It's a pleasure for me to see you in the Speaker's Chair for my Maiden speech, given the important role you played in my decision to stand as a National Party candidate.
Thank you, and thanks to my fellow Southern National Members Jacqui Dean, Jo Goodhew and the Honourable Bill English for their support this year. Former Member Katherine Rich also gave me guidance and I thank Katherine on behalf of the people of Dunedin for her years of service.
May I also congratulate the Honourable Dr Lockwood Smith and Messrs Tisch and Barker on their appointments as Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Assistant Speaker respectively.
Coming as I do near the end of a long line of Maiden Speeches, I'm reminded of United States Senator George Mitchell's comment about commencement speeches. He said, "I feel a bit like Elizabeth Taylor's 5th husband. I know what to do but I am not sure how to make it interesting." I'll do my best to keep your interest Mr Speaker.
I want to acknowledge and congratulate my National Caucus colleagues, and in particular those who have entered Parliament for the first time in 2008. Much has been made of National's move to a more representative Caucus, particularly in gender and ethnicity.
That focus detracts from the fact that these colleagues are remarkable individuals in their own right, all of them, and I feel privileged to be a part of the Class of '08.
To all those accorded the honour of representing our people in the 49th Parliament, congratulations.
My own journey from Hospital Manager to Member of Parliament has been, by any measure, a swift one. I'm very mindful of the confidence placed in me by my Party.
I look forward to demonstrating that that confidence is well placed, and I pledge my absolute loyalty to the National Party and commit to upholding its Values and Vision for New Zealand.
The Honourable John Key and the Honourable Bill English are the most formidable Prime Minister/Deputy Prime Minister combination of the post-war era, at a time when their skills in economic management are most needed, and I am privileged to be a member of their Caucus.
I am indebted to the Party membership in Dunedin, and to those who supported my Campaign as the Candidate for Dunedin North. In particular Party President Judy Kirk, Regional Chair Kate Hazlett, Electorate Chair Sandra Christie, Campaign Manager Scott Mason, Committee and Campaign members and so many others to whom I do a disservice by not naming.
Thank you to those who gave their support as volunteers. It is through their efforts that a robust democracy is given strength and vitality.
Mr Speaker, I want to pay tribute to my best friend, wife and huge support Amanda. I am truly fortunate to have her in my life. Thank you for your unwavering support.
My daughters Emily, Isabel and Chloe have kept me grounded, and given us more joy than they will ever know. They are my reason. They represent the future of this great country. Whatever demands are placed on me I won't forget my responsibilities as husband and father.
There will be times when duty requires the sacrifice of time otherwise spent with them. I thank them for their understanding in those times. I'm delighted they're here to share this milestone, but slightly disconcerted by the fact that my children are far more excited at the prospect of meeting the Prime Minister than about catching up with their dad.
I dedicate this address to my late father Allan. I know he is watching and proud of this achievement, even if he might tease my choice of party. I share this day with my mother Pat. I'm honoured by her presence despite her own health challenges. There are many other family members watching here, in Dunedin and around New Zealand and I thank them for their support.
Although elected from the National Party List, it is my privilege to represent the people of Dunedin in this House. I believe it is incumbent on all list Members to be as active in representing a constituency as electorate MPs are, be that geographical, cultural, gender or some other form of representation.
22,500 Dunedinites cast their Party vote to my Party, and they have a voice in me. But of course my service is to all the people of Dunedin. I have blue and gold blood running through my veins, and will work hard for the South. I acknowledge the Honourable Pete Hodgson, MP for Dunedin North and the other Dunedin-based MPs. Despite differences in political philosophy, we are all working in best interests of Dunedin.
Dunedin and Otago have a rich heritage, one which my colonial ancestors helped fashion. My great great grandfather James Woodhouse emigrated from Lancashire and in 1862 discovered gold at the junction of the Teviot and Clutha rivers near Roxburgh.
No great wealth was passed down however Mr Speaker, as he purchased the Bannockburn Hotel and fathered some eight children. Now in those days in Central Otago, churches were not permanently established, and the pastors and priests maintaining the spiritual health of these pioneers were a transient group.
Family legend has it that wife Mary was so keen to ensure her brood were christened that she utilised whichever man of faith was around at the time each child was born. Thus, according to legend, descendants of James and Mary were christened Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Anglican and so on.
I'm not sure how true this is, but if it is then my great grandfather was born when the Catholic priest was passing through. My maternal great great grandfather was Patrick Lyng, an immigrant from Dublin and Lawrence's first butcher around the time of the Gabriel's Gully gold rush.
I was born and raised in South Dunedin in a family of nine children, the first eight of which were born before the eldest had had his eighth birthday. This gave me some interesting early life experiences.
Although not really conscious of it, we were not well off. By today's standards we might have been considered poor. Thanks to outstanding parenting and after surviving running battles and back-yard rugby with five brothers, a certain degree of resilience and self-sufficiency was developed.
That which today is considered a necessity but very much a luxury then, had to be earned by working. Part time jobs before and after school were the norm, up to three at a time while at high school.
