Hon BILL ENGLISH (Acting Prime Minister) : I move, That the House do now adjourn until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 9 February 2010, and that the sitting days in 2010 be as follows:

February 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25;

March 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31;

April 1, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28 and 29;

May 4, 5, 6, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27;

June 1, 2, 3, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29 and 30;

July 1, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28 and 29;

August 3, 4, 5, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26;

September 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23;

October 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28;

November 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25;

December 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 and 16.

It has been a long year for the New Zealand economy and for New Zealand families. If we cast our minds back to January or February when the House got back together, we will remember that the world was transfixed by a financial crisis, and there were some very real concerns that the economies of the developed world would go into some kind of free fall and meltdown. So coming to the end of the year we are able to reflect on what is perhaps New Zealand’s good fortune—we dodged the worst of the financial crisis—and also on the good management of a Government that has helped to stabilise the economy, and helped to stabilise and rebuild confidence. Yesterday the Government produced some economic forecasts that show some improvement on the Budget as recently as the middle of the year.

It is a time also when we should reflect on those who are hardest hit by a recession, and generally in this recession, as in others, they are often those who are least able to carry that burden. So there will be families going into Christmas where the primary earner, or both earners, have lost their jobs, and they will be concerned about what their prospects are for next year. In fact, many of them will be concerned about how they will get through next week. That is why it is so important that we continue to focus on policy that will give hope to those families who face Christmas with doubts about their own futures.

It is also traditional at this time of year to thank those who have helped to make our democracy work, and on behalf of the Prime Minister I wish to do that. But I start by thanking the Prime Minister for his leadership, and also for something that we have not seen in politics for a long time, and that is the sheer enjoyment of the job. The sheer enjoyment of the job is a happy change from the dour, sad look of the previous Labour Government as it departed this Chamber just 13 or 14 months ago.

I thank you, Mr Speaker, for your oversight of the Chamber. I see now that the public holds you in the same high esteem in which we have always held you. I have been in the House with you for 19 years, Mr Speaker, and it is pleasing to see that others are seeing those aspects of your character that we have always known about. I thank your Deputy Speaker and Assistant Speakers.

I thank the staff and officers of Parliament in the Clerk’s Office and the travel office, the security staff, and the police who work in the complex and always have a pleasant word for us. I thank the select committee staff, the Hansard reporters, the messengers, the catering staff, and the cleaners, whom many of us see coming into the building just as we are leaving. I thank the librarians in the Parliamentary Library, Parliamentary Service, the staff who support our MPs, and also our out-of-Parliament offices and the staff there who tirelessly work for our constituents, many of whom of course have greater needs because of the recession.

I thank those staff who actively support the Government: the staff in Ministers’ offices and in the whips’ office; the staff in the Cabinet Office and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, who with their high degree of professionalism ensure the successful operation of Cabinet; the support staff in Ministerial Services and the Visits and Ceremonial Office; the VIP Transport Service staff, who also always have a pleasant conversation with us to pass the time of day; and the staff of the Parliamentary Counsel Office.

I also thank officials from Government departments. It is always a big deal for officials when the Government changes, but this year I acknowledge the professionalism and excellence of the New Zealand Public Service. It has handled a change of Government, and a drastic change in fiscal outlook, with professionalism, with independence, and, I might say, in some cases with courage and urgency.

I thank the Government’s support parties. They came to the support arrangements with this Government with great goodwill, and, I can say, with something of a divergence of interest and opinions. But it has always been clear from the start that the relationships we have with United Future, the ACT Party, and the Māori Party are relationships based on respect, not always agreement. I thank them for the integrity they have brought to some sometimes very difficult issues—the integrity of being open with their concerns, and of dealing openly about those concerns with other Ministers, and their integrity in backing the position that the Government has come to. I am very pleased to note that the innovations this Government has made in building on changes that the previous Government made to coalition arrangements have worked out well—such as support party Ministers regularly attending Cabinet committees. That has created, I think, more of a sense of a collective interest and a broad understanding of each other’s points of view about a wide range of issues. I acknowledge the critical part that those parties have played in bringing stable Government, and if there was a year when stable Government was needed in New Zealand, it was this year when there has been so much uncertainty in the wider world.

I thank the press gallery, whose esteemed members have provided careful reporting and thorough analysis of what the Government has been doing, and who have shared in a professional manner both the good news about what the Government is doing, the bad news about what the economy is doing, and the occasional minor issue that the press thinks is a big issue. But, you know, that is all part of the political process.

I also thank the lobbyists, because they have learnt what good governance is about. We have had to educate them; when they turn up now they bring along serious cases, and they are willing to take responsibility for the discussions and the decisions that are made. How many times have members of the National-led Government had lobbyists and interest groups say to them: “Isn’t it great the Government has changed.”? And some of Labour’s best friends have come along and said to us that it is great that the Government has changed.

I thank the Opposition for giving us such a free run. I never thought that getting into Government in a recession would be so easy in the Chamber, and so easy in the battleground of the media. I particularly thank my Opposition counterpart, David Cunliffe. I had thought through the year that he was auditioning for the leadership of the Labour Party, but he is not; he is auditioning to be the next James Bond. What is more, he has almost persuaded me that he might be the right sort of person for that part.

Of course, the Labour Party can reflect on the year. At the start of the year its leadership was secure and firm, but now, by the end of the year, it is in doubt. There is no point in Labour denying that, because I know what it looks like. I can give Mr Goff in fine detail the manual that his caucus is following—step one through to step 17. Labour members are up to about step two, but there is nothing more inevitable than step three, step four, and step five, and I am quite happy to report on the benchmarks as they go. So the first report, I tell Mr Goff, is that Labour members are on step two. There will be a barbecue season—there is absolutely no doubt about that. There will be a barbecue season. But I can tell members that it will not be at Phil’s place. It will not be at Phil’s place. I wish the Opposition and their families all the best of Christmases.

Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition) : A year ago today Bill English moved the adjournment motion—and just as badly—but at that stage Steven Joyce was not smiling quite as much as he is in the House today. I want to go back to Bill English’s speech of a year ago, because he described the outgoing Labour administration as “scandal ridden”.

At the very time Bill English was giving that speech he was busy. He was busy rearranging his personal affairs so he could claim twice as much for his housing allowance as any other Minister had ever got—$47,000—by claiming he had no pecuniary interest in his own home. The Auditor-General said that Mr English patently did have a pecuniary interest in his home. Mr English, of course, claimed that he lived in Dipton to be eligible for any housing allowance at all, but, at the same time, he was claiming that he lived in Wellington to be eligible for a self-drive car. I ask Bill English whether it was Dipton or Wellington. Which was it?

Anyway, $47,000 was not enough. He wanted more. He wanted more for his cleaner. The irony of that is that the cleaner was part of that very same occupation that Mr English, as Minister of Finance, said did not deserve a pay rise this year, despite the fact cleaners are low-income earners. Bill English launched the crusade to cut the real incomes of the lowest-income people of this country from the “moral high ground” of claiming $47,000 a year in housing allowances alone. That is more than any of those cleaners get from their entire income for the year. That is no moral high ground at all, I say to Mr English. Mr English has the temerity to talk about scandals, but when it comes to scandals, Mr English is the gift that keeps on taking.

Sadly, Mr English is not alone. There is Mr Hide over there. That is Mr Hide, the perk-buster. Mr Hide was into perks as hard and fast as he could. He was claiming he was against perks but he was secretly taking them. Then, of course, there was Mr Harawira. He was happy to have the taxpayer meet the cost of his travel to Europe but he did not turn up at the meeting the taxpayer paid for him to go to. For Mr Harawira, accountability apparently is a Pākehā concept, and the people who paid the taxes for him to go were worthy only of insult and obscenity.

When Mr English finished his speech last year he promised that the National Government would act in favour of the majority of this country. Over the last year we have seen from this National Government anything but that. This National Government looks after privilege. Why else, this time last year, did Bill English move through Parliament legislation that gave 30 percent of the money for tax cuts to the top 3 percent, including himself and his colleagues over there?

Hon Bill English: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am having a bit of trouble hearing the member because colleagues of mine are able to read his speech from a BlackBerry. He left out the bit about multinationals. I seek leave to table his speech.

Mr SPEAKER: I think I had better take that as a good-humoured interjection.

Hon PHIL GOFF: This Government is about privilege. It claims it has no money to meet the basic needs of ordinary working New Zealanders, but it has put $110 billion aside to look after the interests of the multinationals and the polluters. The Government did not bill those who are causing the pollution, which is what an emissions trading scheme was meant to be about. Rather, the bill will be passed on to hard-working New Zealand taxpayers, who will be paying for decades to come for this Government’s dirty deal on the emissions trading scheme, which will be disastrous for our economy and disastrous for our environment.

This Government does not put the burden on the privileged. There is no point, Mr English, in the cheap words of sympathy you gave to low-income earners at the start of your speech when you have been looking after the privileged and you have been putting the burden of this recession fully and squarely on low-income earners.

Hon Rodney Hide: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It happened several times there, but the member knows he should not be bringing the Speaker into the debate.

