Firstly, may I acknowledge, John Allen, Chair on the Board of Be.Institute, Chair of the New Zealand Employers Disability Network and Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, for your visionary leadership in establishing this Be. Accessible initiative.

I want to also thank Sir Don McKinnon – Director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, for your generous partnership in hosting us here tonight and for your ongoing commitment to accessibility.

I have never been happier to be here in Aotearoa; on our whenua.

I am honoured to bring to you the words of Hon Tariana Turia, who has been representing the Government at the World Health Organisation in Moscow and I believe she may be in a plane right now heading home.

In these times of breaking news, it is indeed exciting to be gathered here today, on such a significant day.

And I am delighted that the students of St Pius the Tenth Primary School and Newlands College have been the ones who are literally helping us shape a new song for our future.

Disability Forum;  Bowen State Building, Wellington
Delivered by Hon Georgina te Heuheu

This is an important day – indeed it marks a significant milestone in our shared commitment to removing barriers for disabled people.

My acknowledgments, firstly, to Dr. Yasin El-Husban, Jordanian Minister of Health, in your role as Chair of this session.

In the proverbs of my people, tangata whenua of Aotearoa New Zealand, we have a saying

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi.  Engari taku toa he toa takitini

The essence of its meaning is that success is not the work of one but the work of many.

Thank you, Martyn ('Bomber' Bradbury), for your introduction.

I was told that the Listener once described you as a political provocateur, a “stinger”, and possibly New Zealand’s most opinionated man. I’ve met quite a few men in my time that might have challenged you for that description so I must admit it was one of the reasons I’ve been looking forward to tonight.

Today is the first day of the school holidays.

For my nine year old mokopuna, my decision to speak at this conference was perhaps not the positive intervention she considered most appropriate for the first day of her break. There were plenty of other options she thought far more attractive than coming to the Theatrette at Massey University.

Fortunately for her, our life revolves around our whanau, and so there were actually choices that we could make, which were far more appealing.

This is a fantastic initiative which I am so proud to be able to participate in.

There is nothing of greater urgency for our whanau than the call for healthy living. The wellbeing of our whanau is the number one issue for Maraenui; for te Ao Maori; indeed for Aotearoa as a nation.

When I think of ‘number one’ it reminds me of something my mokopuna said to me last Sunday, when our staff and whanau comprised four teams in the Real Women’s duathlon.

Associate Minister of Health, Hon Tariana Turia, reports that new figures show nearly 41,500 more women aged 50 to 69 have taken part in the Government’s free breast cancer screening programme in the 24 months to December 2010 than in the previous period.

“This increase is great news for women’s health. Not only are these women giving themselves the best chance for breast cancer to be found and treated early, but this is a sign women are prioritising their health” said the Associate Minister.

I want to firstly acknowledge Mr Sumasafu Vilsoni and Ms Savina Nongebatu, the Co-Chairpersons of the Pacific Disability Forum, for inviting me to open this second day of the Pacific Regional forum.

It is a great honour for us all in Aotearoa, to welcome to our shores representatives of disabled persons organizations, government agencies, donor organisations, disabled people and other interested parties from the Pacific, Australia and Asia.

And I have particular pleasure in seeing on the agenda a place for two people known as great friends to this forum:

I have a special pride in being asked to speak here today at the national Maori disability providers’ Hui Taumata.

Last year I had the honour of launching Te Piringa at your hui at Kairau Marae in Taranaki – within my electorate of Te Tai Hauauru.

Even though it was a launching - I knew that the inaugural Maori Disability provider hui had been some five years ago, at Te Puea Marae, Auckland in June 2006. And that between then and now there had been other Hui Taumata held at Huria Marae, Tauranga in November 2007, and Pehiaweri Marae, Whangarei in March 2009.

I am pleased to be with you today, to commend you for the role you uphold, in providing active leadership across the health social work services throughout our District Health Boards.

It is my first opportunity to come to this Council meeting as Associate Minister of Health, and to congratulate you on the initiative you have taken to promote quality professional health social work practice, including the appropriate standards, competencies and quality assurance.

I am interested in your theme, Equity in Health.

I am pleased to be joining together with you today at this National leadership and workforce development forum. And I say joining together deliberately because I see this event as a joining together of many parts.

Firstly, it is the bringing together of many key stakeholders in Cancer Screening; the National Screening Unit; National Services Purchasing; and the National Health Board.

Kia koutou nga uri o Taranaki maunga. Hon Harry Dunyhoven, Mayor of New Plymouth; Jonathan Young and all of the distinguished guests here today.

I was taking a look at some of the names of the Youth one-stop shops the other night.

There’s the Pulse in Whangarei; Whai Marama Youth connex in Hamilton; there’s Rotovegas in Rotorua; Youth Café in Taupo; Directions in Hastings; Evolve in Wellington; Vibe in the Hutt - and the one and only Waves of Taranaki.

I am honoured to have the opportunity to open the 64th Annual Conference of the Amputees Federation of New Zealand.

As Minister for Disability Issues I welcome every opportunity to meet the people who are at the forefront of providing services and advocacy for disabled people.

This event, in bringing together representatives from each of the nine district amputee societies is a good chance to hear about your priorities and to share some of the ideas we are working on.