My mother is fortunate that so many of her children and grandchildren continue to call Dunedin home. Sadly that is not the case for many New Zealanders, who are flying thousands of miles overseas to attend the weddings of their children. Grandparents now need to learn how to use a webcam to talk to their grandchildren.
We Kiwis have always yearned to travel. I look forward to working in a Government that yearns to bring them home again.
Mr Speaker, Despite the economic downturn I have every confidence in the medium term future. We are rich in natural resources, and with practical and sustainable use of those resources our economy can grow at a much greater rate than has been the recent experience.
Tourism has massive untapped potential, particularly in the South. It is tempting to keep the richness of our tourist destinations to ourselves. Indeed the wonder of the recent increases in tourist trade in Central Otago, the Catlins and the Otago Peninsula is not that it is occurring, but that it has taken the rest of the world 150 years to cotton on to what we have always known; that the South is amongst the most beautiful and dramatic regions in the world.
However we are at risk of not fulfilling our intellectual and entrepreneurial potential. Our Universities, and in particular the University of Otago, are fonts of awesome knowledge and research capability.
The challenge for Government is to encourage them to increase their ability to harness and develop that knowledge on-shore, convert knowledge into commercially viable industries and overcome the tyranny of distance.
By this I mean true and targeted Research and Development support, not an ill-targeted tax credits regime. National's ultra high speed Broadband strategy has the ability to overcome the distance problem, and create opportunities not yet even conceived.
I believe it is the responsibility of Government to create an environment wherein its citizens can aspire to achieve all that they can and wish for; it is for individual citizens to seize that opportunity. And when the fruits of effort are achievement and reward, they should be congratulated, thanked and celebrated for that achievement. The reward might not be financial, but if it is, that is also something to be celebrated, not envied and criticised.
I fear that in this country we are conditioning our young people away from such aspiration. I have led successful businesses but not actually owned them. I admire those who do. They operate in the face of personal and financial risk, in a very complex regulatory environment.
It is incongruous of the previous Government to claim to support the growth of New Zealand business, and then drown them in regulation and red tape. It is incongruous to claim to respect the autonomy of its citizens and then seek to control aspects of their lives that governments have no business being in.
Fundamentally, this comes down to trust. I believe it is government's role to create the environment wherein businesses and individuals can aspire to fulfil their potential, and then to trust its people to get on and achieve.
I also roundly reject the notion offered by some, that conservatism and social justice are mutually exclusive. I will be a strong advocate for social justice. But social justice is not served by inaction on inter-generational welfare dependency, increasing illiteracy rates, family dysfunction and the poverty of spirit that pervades many sectors of society.
I do not accept that those who are successful have somehow climbed on the shoulders of others. We have a duty of care to help those less fortunate, but no good is served by the politics of envy.
Mr Speaker, until recently it was my privilege to be the Chief Executive Officer of Mercy Hospital Dunedin, a private surgical hospital owned by Ngä whäea Atawhai o Aotearoa, Sisters of Mercy New Zealand. I thank my Mercy team for their huge support on this journey.
The story of the Sisters and their Foundress Catherine McAuley inspires and challenges me, and forms the basis of my leadership ethos. Reconciling the demands of the highly technically advanced healthcare organisations with compassionate care of the sick and vulnerable is not easy, but possible following simple principles.
One thing I understood implicitly was that none of the hospital's funds could be committed to charitable work unless they were first earned. I also understood that the more we earned the more good we could do.
I see parallels with the functions of Government in that respect.
In my time as Mercy's CEO and as President of the New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association I have presided over the growth in both demand for and supply of private surgical services. I believe an ideological mindset has prevented better use of spare capacity in private hospitals, and that has been to the detriment of the health of New Zealanders.
I firmly believe that the future of this nation's health must be based on a strong and sustainable public system. That said New Zealanders have a right to good information on what they can reasonably expect from its public system, in order that they may make informed choices. If opportunities exist to better use the private sector to enhance the health of the nation, they should be taken. I strongly support my Party's policy in this regard.
Next week Mercy Hospital will perform 36 grommet and tonsillectomy operations on children languishing on the Dunedin Hospital waiting list. Medical staff give their time for free and the private hospital will cover all other costs. Hardly the actions of the profit-motivated private sector.
This has occurred several times, and is happening because of surgeons' frustration at worsening public waiting times. It's time to re-engage medical and nursing staff that feel increasingly disenfranchised from the decision-making process, and put the patient at the centre of healthcare delivery.
We must accept with reasonable grace that not all needs can be met from the public purse, but I don't accept that this is as good as it gets. The rest of the world is embracing new ways of delivering care, using amazing new technologies and therapies.
Back office staff cannot make these changes. Only a re-engaged medical and nursing staff can. Again, it comes down to trust.
Mr Speaker as you know I am very keen on rugby, and have been a Premier referee for many years. We have similar roles in a way, both penalising the off-side, preventing the repeated infringements that spoil the contest. I use a couple of tools in refereeing that might be useful to you. I would be very happy to lend them for use on one or two worthy recipients...
Mr Speaker, I will work to encourage policies of aspiration, equity of opportunity, the celebration of success and the compassionate support of those who need Government assistance.
The people of Aotearoa New Zealand deserve no less from us, and I will work to the best of my ability as their representative to achieve that end.