Mr SPEAKER: The member is—

Hon Trevor Mallard: Mr Speaker, he—

Mr SPEAKER: I do not need any assistance on the matter. Mr Hide is quite correct. I did not want to intervene, because I did not want to interrupt the speech of the honourable Leader of the Opposition. But he must not use the word “you”.

Hon Trevor Mallard: He said “you, Mr English”.

Mr SPEAKER: The member has been in the House long enough to know that saying “you, Mr English” is totally inconsistent with the Standing Orders. A member cannot, for good reason, say that, because it personalises the debate. The member cannot say “you, Mr English”; the member cannot use “you” because “you” is referring to the Speaker.

Hon PHIL GOFF: Yesterday Mr Key, in this House, boasted that having 60,000 additional New Zealanders deprived of their livelihood through unemployment was “a pretty good result”. But I will tell National members, who do not seem to understand what it means to a person to be unemployed, about the case of a young man whom Maryan Street and I visited, by chance, in Nelson last Thursday. An article about him has been written in the Nelson Mail. The young man’s name is Ivan Culpitt. He is 22 years old. He has, over the last 7 months, applied for 20 jobs but failed to get them.

Mr Culpitt is desperate to get off the sickness benefit and get into work. He turned up at the place we were visiting, McCashin’s Brewery and Malthouse, and told the employer he would work for nothing—work for nothing—because he was so desperate to get a job. The woman who was running that brewery, a very nice woman by the name of Emma McCashin, said in this article and to us on the ground that every week she is phoned by people so desperate for work that they are indeed prepared to work for nothing.

I acknowledge the commitment of Ivan Culpitt to finding that job, but no New Zealander and no young New Zealander should have to go out and work for nothing because things are so tough and that person cannot get a job. I say to the National members opposite that when they are smug and arrogant about those people—as they were during question time—they should think about that young man and about the New Zealanders who are suffering at the moment because they have no chance of employment.

As we adjourn this House, and as we think about what we may be doing a week out from now when we spend time with our families, I ask the members of the Government—both National and ACT members—to think about what was said yesterday by the Auckland City Missioner, Diane Robertson, about what is happening in her agency. She said that a new class of people is coming through her agency. She is seeing people who had never been there before and who had never asked for assistance before—thousands of additional New Zealanders.

We have heard the same story from the Salvation Army, from the Citizens Advice Bureaux, and from the Family Budgeting Services. She told us a story about a woman who came in with three young children. The woman’s husband had been made redundant 8 weeks earlier. The family had lost their home. They had no money for Christmas, and nothing for extras. I ask National members not to give us the cheap words we have heard from the Deputy Prime Minister, but, for God’s sake, I ask that next year they start to govern for ordinary New Zealanders who are missing out on the things that New Zealanders should be able to expect to have in life.

Finally, I acknowledge the parliamentary staff, who do the work that makes the functioning of this institution possible. I will begin with you, Mr Speaker, and your office. Thank you for your service to the House this year. I acknowledge also the Clerk, and the Clerk’s Office, for the work they do. I thank the Hansard reporters, who are sometimes called upon to write down things—particularly from the Government benches—that do not make much sense.

I thank the security staff and the messengers, who have had to fight this year for a decent wage for working in this House, and I thank the cleaning staff, who are still fighting to get a decent wage. I acknowledge our executive assistants, and our media, research, clerical, and electorate office staff. They work hard, and they work professionally. For those of us who have the privilege of having drivers, I acknowledge them, also, for the work they do.

Last but not least, I acknowledge the spouses and families of parliamentarians, from whichever side of the House we sit on. Our families and our partners do not choose the careers that we have chosen for ourselves, but too often they pay the price for that—the price of our absence, and the price of unwanted publicity. I wish all our colleagues and all New Zealanders a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

KEITH LOCKE (Green) : First of all, on behalf of the Green Party I extend to all members in this Chamber our best wishes for the season, and I extend best wishes particularly to the Speaker. I think our Speaker has really put his heart and soul into the job—probably more than any other Speaker I have seen since I have been here. We certainly appreciate his efforts to get Ministers to answer the questions at question time, rather than to talk around them.

The Green Party, like the previous two speakers, also wishes to send its greetings to all those many people in this complex who help us to do our work, including ushers, security staff, police, messengers, travel office people, Bellamy’s workers, librarians, and everyone in the Clerk’s Office, including all the select committee staff. That is not to forget, of course, our own personal party staff, executive assistants, out-of-Parliament people, and administrative, research, and media staff. Finally, this Christmas we should not forget those largely unseen but hard-working people who clean our offices at night, and who, as Phil Goff just mentioned, are underpaid. The Green Party is also concerned at the underpayment of the security staff, and we strongly support them in their negotiations and collective action through the New Zealand Public Service Association to get a better deal.

Christmas is a time of goodwill to all men and women, and I think we should be thinking particularly of those poor families who will not have the wherewithal to have a sumptuous Christmas dinner, or to buy much in the way of presents for their kids. Unfortunately, New Zealand is becoming a more unequal society with serious levels of poverty, and flowing from that we have a serious crime problem. However, at Christmas we should have compassion both for the victims of offences and for the criminals in jail, and for the families of both of them. It was estimated on Radio New Zealand this morning that there are 20,000 children of prisoners, and we should remember them because they will not be having a very good Christmas with their father or mother in jail.

This year Chief Justice Sian Elias gave us a strong hint that we should be looking at ways of reducing crime other than just locking up more and more people for longer. The decade-long battle between Labour and National about who can be the toughest on criminals has resulted in New Zealand having one of the highest imprisonment rates in the Western World. Only the Greens and the Māori Party have argued for a better approach, focusing more on restorative justice and rehabilitation than on punishment. Mind you, there is one crime that the Greens are thinking of adding to the statute book, and that is a crime against the climate. But that might not get a majority in the House, because some of the current members here might end up being incarcerated.

That brings me to Copenhagen. Our MPs on the spot, Jeanette Fitzsimons and Kennedy Graham, say that the rallying cry on Copenhagen streets this week has been “climate justice”, which means that rich countries with higher per capita emissions have to take the prime responsibility for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and also make a huge financial contribution to poorer countries to allow them to move to a lower-carbon economy.

The need for climate justice shows that we cannot solve fundamental environmental problems—and climate change is the pre-eminent one—without addressing the social and economic inequalities between nations and within nations. This also highlights why the Greens are so strong on international human rights. Countries that are not democratic are generally despoilers of the environment. In this respect we are disappointed that John Key has followed Helen Clark in keeping Ministers away from the Dalai Lama when he visits, in order to satisfy the political mandarins in Beijing.

Four Green MPs did meet the Dalai Lama when he visited this month. His comments on what was happening on the Tibetan Plateau were alarming. The massive deforestation by Chinese loggers can only increase greenhouse gas emissions, and it can also reduce rainfall on the plateau. When we combine that with global warming melting the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau, we are looking at an environmental and social catastrophe, because almost half the world’s population in South Asia, East Asia, and South-east Asia relies on water coming from the Tibetan Plateau. The one-party dictatorship in China is simply not up to solving such a vital ecological problem, which is why we must strongly support all the democratic forces in China, be they harassed Chinese human rights campaigners or those wanting more rights for the Tibetan and Uighur people.

The urgency of massive expenditure by rich countries to combat climate change is one reason why we should be against wars, such as that being prosecuted by the United States in Afghanistan, unfortunately with the assistance of our SAS. About $1.4 trillion is currently being spent annually on military equipment and fighting wars. Would it not be a better use of that money to spread renewable power generation in poorer countries, rather than use it to drop bombs on them?

Next year the Green Party will be continuing to challenge the largely “business as usual” economic policies of National and Labour. We know that this unsettles those wedded to economic orthodoxy, where the dominant measure of economic health appears to be the growth of GDP largely through producing more consumer goods and further drawing down on the world’s scarce resources. We are confident that next year even more New Zealanders will be agreeing with the Greens about the need for a more intelligent approach towards a more sustainable economic future.

This year has been a year of transition for the Greens, with nearly half of our caucus being first-term MPs, including David Clendon, who replaced Sue Bradford when she left recently. Sue Bradford achieved so much for us during her 10 years in Parliament and won huge public respect. We have also been lucky to have Russel Norman and Metiria Turei so capably step into the shoes of our founding co-leaders Rod Donald and Jeanette Fitzsimons.

Here is a sample of what we in the Green Party have achieved this past year. We have put a lot of work into what we call the Green New Deal, and that is a green answer to the combined economic and environmental crises we face. We were able to advance some of the items under the Green New Deal under our memorandum of understanding with National to work together on issues where we can agree. This includes the $323 million home insulation scheme to make 180,000 homes warmer and drier. Another project that is consistent with the Green New Deal has been the national cycleway, where our MP Kevin Hague has been working closely with John Key. Mind you, most of what National has done is not socially or environmentally friendly and has increased greenhouse gas emissions, such as the focus on new motorway construction in and around Wellington and Auckland, which will only encourage more travel by car.

