Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) : I seek leave to move a motion without notice congratulating the All Whites on qualifying for the finals of the Football World Cup.

Mr SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course being followed? There appears to be none.

Hon JOHN KEY: I move, That the House congratulate the All Whites football team on its victory over Bahrain and its qualification for the 2010 Football World Cup finals in South Africa. Saturday night’s win by the All Whites was one of those rare sporting occasions that truly grip the nation. The largest football crowd in New Zealand’s history created a highly charged atmosphere that helped to get our team through an extremely tense match. Many thousands more Kiwis throughout the country and across the globe celebrated together when the final whistle blew.

My congratulations go to coach Ricki Herbert, a man who was in the All Whites team that played in the 1982 Football World Cup and who will proudly return to the tournament next year as coach of the All Whites. I congratulate captain Ryan Nelsen, a man who led the defensive line superbly and brought his experience at the highest level of English football back to the turf of Wellington’s Westpac Stadium to lead this country. I congratulate goalscorer Rory Fallon, who brought the nation to its feet when he leapt in the air and thumped a header into the back of the net. I congratulate goalkeeper Mark Paston, who must have felt the weight of the country on his shoulders before he dived brilliantly to his right—it is always best when one goes to the right, in my view—to save Bahrain’s penalty and keep the All Whites in front. I congratulate the entire team, who ran themselves to a standstill and showed the kind of courage, bravery, and never-say-die attitude that New Zealanders love to see.

Tragically I was not able to watch the match firsthand; I was at APEC in a meeting with, amongst others, Ron Kirk, the US trade negotiator, and the President of the Philippines. But I can report that at the time of the match I left my phone on vibrate. It was as if I had a pacemaker in my pocket. I looked down and there were 27 text messages, all of which told me we had won. There was great celebration, and I interrupted the meeting to tell them. I bring with me today the hearty congratulations of people from around the world. It was difficult being such a long way away from the event, but people around the country have raised this victory with me, and their sheer delight—

Hon Member: Deloitte?

Hon JOHN KEY: Well, Deloitte as well. I was pleased to be able to get a full report from Mr English, who had been to the All Whites’ dressing room.

As we share in the glow of this win, the All Whites can look forward to competing against the world’s best in South Africa next year. We wish them all the best, and we will be supporting them all the way. As we all know, the Football World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events, and New Zealand can be extremely proud that our team made it through the qualifying stage to take its place on the international stage.

New Zealand is a country with the finest sporting traditions. Kiwis play hard but fair, and we give it our all. I say to Ricki Herbert’s All Whites that we wish them well and thank them for their superb performance. They were great ambassadors for New Zealand on Saturday night, and now they are true sporting heroes.

Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition) : On behalf of the New Zealand Labour Party, I add our congratulations to the All Whites team, its coach, its management, and New Zealand Football. Along with a number of my colleagues on this side of the House, I was fortunate to be at the match at the Cake Tin on Saturday night. The record crowd of 35,000 Kiwis dressed in white was a massive boost to the team that played on that night. I think the lads did us proud. I particularly acknowledge the goal scored by Rory Fallon—the winning goal—and the way that it brought the crowd to its feet, but I also mention Mark Paston for the brilliant saving of the penalty goal that ensured our team will be on its way to the Football World Cup in South Africa. I acknowledge the work done by Ricki Herbert as the coach, and mention in passing to the Prime Minister that Mr Herbert was an old boy of Papatoetoe High School, along with David Shearer, me, and other notable people.

On a serious note, I think that the victory, although it might have been a long time between drinks—it was 27 years in coming—will give a huge boost to the game in New Zealand. It will be a real inspiration to all of those young people who are thinking of taking up football as their sport, and I note that it is the fastest-growing team sport in New Zealand.

I wish the team well in its preparations for the Football World Cup in South Africa next year, and I wish it every success. Adding to that, I congratulate the national hockey team on winning the finals and also getting through to its world cup competition. I think those two teams make all of us here, as New Zealanders, proud of their efforts, their determination, their commitment, and their skill.

KEVIN HAGUE (Green) : To some, the football match against Bahrain on Saturday night was a matter of life and death. Actually it was much more important than that. Saturday night’s game was a Football World Cup qualifying game, and in the world of sport it does not get any bigger than that. The record-size crowd that turned out to watch the spectacle had a sniff of something special in the air—history in the remaking. I offer the Green Party’s congratulations to Ricki Herbert, Ryan Nelsen, and all of the team, and also to Bahrain for a fantastic contest. The All Whites played stunning football on Saturday night. They played with bravery and skill against their highly favoured opponents, but they also played with spirit, a spirit that never once doubted that they had it in themselves to win.

That kind of spirit is infectious. It is the kind of spirit we all need: a playful optimism about all that is possible in life, no matter what the odds. It is the kind of spirit that will capture our children’s imaginations, too, en masse. As the All Whites journey to South Africa to take on the great nations of football—Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany, and the others—Kiwi mums and dads had better get ready to be buying their kids some soccer boots this winter.

