it to

316 Address in Reply 25 Feb 1997

those whose reminders we see about us today, as well as our own ancestors both alive and dead, to see that we succeed in this goal.

Mihi

Mr DOVER SAMUELS (NZ Labour): Tihei mauri ora! E nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga mana, e nga karangaranga maha, e nga waka, e nga hau e

whli-tena koutou, rena koutou, tena koutou katoa. E te kaikorero o te Whare Pliremata, Mr Speaker, tena koe! E te Matenga o te Ropii

Reipa, te wahine toa o te motu, Helen Clark, tena koe! E te rangatira, e Richard Prebble, rena koe! E te whaea, e te tuahine, e Sandra Lee, tena koe! E nga minita o te Kliwanatanga me nga merna katoa o tenei Whare Pliremata, tena koutou, tena koutou, tenli koutou katoa. E nga manuhiri tiilirangi kua tau mai i renei ahiahi i raro i te tuanui o to tlitau Whare, hurl noa-rena koutou, tena koutou, tena aro hoki tlitou katoa.

[Subsequent authorised translation: Behold! To the tribal groups, the languages, the authorities, the many callings, the traditional canoes, and the four winds, greetings to you, greetings to you, greetings to you all.

To the Speaker of the House of Parliament, Mr Speaker, greetings to you! To the leader of the Labour Party, the brave woman of the land, Helen Clark, greetings to you! To the chief, Richard Prebble, greetings to you! To the mother-figure, the sister, Sandra, greetings to you! To the Ministers of the Government and all the members of this House of Parliament, greetings to you, greetings to you, greetings to you all. To the visitors from

· afar who have landed here this afternoon beneath the roof of our House and throughout, greetings to you, greetings to you, and greetings to us all as well.]

On Waitangi Day this year at the Waitangi marae, the rangatahi at the hui whakatlipapa sought to present a memorandum to their treaty partner. As no Government representatives were present during the whai korero I agreed to present the document on behalf of the rangatahi, and therefore I seek the leave of the House to have the memorandum lie on the table.

Document, by leave, laid on the table of the House.

Mr DOVER SAMUELS: I wish to endorse the tributes paid to my former colleagues, the Hon. Peter Tapsell, the Hon. Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan, and the Hon. Koro Wetere. I thank them on behalf of our people for their commitment and for their service collectively over several decades. Those Government Ministers who fronted up to W aitangi Day expecting fanfare, hallelujah, and joy for the second coming of the Messiah would have been deeply disappointed. The lack of expected enthusiasm from our people was due to an underlying sense of betrayal and disappointment. This time it had nothing to do with the Treaty of Waitangi, but had everything to do with the eventual outcome of this country's first MMP election and this new Government.

I refer back again to the performance of the Hon. Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan and also the Hon. Koro Wetere and the Hon. Peter Tapsell, and may I include the Hon. Matiu Rata. Their performance in this House, defending the rights of Maori and championing their economic and social advancement, will be for ever etched into the political archives of our nation.

The new dawn of mixed-member proportional representation-MMP-heralded great expectations for Maoridom. Our people believed that the blinds of this hallowed Chamber had finally been drawn and the warm rays of sunshine would fill the House with integrity and with hope. Many New Zealanders were convinced that it was to be a better place. Maori people were thrilled that the ka awatea, the new dawn, tino rangatiratanga for them had finally arrived. MMP had given birth to dreams of high hopes and great expectations.

Unprecedented in the political history of this nation, MMP had heralded into this Parliament 15 Maori members. The korero amongst Maori was: what an awesome opportunity for our people, and tokenism had had its day. The expectation was that we

Mark, Ron: Address in Reply [Sitting date: 25 February 1997. NZPD Volume: 558; Page: 312]