Much of National’s programme has eroded gains of previous years, often through reduced funding. This includes the accident compensation levy rises, cuts to night school funding, less support for community organisations, and amendments to the Resource Management Act. But even when we have not been able to defeat a bad bill, we have sometimes been able to moderate it. In the debate over the Resource Management Act amendments, for example, Russel Norman teamed up with community and environmental groups to ensure that Kiwis still have some say over our water, land, and wildlife. Russel has been a champion of progressive tax and banking reform, and he blew the whistle on proposals for factory dairy-farming in the Mackenzie Country.

Metiria Turei has shone light on National’s plans to allow some level of mining in our conservation estate. We say we should love our national parks and protect them, not mine them. Catherine Delahunty has battled for New Zealanders to be given information about toxic sites, which took a big step forward with the introduction of new rules that require councils to make public what they know. Sue Kedgley has kept up the good fight for consumers to know where their food comes from.

Hon RODNEY HIDE (Leader—ACT) : First of all, let me wish the very best to all the good people of Epsom, who have done a wonderful job of supporting their local member. I have to say that, on becoming a Minister, I was very concerned about whether I would be able to perform adequately the duties of a local member, but I have to say that, with the help of other Ministers, it has been very easy. What I found with National Ministers is that they actually do care about individual constituents, so when I have taken concerns to the respective Ministers, we have had a very good result and the outcome that we would expect. I would also like to thank all the ACT supporters and all the ACT voters who have supported us over the years.

Our goal this year was to show that we could work well in Government, that we could work well with the parties in Government, and also that we could make a difference within Government, so that giving one’s party vote to ACT would actually mean something. I believe that we have demonstrated that. I would like, in particular, to say how marvellous it has been to work with the Prime Minister, John Key. John Key said at the start, following the election, that what was important to him was not the words on the paper of any confidence and supply agreement, but the relationship that would be developed between National and the confidence and supply parties. I have to say that the Prime Minister and every other Minister have actually worked very, very hard in terms of their integrity and their respect for the ACT Party, and likewise with the Māori Party and United Future. The leadership John Key has shown in respect of the confidence and supply parties has made for a stronger and a better Government than would otherwise be the case.

I thank all the Ministers I have worked with. It has been a fabulous year. I also particularly thank the Māori Party and United Future. Oftentimes we disagree on the policy issues, but that is what we would expect when we come from different political parties. At no time have those disagreements spilled over into any loss of respect or into attack or insult. The relationship has been one of utmost dignity, and I have to say I greatly admire the Māori Party as a consequence. I thank my electorate staff for working tirelessly on behalf of the people of Epsom. I also thank Mr John Carter, the Associate Minister of Local Government, because he has worked incredibly hard in that role, and, without doubt, we actually have two Ministers of local government rather than one Minister and an Associate Minister.

I thank Brendan Boyle and the team at the Department of Internal Affairs, and the officials at the Ministry for Economic Development and at Treasury, whom I work with. I thank them sincerely for their superb efforts. There is no doubt that those departments have faced big challenges, and they have worked hard, especially on the reforms under way in Auckland. The Auckland Transition Agency, established to oversee the move to one unitary council in Auckland, is doing a fantastic job. Executive chair Mark Ford, general counsel Rob Fisher, and the team at the agency deserve mention for their calm, determined, and professional work on what is no small task. I am grateful to them for all their efforts, and look forward to their continuing in that job.

To my parliamentary colleagues, and in particular Mr Cunliffe, on the Opposition benches, the ACT Party extends its very best for the Christmas break and for a holiday with their families and friends. Of course, we often disagree on matters of policy, but we share a common goal, which is to make New Zealand a better place for everyone. We disagree oftentimes about the best way to do that, but I do not think there is anyone in this Parliament who does not want the best for our country.

Mr Speaker, your efforts in this House deserve special mention. I agree with all the commentators who laud your work in making Parliament an institution of which we can all be proud. I think that you have shown leadership and wisdom that has done New Zealand and our great institution of Westminster parliamentary democracy a wonderful service. I wish you and your wife a very good Christmas and holiday. You can reflect on putting something into our country and into our Parliament that is no mean achievement, and that is a great respect for Parliament.

I also thank everyone who works in the precincts. They have been mentioned, but we all know that what makes our Parliament work is all the hard work of others who support the MPs, often at difficult hours and often in difficult time frames. They, too, can have a break.

I also wish the press gallery a good break and a good 2010. The relationship between the Government—and indeed politicians generally—and the press gallery is a robust one, as it should be in any functioning democracy. I think that we have a great respect for the journalists, and I think, too, despite what people might think at times, the journalists too have a great respect for us as politicians, and, more particularly, for this great institution that is our Parliament and this wonderful thing that is our democracy.

It has been a tough year for Kiwis, and a year of some considerable uncertainty. It has certainly been a tough year for a Minister of Finance grappling with a difficult set of accounts and a worldwide recession. It has been good to end the year on some good news on the economic front. What we know about Kiwis is that we can have a great Christmas confident in the knowledge that next year will be better because we actually have had a good and stable Government making the right decisions, and that our Parliament is in good heart. So, too, are the values of this great country in terms of our work ethic, our enterprise, and the positivity that we can all revel in, in this country, from the Prime Minister down. Thank you.

Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Māori Party) : Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Tēnā tatou katoa i tēnei rā whakamutunga. The debating chamber must be the most unusual destination to take one’s honeymoon, but you, Mr Speaker, can be proud of the wedding banquet that you presided over in this last year. The Māori Party stands to congratulate you on the distinguished presence and wise counsel that you have demonstrated in this House. We have valued the fair and firm way in which this Chamber has been managed, and a particular delight for us has been to hear the deep resonance of the tone that you have brought to the karakia. We expect that this skill will be heard more frequently next year, with the introduction of simultaneous interpretation in the House. We extend our thanks also to Lindsay Tisch as Deputy Speaker, and to Rick Barker and Eric Roy in their roles as Assistant Speakers.

I want to take this time also to acknowledge the leadership of Mary Harris—tēnā koe—and to thank the Office of the Clerk of the House, the party whips right across the House, the Serjeant-at-Arms, the Usher of the Black Rod, the Hansard recorders, and all those who maintain the order, the decorum, and the history of our Parliament.

We are at a critical juncture in the history of politics. In this last 12 months the Māori Party has been able to ensure the Māori voice is heard by the Government, and that it is included in, and informs, decision making. We believe that Māori need to be participants in decision making, not just recipients of it. So policy by policy, bill by bill, we have seen the expression of tangata whenua in debates on aquaculture, broadcasting, employment, criminal justice, the social services, education, and many more. Of course there have been some notable exceptions, in which the collective decision-making capacity of Cabinet, or indeed this Parliament, has not taken the time to respond to the call from Māori. I am thinking of the Te Rā o Matariki/Matariki Day Bill, put up by my colleague Rahui Katene—a wonderful gesture on the pathway to nationhood, which was voted down by this Parliament. I think of the Auckland governance legislation, which ignored the proposals of mana whenua and rejected the expert analysis of the mana whenua forum of Ngāti Whātua of Tainui. There is also the failure to act in the best interests of Māori in the polytechnic sector or, more broadly, in adult education.

Although we may agree or disagree with it, the strong, independent voice of Māori will prevail, and we will continue to represent the aspirations of our people in every breath that we take. I spoke earlier of the history that has been shaped in this Parliament. Five years ago the Foreshore and Seabed Act was passed—an Act that polarised the nation and provoked a debate on Kiwi versus iwi. As one of the key negotiating points of the relationship agreement that we signed with National, we initiated a review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act, which has resulted in the Prime Minister indicating a strong likelihood that the Act will be repealed. I commend the work of the ministerial review panel, led by Judge Taihākūrei Durie. Its report revealed that the Act was built on shaky foundations, and gave Māori such umbrage that they considered the propriety of the Government’s delivering some form of apology for, or recognition of, having done wrong. This has not happened as yet, but it was a very positive development that Dr Michael Cullen, in his final press conference, conceded that Labour should not have legislated to prevent Māori from seeking customary title from the Māori Land Court to the foreshore and seabed. It is only disappointing that the new Leader of the Opposition has not been able to honour those parting words. But we look forward to a new year in which options for a replacement regime will be considered.

The impact of the economic climate has, of course, been a huge influence on this Parliament. We have been responsible for the progressing of a number of work streams that emerged from the employment summit, including a focus on Māori skills acquisition, involving significant investment across a number of sectors in Māori industry training places. I established the Māori Economic Taskforce, which has enabled us to move forward with optimism as we think of the huge challenges facing our nation, particularly in addressing high unemployment. I congratulate my colleague Tariana on her initiative in the Community Max scheme, which has paved the foundation for many of our whānau in determining their own local work options.

Through tough times, inevitably we rely on the community and the voluntary sector to support people in need. The Māori Party recognises the dedicated sacrifice and commitment of the many local heroes and “sheroes” who maintain our communities and care for our people. Within this group are those who care for our elderly, the disabled, our children, those with mental health issues, those who have suffered the tragedy of family violence, and those who are more vulnerable than others. We commend all of them for the devoted way in which they care for the lives of others.