I well remember the first time the All Whites made it to the World Cup; it is Movember, and I am trying to emulate a style that was popular in 1982! Now we are there for a second time and that is something we can be profoundly proud of as a nation. As tonsils recover and life returns to normal, we will not be forgetting in a hurry the magic that was there on Saturday night at the Cake Tin; or catching a glimpse of Rory Fallon’s header, that Leo Bertos cross, or that fantastic penalty save. We will know that this is the stuff of dreams, only this was a dream that came true.

Hon HEATHER ROY (Deputy Leader—ACT) : It is always a pleasure to stand and celebrate success in this House. I stand today on behalf of the ACT Party to join with other members of Parliament from all parties to recognise and celebrate the performance of the All Whites this past weekend, and to congratulate them on their win over Bahrain. ACT as a party loves celebrating and recognising success in all its forms, and today we express our admiration of and respect for the All Whites’ coach Ricki Herbert, the technical staff, and all others who contributed to this story.

As we have already heard, New Zealand last qualified for the Federation of International Football Associations World Cup final 27 years ago, in 1982. Ricki Herbert was there then, too, but in a different capacity. This past Saturday night the All Whites entered the Wellington stadium, carrying almost three decades of New Zealand’s hopes, dreams, and expectations on their shoulders, and with the whole country behind them, and much of the world watching, they delivered.

The current All Whites team is a bit different from the 1982 All Whites team in that the current one is a predominantly home-grown team, and that helps enormously in terms of our national pride. So although a number of the All Whites do play professionally overseas, this team delivered when their country needed them. As a Wellingtonian I am pleased and very proud to say that six of the All Whites team that won on Saturday night play for the Phoenix, and, as my children will attest to, the Phoenix have done a huge amount to revitalise soccer as a game that will be, as other members have said, promoted heavily in the future.

The ACT Party recognises the All Whites for their dedication and wishes them well for the Federation of International Football Associations World Cup finals in South Africa next year.

Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Māori Party) : The Māori Party joins with all other parties in recognising the outstanding success of the All Whites on Saturday night. As the 35,000 crowd poured through the main entrance of Westpac Stadium on Saturday night they may not have noticed the traditional Taranaki designs incorporated at the front of the venue, but if they looked closer it might well have given them hope, knowing that victory would be within our reach. Central to the design is Rua Taranaki, the mountain. Representing the challenge of reaching the pinnacle of achievement, it symbolises to us the hurdles to be overcome by people as they strive to achieve their goals. At no time has this been more apparent than in this clincher match, which qualified the All Whites for the 2010 Football World Cup finals in South Africa.

This will be just the second time that the All Whites will appear at a finals tournament—the first since Spain in 1982. It is a wonderful reminder of whakawhanaungatanga. It should be noted that the champion of champions, Ngāti Porou striker Rory Fallon, was born in 1982, and 1982 was also the year that Rory’s father, Kevin, helped to coach the All Whites through to the finals. We celebrate the role that families play in nurturing our champions, the legacy of their talents being taken on, and the vital support that whānau give in assisting our young in their training: the early-morning games, the sports gear, and the dedication that help to make a champion. At moments of great jubilation in our nation, our unity is enhanced by the various connections we can make to the moment that binds us together. Tangata whenua have an overbrimming pride that a Māori boy kicked the ball to another Māori boy, who scored the winning goal. And so we are full of aroha for Rory from Rangitukia and Tikitiki, our Yorkshire Māori, and for Leo Bertos, our Māori Greek.

This is a time when we all bask in the glory of our team, who, indeed, reached the pinnacle of achievement for us all. We hope that with the stunning success of the All Whites, our boys can come home and add to our international reputation as a nation of sporting prowess. Thank you.

Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) : I am happy to stand on behalf of United Future to complete this unanimity of support for the All Whites after their stunning performance on Saturday evening. It was an extraordinary occasion. It was a great privilege to be there to see this historic event. I have never been to a sports event where I have seen a crowd hang on every move as that crowd did, right from that yellow card in the first few minutes through to the shot that hit the crossbar, the brilliant save by the Bahraini keeper, and finally the header that scored the goal, then Mark Paston’s great save right the way through even to that last-gasp moment when it looked as though Bahrain might have scored, only to have the referee rule it out.

The crowd was with the New Zealand team every inch of the way. The real testament to the strength of that occasion was that unlike other sporting events of many types that have been played at that stadium, when the full-time whistle went the crowd stood and applauded solidly for about 15 minutes the achievement of their heroes. I say that that was not just because of the result—and that was fantastic—but it was because of the way in which the All Whites played: the style they brought, their unassuming commitment, their dedication to the task, their courage, and their determination. When looking down on them we sometimes wondered how on earth they could get out of a situation, but they always managed to do so.

I believe that what they did on Saturday night was not only to secure their place in history, not just secure their passage to the World Cup, but also to put a marker in the ground for all New Zealand sports about how quality sport should be played, and why quality sport attracts the level of support that it does. I believe that the entire team, from Ricki Herbert through to Ryan Nelsen, all of the players, the management, and Frank van Hattum from New Zealand Football, should take a huge bow for what they were able to achieve. Now the challenge begins, and it is to work with them and alongside them to make sure that they can do even better than their predecessors did in Barcelona all those years ago, so that this team can win a game at the World Cup finals next year.

• Motion agreed to.