But if there is one key area in which to bring about the gains needed in order for our nation to advance, it will be Whānau Ora. This policy is transformational. It is about re-energising and re-empowering whānau to do it for themselves: to determine their own destiny. It is about pride, it is about potential, and it is about our whānau being the beacon of hope for our future. We know that if we can invest in our whānau to take care of their own, to assume their responsibilities for their collective health and well-being, then ultimately the taxpayer of this land will benefit from that. Whānau Ora places whānau at the centre and builds on the strengths and capabilities already present in the whānau. It is a new approach: an approach in which we trust whānau will lead the way.

As one example, I have introduced an initiative around māra kai to promote community gardening amongst Māori in order to restore the ability of Māori to nourish and feed themselves from their own gardens. The initiative refocuses our energies to promote self-sufficiency, well-being, and healthy activity, as well as reviving the lost art of gardening knowledge, including our values of kaitiakitanga and whanaungatanga.

In thinking of these values, I turn to extend the appreciation of the Māori Party to all the amazing people who care for our well-being within this environment: the messengers here in the House, who travel miles to keep us informed; the library staff, who upturn every stone to keep us updated; the security staff, who keep us safe; the staff at Bellamy’s and Copperfields, who keep us fed; the receptionists and telephonists, who keep us connected; the VIP drivers; the Ministerial Services and Parliamentary Service staff; the cleaners; the information technology helpdesk; the building and maintenance team; and the gardeners who keep the premises in pristine condition and maintain the dignity of the House. There are the parliamentary officers who run the Bills Office, who serve the select committees, or who manage Cabinet committees; and, of course, we know that a day in the life of any politician can be made or broken through the lens and pens of the press gallery. We salute them all for their efforts.

In our own Māori Party offices, we are indebted to the expert advice of our research team, the talents and quick wit of our media team, the challenge and thrust of our political advisers, the institutional confidence of our departmental advisers, and the ever-wonderful management and manaakitanga of our executive team.

We have had an incredible year in Government, and, as a party with influence in this Parliament, the considerable gains achieved through Budget 2009 and the emissions trading scheme have been possible because of the quality of the relationship we enjoy with National. I thank the Prime Minister for the courage of his vision in extending his hand of welcome to us. His enthusiastic approach to leadership has been embraced by us all, and we have all appreciated the confidence and trust of members of his team, from senior Cabinet members to backbenchers alike.

Finally, I acknowledge the amazing energy and excellent leadership of my colleagues and friends Tariana, Te Ururoa, Rahui, and Hone. We end this year as we began it, united in our vision to make this nation great again. I call the attention of the House to the need to look carefully at the symbolism of the national Māori flag announced earlier this week. Within the spiral-like koru of the black, red, and white design, there is the symbolism of the curving fern frond, bringing with it the unfolding of new life, hope for the future, and the promise of renewal. I wish this for every member of this House. We thank members for the work that they do on behalf of New Zealand. We commend them for their commitment, their hard work, and the sacrifices that they and their families make for the common good of our nation. We look forward to returning in 2010 to work together across the House, to embrace opportunities for cooperation, and to truly consider the moments of transformation that will make the greatest difference for the people of Aotearoa. Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete me te Tau Hou. Happy Christmas; happy New Year. May Father Christmas fill everyone’s stockings with good ideas about how to work with the Māori Party. Kia ora koutou.

Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) : Mr Speaker, I will begin by acknowledging the tremendous job you have done as our Speaker in the last 12 months. Many commentators have made reference to the way in which you have brought a sense of dignity and order to the House. I think, as someone who has been here for a little while, that you have done more to restore the standing of Parliament in the public eye than any other single politician in the time that I have been here. I say that not lightly, because you have had a very awesome task ahead of you. I think the combination of people sitting down each day to watch on television question time, and seeing your insistence—much, I suspect, to the infuriation of Ministers at times—that Ministers answer the questions that are being put to them, has had two consequences: firstly, the quality of answers is better, and, secondly, the quality of questions being asked is better, too, because the prospect of getting an answer is that much greater. I acknowledge the work you have done, and I think that all of this House owes you a huge debt for what you have done to restore the standing of Parliament in the public eye.

I want also at this early stage to acknowledge the commitment, dedication, and support I have received from my own staff during the year, including my office staff and my departmental staff in respect of inland revenue and health; the Cabinet office; and the myriad other people who work to make this place the institution that it is: the library staff, the catering staff, the security staff, the Parliamentary Service staff, Ministerial Services, the Cabinet Office, the VIP drivers, the gardeners, and everyone—you name it—who makes Parliament this unique village that it is.

We often overlook the fact that as we come to our adjournment, their time goes on. Their shifts will continue. I was talking today to one of our security people, who told me that he was manning the Christmas and Boxing Day shift at this building. While we are out celebrating, the staff who serve us will continue to work here. I think we should acknowledge that.

For me this year ends on a very high note. I know that members will forgive me a little bit of obsession, perhaps, but I was delighted that yesterday saw the culmination of what has been for me a very long campaign to see the Transmission Gully decision finally made in the interests of the people of Wellington. It has been 15 years since I took up this cause. In that time, we have had petitions to Parliament, I have brought members’ bills to Parliament, and I have managed to get it in confidence and supply agreements with both Governments. I want to acknowledge particularly the support of the Hon Winnie Laban and the Hon Darren Hughes on the Opposition side, and the support of the Minister of Transport on the Government side, in bringing this matter to fruition.

This issue has for the rest of New Zealand, I think, a certain quaint feel to it. Why on earth are we obsessed in Wellington about a motorway or a highway? But the reality is that for the people of this region it is important, and I think that the overwhelming majority of people of the region will be grateful for the fact that the campaign has transcended political boundaries in the main and is finally now being successful, and I think we should celebrate that, right on Christmas.

I was also delighted last week to be able to release an issues paper regarding what has been a long-held United Future policy of income splitting for parents with dependent children, as the next step towards the introduction of legislation that will give effect to that policy next year. As part of our confidence and supply agreement with National there will be support for a bill being referred to a select committee. I believe that, in the broad context of the way in which we treat households and the whole issue about the best way of ensuring that those kids and families get the best start in life, this will be a very timely issue for debate next year.

It will come along at the same time as we will be engrossed in working through the detail of the report of the tax working-group due shortly. Given its brief of looking at how the Government’s medium-term objective of aligning tax rates could be achieved, and all of the issues that have arisen in consequence as part of its consideration, a very critical part of the work that the Minister of Finance, other colleagues, and I will be doing early in the new year will be to translate its recommendations into good, sound policy for the future. That is another reason to make sure that the forthcoming summer break is a good one.

Many people have mentioned in the course of the debate already that this has not been the easiest of years for New Zealand. At the start of the year we faced the enormous uncertainty of an international economic crisis, the depth of which we knew not, and the duration of which we could only speculate upon, but we could note at the time the international anxiety that this looked like being the Great Depression all over again. As 2009 draws to a close, we can perhaps breathe a little easier in New Zealand that our worst fears have not been realised. But that is not to diminish the fact that for many New Zealanders this has been a tough and difficult year. The consequences will take some time to work themselves out. As we approach the Christmas break, I think we should reflect upon the fact that for many people it might not be the warm and effusive time it might otherwise have been. There may be some cutting back on the presents for the kids and there may not be the level of hospitality around the Christmas table, but Kiwis are trying to make do and Kiwis are looking forward to the future.

I want to make this observation, as well: we are all looking forward to our summer break and to the sentiment of the gathering of family and friends, but there will be a category of New Zealanders for whom that will not be possible. There are many people for whom Christmas is a time of dread, actually. They may have lost a loved one during the year or they may have family overseas. For whatever reason, they will be alone. For them, we should spare more than a passing thought. They are the people who, as all of the commercial and other pressures about the Christmas period weigh down upon them, become increasingly fearful of what it might mean. While we are celebrating and while all of us are looking forward to escaping this place, I ask members to just spare a thought for those who will be less well off, less fortunate, and who will be waiting for Christmas to pass so that the normal sphere of life will resume for them.

Next year will be a year of huge challenge. This year the Government has really been settling down. The challenge next year—and the Government knows its challenge—is to translate a lot of the plans that have been put in place this year, a lot of the preparatory work that has been done, into definite plans, policies, and actions. I know that Ministers have a big workload ahead of them, and the consequence of that is that next year will be full of immense excitement. There will be all sorts of issues for members to grapple with. The select committees that have been working hard this year will work even harder next year as the legislative programme will be fuller than it has been this year. On that reason alone, members deserve a good break. They deserve some time to recharge the batteries, to perhaps read the books they have thought about reading all year but have had to discard in favour of the latest departmental or other report, to reintroduce themselves to family and friends, and to perhaps just be able to enjoy a normal lifestyle for a period of time.

I do not intend to detain the House longer. I simply want to wish everyone, right around this Chamber and throughout these precincts, the very best for Christmas, and a happy and successful 2010. When the House resumes in February, I look forward to the political debate resuming as well.

CHRIS TREMAIN (National—Napier) : I begin by wishing you, Mr Speaker, and Alexandra a merry Christmas. I acknowledge the efforts you have put into lifting the standards in the House. I think the behaviour in the Chamber reflects a superb new level. I also wish a merry Christmas to all New Zealanders, in particular to the people of my rohe of Ahuriri—Napier. I say to them that it is a privilege to be their MP and I definitely appreciate it. I wish a merry Christmas to all my friends and colleagues around the Chamber. It has been a tough year, but it has been a lot of fun. I say to members to make sure they have time with their families and to look forward to coming back to the House early.

I reflect the comments of Bill English when he thanked all the staff of the House and all the workers, who have done such a huge job in this place. They make it happen for us. In the spirit of Christmas, I also acknowledge my whipping colleagues: Jo, Stevie, Darren, Kennedy, Te Ururoa, and David. We have a professional relationship that at times is one in which we do not agree, but I think we have worked at a level this year that has meant that the House has worked on a very professional level. If we reflect on it, we see that 70-odd bills were passed through this House this year. I understand that the average over the years has been in the low 60s, so that has been a good effort from around the House. I am proud of it, and I am proud to acknowledge the work of Gerry Brownlee in that particular effort.

I do not think we can go past thanking the people of New Zealand. Without them, our party would not be in Government and our friends in the minority parties would not be here as well, so I thank New Zealanders around the country for supporting our Government and for giving us the absolute privilege to be here. As we have come through this recession, it is very easy for the Government to stand up and take the plaudits and the accolades. But, actually, the hard-working New Zealanders of this country—the businessmen and businesswomen, and the employees in those companies—have got us through this recession. I think we need to thank them for all the hard work they have done throughout the year.

I acknowledge that, but, in doing so, I also acknowledge all the people who have lost their jobs. The thing that often grates on me in this House, particularly when we are going through a recession, is that we forget the businesses that fell over throughout the recession and how tough it is for people to stand up and lay someone off. I have been a businessman for most of my life, and laying someone off is the toughest thing you have to do. I acknowledge the businesspeople who have tightened their belts and have got on with the job even though it is tough. I acknowledge the employees who also acknowledged that we were in a recessionary time and did not push for the wage rises that they perhaps deserved this year. In particular, I acknowledge those employees out there who lost their jobs. It is tough, but I want them to know that this Government has supported them through this recession.

In my speech today, I want to look at some of the things we as a Government have done this year to support the country and to take it forward. If we think about those employees who have lost their jobs, we should ask what we as a Government have done that we can reflect on. We lifted the minimum wage from $12 to $12.50 an hour in a recession, when it would have been very easy not to. We held benefits and entitlements at a level throughout that recession, when we were facing down the barrel of 10 years of deficit. We looked at that recession and said that we needed to provide a safety net for employees who got themselves into difficulty, and we retained those entitlements. We were still able to deliver $1 billion in tax cuts. We protected savings in the wholesale and retail bank markets. We assisted thousands of workers in the Job Support Scheme. We provided 16,900—

Hon Member: How many?

CHRIS TREMAIN: —16,900 opportunities for 16 to 24-year-olds. I acknowledge the rise in unemployment among young people in my own electorate of Napier. It is a real concern, so I am proud of what Paula Bennett has done. I am proud of what the Prime Minister did in putting those schemes together for 16,900 people. I acknowledge that this scheme will not solve the problems of every unemployed person out there, but it is a hang of a lot, it is a great start, and it shows that we are out there trying to do the best we can. In that regard, we made a good start with home insulation. We have a goal of getting 180,000 homes insulated, and that is no mean feat. We have already got out this year and delivered on that goal, and it has provided jobs for people and warmer homes. It is absolutely superb.

In going forward, this country has set a platform that will provide a pathway to grow as a country. In that regard, we have done something that I also think we should reflect on: we have capped the numbers in the core bureaucracy. It needed to be done, as that number grew exponentially over the last 9 years. We have put $7.5 billion into infrastructure expenditure, and we keep rolling out the announcements on that infrastructure. This week Steven Joyce was out there announcing Transmission Gully and the whole route from Wellington up to Ōtaki, something that has been on the books for 20-odd years. We want to reflect on the fact that this Government has got out there and made decisions and tough calls. Even when lobbies have not supported where we have gone, we have gone out there and done the hard yards. I am particularly proud of that.

On top of that, we have had a $500 million relief package for small businesses, we have simplified the Resource Management Act to make it easier, we have undertaken some major structural reform reviews, and this week Gerry Brownlee was out there with a review of the entire energy system. Once again, we are setting a platform for growth and are trying to introduce more competition in the sector. We cannot guarantee we will stop price rises, but we can aim to keep them low, which is good.

In health, we have done some wonderful things. We said at the election that we would increase the amount of elective surgery. It had been increasing at about 1,500 a year. We said we would lift that increase to 4,500 a year, and what did we do? We lifted it to 11,000 this year. That was a pretty good effort. Some smaller but very important things include our commitment to Herceptin, which we delivered on. We provide a 12-month programme of Herceptin. PlunketLine is another. For people like me who have a young family, it was a particularly important initiative that we rolled out. Another thing, which I know my good colleague Katrina Shanks supported throughout the election, was maternity care. We listened to the New Zealand public, who told us that maternity care was important, and I know that as I had three babies at that time. It was not good enough for mothers to be rolled out of maternity care when they did not feel it was time to go, so we put another $104 million into maternity care. That $104 million gives mothers and fathers more choice in maternity care, and I think that is absolutely fantastic.

I reflect on where we have got to in law and order. There has been a clamp down on gangs and P. The police have new powers, which has been absolutely fantastic, and tougher penalties can now be imposed. The whole P initiative led by the Prime Minister is just a sample of things to come. Our Prime Minister got multiple departments to put their heads together, and they have delivered results. We are already seeing the results roll out around the country with less P being taken and more P penalties.

I will finish by talking about education, because for me that is a critical area going forward. I show my support for Anne Tolley and the wonderful way in which she is dealing with national standards. For me it is one of the most important things going forward next year, and I think the country will definitely get in behind it. At this point in time 20 percent of our children are leaving high school unable to read, write, or do maths to a level that will get them by in a modern economy—20 percent! We can do a couple of things. We can wring our hands and say that it is too hard, so we will just continue with 20 percent being in that position, or we can get out there and say that we will do something about it. We can say that we are going to do something for those kids and for the parents of New Zealand. Anne Tolley has bravely gone against the teacher unions, and against some of the principals and some teachers, and said that we actually care for parents and for children, that we are out there, and that we are going to introduce national standards. Those standards are coming in next year and I am looking forward to that roll-out. I accept there is a dual responsibility for parents to work with the schools. I think we need to bring the pendulum of responsibility in education back towards parents, as well. The responsibility does not rest just with teachers; it rests with the families and they need to understand that, as well. So I am excited about that. I am excited about national standards and I am very positive about this Government and next year.

It has been a great year and one in which I have been proud to be part of this John Key - led Government. It has been a privilege to be in this House and to be the member of Parliament for Napier. Thank you very much and merry Christmas to everybody in the House.

Hon DARREN HUGHES (Labour) : It is always a pleasure to follow on from my friend the chief Government whip, who in his maiden speech admitted that he had been an active member of Toastmasters. After that performance, I hope he does that for free.

Chris Hipkins: Keep taking the lessons.

Hon DARREN HUGHES: Mr Hipkins suggests that he keeps taking the lessons. He is a good man, he is good to work with, but he always reminds me of a character from the TV programme The Office for some reason, I am not quite sure why. But I am looking forward to working with him next year.

I join the Leader of the Opposition in thanking all the agencies of Parliament that we work with every day, starting with the Clerk’s Office and all the organisations that come down from that organisation; the travel office, member and staff services, in particular those who work with the Government and Opposition whips, the receptionists and telephonists, the buildings people, finance people, and messengers; the Chamber and gallery staff, who are our social workers and carers inside this building and this Chamber, the visitors officers, library staff, security, the executive assistants from all the parties who work so hard, and, of course, Bellamy’s. Also, on behalf of the Labour Party, I acknowledge our staff in Fraser House who worked to support us so much during the year.

I pay tribute to you, Mr Speaker, and congratulate you on a very fine year as the Speaker of the House. You are very much enjoying the job and it is a pleasure for us as an Opposition to work with you. You have set out some pretty clear rules as to the way you like things to be followed and the expectations the Opposition can have if we comply with that. I think there is a little bit too much pressure on you, Mr Speaker. The tributes to you today have been almost funereal in their praise. In fact, one media commentator gave you 10 out of 10. I think that elevating you to perfection at this stage is a little tough on you. It is almost the Barack Obama Nobel Peace Prize for Speakership. You are doing a great job, Mr Speaker, but we do not expect perfection from you. But it is certainly good to work with you. We acknowledge your deputy the honourable Lindsay Tisch, and the Hon Rick Barker and Eric Roy who serve you as Assistant Speakers. I also make special mention of Beryl Bright, Trish Wanden, and Roland Todd in your office, who really are a great help to all parties in Parliament and deserve to be mentioned.

It has been an extraordinary year for the country. We have been told that we have to tighten our belts and that the way to do this is to get rid of Moroccan cooking classes, and if we do this everything will be fine in our country. I am really concerned about the condescending attitude towards adult and community education, because if there is anybody who needs a chance in our country in the workforce it can be found through adult and community education. But if there is any member of Parliament who could do with a night course it would be Gerry Brownlee, on House management. I think it is really wrong that Anne Tolley wants to lord it over her other front-bench colleagues by that approach.

Chris Hipkins: Bill English has a house management problem, too.

Hon DARREN HUGHES: There are many house management problems on the Government side, some of them with a capital “H” and others more residential in their nature. But we do need a change in the way in which Parliament is managed. Thirty-eight percent of parliamentary sitting time in the last 12 months has been under urgency. In fact, we have had urgency so often since the change of Government happened that Grant Robertson said we should stop calling it urgency and start calling it “normalcy”, because it seems to be part of our everyday programme. It has been hard to see what has been so urgent.

Louise Upston: It’s a hard-working Government.

Hon DARREN HUGHES: I hear Government backbenchers interjecting, procedural experts that they are. I am sure they could advise the House that one-quarter of all bills passed into law this year were Labour Government bills. That was how urgent it was for Parliament to meet in order to progress legislation, because it was so important to continue and pass into law those 9 terrible years of a Labour Government. So we had urgency on those matters.

To be fair to the Government, the National Party introduced 59 of its own bills, but 60 percent of them had a truncated select committee process. They either did not go to a select committee for the full length of time or the select committee had to meet at the same time as the House was meeting. I say that from a parliamentary point of view that has not been helpful for our Parliament at all.

Of course, those were the bills we got to see. One of the innovations this year was to debate bills no one had ever seen before, apart from the Government. That was a very unusual practice that the Government adopted, and thankfully it was one that, as the year came to an end, was not being repeated. Despite the enormous cooperation the Opposition has tried to give the Government—we have tried to help it out along the way—some of the issues to do with constant urgency and bills not being given a fair shake at a select committee are not good for Parliament, and I hope that will change next year. We would certainly be in support of that.

Flags have been in the news a lot this week, and it has been a year in which a lot of ideas have been run up the flagpole, only to be run back down it again or left at half mast as the political winds have changed constantly around the Government. We saw the Prime Minister, in his first full year as Prime Minister, achieving his boyhood dream to be Prime Minister of New Zealand. Quite what comes next we are not sure, but he will keep on smiling.

Hon Member: Nor is he.

Hon DARREN HUGHES: Nor is he, but he is relaxed and comfortable about everything. It does not matter what happens: “I’m relaxed about it,” he says, “I’m comfortable about it.” The only time we consider that he might not be so sure about an issue is when the gasp happens. That is when he says: “I’m relaxed about that, I’m comfortable about that—gasp, gasp!”. When the gasp is on, we know that the Prime Minister has decided there is something that might be a little bit more urgent, and which might require his attention. But we are treated to The Late Show with David Letterman every day at question time, without the applause, the humour, the comedy, or the intellect. Other than that, it is exactly like the David Letterman show when the Prime Minister is speaking.

Then, of course, we have Bill English. As Phil Goff said, Bill English is kind of like the gift that keeps on giving—or, in his case, the gift that keeps on taking, as Mr Goff said—all through the year. All through the year Bill English was a reminder of how good he had been in 2002, when we on this side of the House used to call him “Secret Agent Bill English”, who was sent by the Labour Party into the National Party to destroy it from within. In the 2002 election he showed his political expertise in that particular regard. We thought he had finished with that, but this year he was back doing as much possible damage to himself and to the Government as he possibly could. He ends the year as a shadow of himself, but we are so glad about one thing: he is still in his job.

The worst thing that could have happened for the Opposition would be if Steven Joyce had taken over as Minister of Finance. We are so glad that Bill English is clinging on, connecting the seatbelt in the self-drive ministerial car as tight as it will go to make sure that he cannot be moved out of it. An interesting point about his speech this afternoon was how proud Government members are that the lobbyists like them. Can anyone be more poll-driven than that? He said that it was a Government for corporate lobbyists, and that the lobbyists loved it when they came to see the Government, because they got treated with respect, and the Government did everything they said. It is apparently an enormous honour for the Government that whenever a lobbyist comes in, it happens to roll over.

Did members note the bitterness as Bill English recounted his own time in Opposition? Those memories are seared on his mind. They drive what he does every day, and it is no wonder that every day at question time we watch him more than anyone else, because when the Prime Minister is answering questions, he is busy whispering him the information, and when the Minister of Education is not so much answering a question as attempting to make a contribution to the House, he is whispering the answers into her ear as well. I should say about the Hon Anne Tolley that we think she is the best Minister in the Government. We hope she becomes Prime Minister and National Party leader. We think that would be a very good thing, indeed! She has our full support in that.

The limited vision with which Bill English has addressed the House this year as Minister of Finance has been shameful. He has tried to misrepresent and distort the record of the previous Labour Government. The truth is that man inherited a strong economy. He inherited low debt, he inherited low unemployment, and he inherited a set of accounts that were better than any other country all around the world. This party opposite campaigned on closing the gap with Australia. It has certainly made a difference to the gap with Australia. There are more people in work in Australia and fewer unemployed in that country than there are in our country now, and that is the record that that National Government has.

National cut KiwiSaver and cut the Superannuation Fund this year. Those members are only interested in a 3-year electoral cycle; they are not interested in the long-term future of this country. That National Government asked us to believe that Jonathan Coleman, Wayne Mapp, Pansy Wong, Phil Heatley, and Kate Wilkinson are among the top 20 politicians in New Zealand. We are asked to believe that they are the brains trust in the Cabinet, who are able to drive our country. The only expression I have seen on Kate Wilkinson’s face this week has been one of pained inquisition. She cannot decide whether to put folate into the Christmas cakes. We look forward to finding out about that. Tony Ryall, of course, has entertained us with his shirt and tie combo. No wonder he needed the Diplomatic Protection Squad to look after him when he was Acting Prime Minister of New Zealand. Goodness knows how much it is costing to follow acting Prime Ministers around New Zealand! I do not know how dangerous this country is, but for all those years Michael Cullen never needed the Diplomatic Protection Squad behind him, but when No. 5 is the Acting Prime Minister half the police squad flies to Tauranga to look after him.

We are looking forward to hearing what Maurice Williamson has got to do. Maurice is used to talking in capital letters all the time. Now he only has one little letter, an “h”, to worry about before Christmas. I hope the Māori Party read the Foreshore and Seabed Act Hansard over Christmas. I hope those members read the third reading speeches. The problem with the Foreshore and Seabed Act is that it was opposed by the Māori Party because it did not think it gave Māori enough rights, and it was opposed by National because it thought it gave Māori too many rights. So with all the great aroha that is going on between the two parties, I wonder whether they will resolve that issue next year. I think it will be very difficult for them to do that. I hope the Māori Party take cognisance of this particular point. Dr Sharples mentioned unity and also Hone Harawira. It is not so much kotahitanga as “koruatanga”, I would have thought in that particular respect, with that particular party.

I have to mention the Opposition’s gratefulness that we have had the chance to meet Aaron Gilmore this year. We are just absolutely amazed at the brilliance of the man. He has a 28-page CV, and he is suing Al Gore because Al Gore claimed he invented the Internet. The only question on our mind is how that man got beaten by Paul Quinn for a higher list space.

SUE KEDGLEY (Green) : It is that time again when we all look back on the year that has passed and make wishes and predictions for the year ahead. I will spend a few minutes sharing my New Year wishes.

My first wish is that we stop endlessly, boringly, comparing ourselves with Australia. It is obvious that the purpose of the Government’s endless tedious comparisons with Australia is to make us all feel so inadequate and so poor compared with our Australian cousins that we will somehow buy the idea that we need some radical right-wing surgery in the form of “Rogernomics Part 2”. But the truth is that in terms of our equality of life, Australia does not begin to compare with New Zealand. Australia is so short of water that many Australians are able to shower only once a week in the middle of the night and wash their clothes about once a month. They are in the process of banning open-plan offices as a result of that. When Australians are not fleeing from snakes, droughts, or raging bushfires they risk being killed by jellyfish—if they are brave enough to go swimming—and that is if sharks have not eaten them first. Let us stop drooling with envy about Australia and acknowledge that our quality of life is far superior to that of Australians. Our magnificent landscapes, pristine national parks, and native forests are the envy of the entire world, not just Australia. At least they would be if we can keep the bulldozers away from our national parks and stop the Government’s insane plan to mine some of the most treasured parts of New Zealand that make us unique.

My second wish is that the Government will announce on Christmas Day that the minimum wage is increased to $15 an hour. People cannot live decently on $12.50 an hour; everyone knows that. Thousands of New Zealand families cannot afford food for their children. They cannot pay their bills, they are staving off their creditors, and in the meantime we have chief executives of Government entities like Television New Zealand (TVNZ) earning more than $800,000 a year. It is obscene.

My third wish is that we are spared by some Christmas miracle from “Rogernomics Part 2” and that it turns out that Roger Douglas wasted his time coming back to this Parliament, and that Rodney Hide’s plans to corporatise the Auckland Council and start selling off its $28 billion worth of assets are somehow thwarted and stopped in their tracks by some sort of divine intervention, or maybe a popular uprising.

My fourth wish is that we will not allow a factory farm for 18,000 cattle to be built on the pristine Mackenzie Basin or anywhere else in New Zealand and that we will finally put an end to the hideously cruel practice of keeping animals in cages. But I am not holding my breath. I predicted that the pig code would not be released for consultation this year, and, sadly, I have been proven right. The pig-headed Pork Industry Board is holding a gun to the Minister of Agriculture’s head, endlessly delaying the release of the code by the threat of legal injunction. This is pork-barrel politics at its worst.

My fifth wish is that the Government will stop using failed 1970s roading policies and stop its plans for a four-lane motorway from Levin to Wellington airport, which will sever entire communities, increase congestion, undermine public transport, and encourage more and more cars into Wellington’s already narrow and congested streets and ruin the Basin Reserve. It is ironic that on the day the Prime Minister leaves for Copenhagen to hobnob with world leaders and try to explain why we intend to do nothing—absolutely nothing—to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions the Government announces a huge new motorway that will vastly increase our carbon emissions as well as our dependence on oil. If the International Energy Agency is right, oil prices will be so high in 10 years’ time that when the motorway comes on stream few people will be able to afford to travel on it anyway.

I have many, many more Christmas wishes. I wish that we will stick with MMP and that we do not go back to the elected dictatorships of first-past-the-post politics. I wish that we would finally begin to regulate the financial sector. Finally, since I have run out of time, I wish all of my colleagues a very merry Christmas and give my thanks to the Green Party staff, to the Green Party supporters, to all of the people who work in this House, and to you, Mr Speaker, for your fantastic chairmanship of this House over the past year. Thank you very much.

JOHN BOSCAWEN (ACT) : I also would like to acknowledge all those who have made a contribution to the successful running of this House over the past 12 months. I wish them all the best for the festive season.

I do not have the humour of Darren Hughes, but I want to use this opportunity to discuss a very serious matter. Sadly, however, many thousands of New Zealanders will not enjoy the Christmas they might otherwise have had—those who have lost heavily in finance company collapses. In particular, I think of those mainly elderly investors in Strategic Finance who in the last 2 days have received letters advising them that they cannot rely on the undertakings that were made in the moratorium document, and, in particular, they cannot rely on receiving a payment on 7 January.

What concerns me, however, is that I believe that the accounts that were presented to the moratorium showed a misleading position and did not properly disclose the true quality of the company’s securities. The 2008 accounts clearly showed securities as being either first or second mortgages. Those are the accounts on which investors based their decision to vote in the moratorium. However, the most recent accounts of Strategic Finance to 30 June 2009 introduced a third category of security. In addition to first and second mortgages, we have a thing called a second mortgage with subordinated position. That is defined to be a second mortgage where the company participates with other lenders/investors, but the company’s position is subordinated to those lenders/investors.

The effect of this is real and substantial. Although the mortgage, on the face of it, may be a second mortgage, the substance is that the transaction is now a third-ranking security. And it is a substance that matters. I do not believe that the investors who voted in that moratorium last December knew that a significant number of strategic assets were third-ranking securities. To give members an example of such a transaction, I understand that, in respect of the Denarau Fiji project on which Strategic Finance has lent, approximately $30 million worth of priority investors in the second mortgage will need to be paid before the debenture-holders.

In disclosing this new, third category of securities, the accounts go back and restate what the figures actually were at June 2008. The accounts show for the first time the true picture as it was at 30 June 2008, and they show that some $68 million of mortgages that had previously been classified as second mortgages were indeed this third-ranking security.

I believe that those mainly elderly investors who voted at the moratorium would not have been aware that there was some $68 million in third-ranking securities. The directors have already written off $28 million of this figure, and I would not be surprised if the remaining balance, the full $68 million, was written off. What I see as just as bad is that no attempt has been made by Strategic Finance to comment on this reclassification of its accounts. There has been no attempt to comment on and inform investors that, in actual fact, $68 million of those securities at 30 June 2008 were, indeed, third-ranking, rather than second-ranking as they were purported to be.

I rang the auditors, KPMG, this morning, and inquired as to why they did not require disclosure of this information at 30 June 2008. I am yet to hear back from them. I would be interested to know also why they did not comment on it in their auditors’ report.

I accept that the directors are fully entitled to enter into securities that are effectively third-ranking; I only say that that information should have been properly disclosed to those investors before they voted on it in the moratorium. I believe that it was misinformation, and I believe that the time has now come for the Government to appoint a statutory manager. The Government needs to take control of this company so that investors can have confidence in the information they are given about these securities.

With that, I wish all members the best of the festive season. I am sorry that I have taken this opportunity to raise such a serious but, I think, very important matter. Thank you.

TE URUROA FLAVELL (Māori Party—Waiariki) : Tihei mauri ora! Whakataka te hau ki te uru, whakataka te hau ki te tonga. Kia mākinakina ki uta, kia mātaratara ki tai. Kia hī ake ana te atākura. He tio, he huka, he hauhū. Tihei mauri ora! E te Mana Whakawā, tēnā koe. Te Kaihautū o te Whare Pāremata, ka nui te mihi ki a koe, ki ō waewae, ki ō ringaringa, ko te hunga e āwhina nei i a koe ki te kawe haere i ngā tikanga o te Whare nei. Ka mihi ki te Whare, hei whaiwhai haere i te āhuatanga o ngā kōrero i runga i te marae.

E hia kē nei ngā mate kua pā mai ki te Ao Māori, otirā ki te motu i tēnei tau. He āwangawanga nōku kei whakahuatia ake ētahi, ka mahue ake ētahi ki waho. Engari, i a au e tū ake nei, ka hoki ngā mahara ki te hunga kua ngaro, ko Jane Marsden tērā o roto o Ngāi Takoto; ko Hāwea Vercoe tērā, o roto i a Ngāti Awa, o roto i a au i a Te Arawa; ko Arapeta Tāhana; ko Tā Hauata Morrison, ko rātau katoa o roto i a au i a Te Arawa; ko Tikirau Stevens o Ngāi Tūhoe; ko Arthur Te Takinga Smallman o Tūwharetoa; ko Eru Pōtaka Dewes o Ngāti Porou, o Ngāti Uepōhatu, o Te Whānau-o-Pōkai; ko Diggeress Te Kanawa, o roto o Ngāti Maniapoto; ko Merito o Ngāti Awa, o Ngāi Tūhoe; tērā o ngā pou o roto o Tūmatauenga a Jim Takarangi o Whanganui; ko te kuia rā, a Utauta Hau, o roto o Ngāti Toa, o Ngāti Koata, o Ngāti Raukawa; ko Patariki Ngata, o roto o Ngāti Porou, ā, o roto o Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, o Ngāti Ira; tae atu ki a Tui Adams—tērā kāhui kua ngaro atu i te tirohanga kanohi i tēnei tau kua hipa ake. Ka tangi, ka tangi, ka tangi ki a rātau kua ngaro atu ki te pō, te pō uriuri, te pō tangotango. E kui mā, e koro mā, e tama mā, e hine mā i te pō, moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā.

Ka hoki mai anō ki a tātau e te Whare. Kua tae ki te wā o te Kirihimete me harikoa ka tika. Ko te mate kē, arā anō ētahi hunga i tū ki te mura o te ahi. Ko Len Snee tērā, uri o roto o Ngāti Kahungunu, o te papakāinga o Takapau, i rongo nei te ngau o mate. Ko rātau te hunga i tū ki mua i te pakanga. Ehara i te mea he mataku kāo, he toa. He toa. I tū, ki te mura o te ahi. Nō reira, ko tāku i te wā poto nei, te wāhi kua tukuna mai ki a au. Ko te kī atu ki a tātau, kia kaua tātau e mataku ki te tū, ki mua o te ahi, ki te mura o te ahi, me kī. He aha i pērā ai taku kōrero? I te roanga o tēnei tau nō nā tata tonu nei, ko te Tiriti o Waitangi tētahi kaupapa i kōrerohia. Ko te haki Māori tētahi take i kōrerohia. Ko ētahi, ko tā rātau mahi, he whakawehewehe i a tātau. Ko tāku ki a tātau, kaua e mataku ki te Tiriti o Waitangi. E kore a ia e ngau i a koe.Kaua tātau e mataku ki te haki tino rangatiranga. E kore ia e ngau i a koe. E kore ia e pana i tō tou. E kore ia e whakamataku, e whakamate i a koe, kāo. Ko tāna mahi, ko te haki, ko te Tiriti o Waitangi, he kaupapa hei whakakotahi i a tātou. Nō reira kaua e whakahē i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ko tāna kaupapa he whakakotahi nei i a tātau, koinei tāku e kī nei mō te Kirihimete, āta wānanga i te kōrero nei. Hāunga te kōrero mō te moni, hāunga te kōrero ngahau, kei te pai ērā, pai tonu te kōrero. Engari ko tāku noa ake ki a tātau, ā - Pāti Māori nei, āta wānanga ake i te mea e whakakotahi nei i a tātau, kaua ko ngā mea e whakawehe nei i a tātau.

Nō reira nā runga i tērā whakaaro, kia hoki mai tātau, anei te mahi, anei te mīhini. Ko te reo Māori ka kōrerohia i te Whare nei. Ko tēnei mea, he mea āwhina i a koe kia mōhio he aha te pūtake o te kōrero. Kaua e mataku ki a ia, e kore ia e ngau i a koe. Tāpirihia ki te taringa kia pāoho tō tātau reo ki uta, ki tai, ki wīwī, ki wāwā, kia taea ai e au te kī atu, meri Kirihimete, ngā mihi o te Tau Hou ki a tātau katoa. Kia kaha, kia toa, kia manawanui. E ko koia, e ara e!

• [An interpretation in English was given to the House.]

[Behold the breath of life! Cease the winds from the west; cease the winds from the south. Let the breeze blow over the land; let the breeze blow over the ocean. Let the red-tipped dawn come with a sharpened air, a touch of frost, a promise of a glorious day. Behold the breath of life! Greetings to you, Mr Speaker. I acknowledge the great work you have done, with the assistance of your staff, in upholding House procedures. I acknowledge the House in respect of addressing issues debated in Māoridom.

Māori and the nation have suffered many deaths this year. My concern is that I may mention some and leave out others. But as I stand before you I am mindful of those who have passed on, like Jane Marsden of Ngāi Takoto; Hāwea Vercoe of Ngāti Awa, a descendant also of my own tribe of Te Arawa; Arapeta Tāhana and Sir Howard Morrison, and all those from within me of Te Arawa; Tikirau Stevens of Ngāi Tūhoe; Arthur Te Takinga Smallman of Tūwharetoa; Eru Pōtaka Dewes of Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Uepōhatu, and the Te Whānau-o-Pōkai; Diggeress Te Kanawa of Ngāti Maniapoto; Gerry Merito of Ngāti Awa and Ngāi Tūhoe; Jim Takarangi of Whanganui, and pillar of the 28th Māori Battalion; the elderly lady Utauta Hau of Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Koata, and Ngāti Raukawa; Patariki Ngata of Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, and Ngāti Ira; as well as Tui Adams—that group of people who have passed away this year. I mourn, lament, and grieve their passing into the night that is dark and to be felt. Rest the elderly womenfolk and menfolk, as well as the not so old; sleep on and rest there.

I come back to us, the House. It is Christmas time, so it is only appropriate that we be joyful. However, there were others who stood at the forefront of the battle, like Len Snee, a descendant of Ngāti Kahungunu from Takapau, who died in the line of duty. He was not afraid; he was brave. So I say to us, in the short time I have been given, that we should not be afraid to stand before the fire, so to speak. Why do I say that? During this year and just recently, the Treaty of Waitangi was hotly debated. The Māori flag has been a topic of discussion, as well. Some people have tried to divide us. My advice is not to fear the Treaty of Waitangi, it will not bite you. Do not fear the tino rangatiratanga flag, it will not bite or kick you. The flag and the Treaty of Waitangi bring us together. Therefore, do not reject the Treaty of Waitangi. Its purpose is to unite us, and that is why I ask you to think carefully during the Christmas break about what I am saying. Aside from talking about money, or humorous speeches, that is fine. But I and the Māori Party urge you to think about what unites us, not what divides us.

So with that thought in mind, here are some devices that we will use when we come back to listen to the Māori language being spoken in this House. This will help you understand what is being said. Do not be afraid of it; it will not hurt you. Put it in your ear so that our language can be broadcast far and wide, so I can say merry Christmas and a happy New Year to everyone. Be strong, be courageous, and be brave. Rise up! ]

JOHN BOSCAWEN (ACT) : I seek leave to table an extract—page 81—from the Strategic Finance financial accounts for June 2008.

Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.

• Document, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.

JOHN BOSCAWEN: I seek leave to table page 54 of the Strategic Finance financial accounts for June 2009, in which the asset values of 2008 are actually restated.

Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.

• Document, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.

JOHN BOSCAWEN: I seek leave to table, for the benefit of consistency, the full accounts for 2008 and 2009, so that those two documents can be read in context.

Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table those documents. Is there any objection? There is no objection.

• Documents, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.

Mr SPEAKER: Honourable members, I thank you all for the kind comments that you have made this evening and thank you also for the way you have acknowledged the hundreds of people who work so hard to make Parliament function. I particularly thank my Deputy Speaker, Lindsay Tisch. Lindsay has worked enormous hours in this Chamber, and I think he deserves acknowledgment for that. He has done a wonderful job in coordinating the work of the presiding officers’ team here, and I just acknowledge the tremendous job he has done. I also thank my Assistant Speakers, the Hon Rick Barker and Eric Roy, for the way they have maintained the style that I have wanted to see brought to this House. I think the team has done a great job. Thanks so much.

To the Leader of the House, the Hon Gerry Brownlee, and the shadow leader, the Hon Darren Hughes, can I thank you guys for the constructive approach you take to the work of this place, and the whips of all the parties, and the other members of the Business Committee. The public does not see that vital work that you people do but I certainly appreciate the way you contribute to the functioning of Parliament, and I have to say it is a privilege and a pleasure to work with you.

I thank very much the Clerk of the House, Mary Harris. She does a superb job. She has earned my enormous respect, and I think she carries on the outstanding traditions of the Clerks whom I have been privileged to serve with over many years in this place, and I just want to thank Mary so much for that.

To the Clerk’s Office staff: they keep this House functioning, and sometimes under quite challenging circumstances. I thank them for that. The select committee clerks, the Hansard team, the outstanding Parliamentary Library people, our loyal Chamber and gallery officers, the interpreters, the messengers, the security staff, the reception and visitors people, the Travel Office, Bellamy’s, and, behind the scenes, Geoff Thorn and the Parliamentary Service team, all do so much to make this place work.

I acknowledge the courtesy with which the press gallery have treated me, and thank them very much for that. I also acknowledge the work of the radio and television technicians. It is interesting for the television technicians; the new pace that I have brought to question time, as Speaker, has been quite a challenge for televising question time for Parliament. They have done a great job, and the technical challenges have been quite significant for them. I thank my Serjeant-at-Arms, Brent Smith, who has done a wonderful job. My own office staff work so hard to run my office on just half the budget that it ran under previously. So I thank Roland, Trish, and the incomparable Beryl. Beryl is now in her 24th year working with me and goodness knows why she puts up with me. But she is a living legend in this place and I want to thank her most sincerely for that.

Members, you have worked very hard this year—565 hours and 49 minutes to yesterday. That is 88 hours more than the same year in the previous electoral cycle of 2006. I am advised that 66 Government bills have been passed, but, interestingly, no members’ bills have been passed this year, or, at least, no new members’ bills have been passed. There have been 19,822 questions for written answers, which is pretty typical.

Hon Ruth Dyson: That was after yesterday.

Mr SPEAKER: OK, that was after yesterday. One record that I would not want to see members try to break in future years was the 30,046 amendments to the Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Bill passed in May under urgency, after 33 hours in the Committee stage. Only 16 of those 30,046 amendments were agreed to; 29,084 of them were ruled out of order; 946 were defeated, which meant an awful lot of voting. I have to confess that the public actually thought that our television system had gone on the blink and was just recycling the same vote. They did not realise the date was changing by 1 day. But I am not sure that the outcome was ideal and I think the Standing Orders Committee will be looking at that issue.

This last year has seen two of our longstanding members retire. The Rt Hon Helen Clark and the Hon Dr Michael Cullen, first elected to this place in 1981, both distinguished members of the New Zealand Parliament, retired this year. I want to acknowledge their retirement. The previous Controller and Auditor-General, Kevin Brady, retired after 38 years at the Audit Office, 7 years as Controller and Auditor-General. I acknowledge the integrity and professionalism that he brought to that work. In doing so, I acknowledge Lyn Provost, the new Controller and Auditor-General, who took up her position on 5 October. Lyn had a long career in the Audit Office herself, and at the State Services Commission and Archives New Zealand, before her recent role as Deputy Commissioner of Police. We also, of course, welcomed this year our new kaumātua, Rose White-Tahupārae, who handles the Māori protocols of Parliament with enormous integrity, warmth, and great dignity.

Finally, I thank you all, my colleagues here at Parliament. The challenge this year of the release of members’ expenses, I realise, has put huge pressure on your spouses and on your families. I just promise you that I will continue to work to try to smooth out the wrinkles that are still inherent in that arrangement, because I feel very deeply for some of the stresses that I have caused you. You have treated with great good grace my ruling on the new Standing Order 368 covering the tabling of documents. I also acknowledge the constructive way that Ministers have responded to my re-emphasising the requirement in Standing Order 377 for an answer to be given to a question if it can be given consistent with the public interest. You have all made this House and its proceedings more worthwhile, better humoured, and of greater public interest, and for that my thanks to each and every one of you. It is a real privilege to serve as your Speaker. Have a great Christmas, enjoy the New Year, go safely. I look forward to seeing you all in the new year. Go well!

• Motion agreed to.