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Good morning and thank you for again inviting me to open this conference – New Zealand’s premier tax conference.

We are almost at the end of the year and at the end of the first term of the current Government.

And what a year this one has been.

Good morning and thank you for inviting me to speak at this Healthcare Summit. 

This is now the third year that I have spoken at this event, and I am pleased to see that it has become a regular fixture on the health sector calendar because it is an important event each year.

I am also delighted to see so many people involved in providing and managing health care resources having come together here today to discuss some of the key issues in determining the future direction of health care in New Zealand.

Good morning. I am pleased to be here with you today to open this year’s Suicide Prevention Information New Zealand (SPINZ) Conference.

I would like to thank SPINZ, the Mental Health Foundation and Te Rau Matatini for jointly organising and promoting the conference.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the speakers and attendees here today.

Looking around the audience I can see a fantastic turnout.

Good morning and firstly, welcome to Dr Tom McLellan, from the United States, and other distinguished visitors, and contributors to this symposium.

I would like to begin by congratulating the New Zealand Drug Foundation for organising this important event.

As a Member of Parliament, and also as a Minister, I get to meet all sorts of people. 

Often in the course of my electorate work I come across individuals and families whose lives have been directly affected by alcohol and drugs.

Kia ora Koutou.

Thank you for inviting me to be here today to celebrate developing the world’s first bicultural ASIST tool and the launch of Lifeline’s new SafeTALK campaign.

This is an exciting day for you all as it sees the culmination of a great deal of hard work!

But, more importantly your hard work will contribute to improving they way we address the issue of suicide in New Zealand.  

I move that the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill be now read a third time.

The third reading of this Bill gives me a great deal of pleasure.

What began as a Bill with a primary purpose to reclassify pseudoephedrine and ephedrine as Class B2 controlled drugs has become out of necessity a Bill that will also enable the Government to more easily deal with the potential harms associated with new and emerging psychoactive substances, like Kronic.

Good afternoon.

Much has happened recently on the tax front which is of direct relevance to you and I would like to take this opportunity to talk about this afternoon.

But first, let me say that I am very pleased to be here today.

Pleased to be invited to the KPMG Tax briefing, but especially pleased to be back in Christchurch.

The fact that you have organised a conference and are holding it here in Christchurch, tells me that you are getting back to business as usual.

And that is precisely what Christchurch needs.

Tēnā koutou, ngā mihi ki a koutou.

Pacific greetings to you all, and good morning.

I am delighted to be here today to celebrate the opening of this new dental clinic at your new school.

But before I talk about this new clinic, I wish to acknowledge the people who have brought us here today. 

I thank Mr John Paterson, Kaumatua of Ngati Whatua and the Auckland DHB, for his warm welcome.

Today, I especially thank Mr Colin Davis who served as an advisor to the DHB during the consultation and construction stage of this clinic.

Tēnā koutou, Kia Orana, Talofa and Pacific greetings to you all, and good morning

I am delighted to be here today to celebrate the commitment and effort of all involved in improving the oral health of our children and teenagers in this community.

But before I talk about this new clinic and the Government and Hutt Valley DHB’s plans to improve oral health, I wish to acknowledge the work that has brought us here today.

It has been a long time in the planning.

Good morning, and thank you for the invitation to speak today at this year’s forum.

Your theme is ‘What’s Working, What’s Not, What’s New?’ – and they are by any measure, three important questions.

I would like to help you address them here this morning, from my perspective as Associate Minister of Health, responsible for problem gambling.

Thinking about what is new, two things in particular come to mind, though for very different reasons.

Good morning and thank you for inviting me to be here with you today.

I was pleased to see that this is now your fourteenth annual payroll conference.

Congratulations on sustaining your conference through the very significant changes to payroll processes that we have witnessed in recent times.

Many of those changes relate to the Inland Revenue Department.

Good morning and thank you for inviting me here today. 

When I addressed your conference last year, the Victoria University Tax Working Group had just reported back and their recommendations were being considered by the Government, as part of last year’s Budget process. 

Clearly much has happened since then.

Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me to address you here today.

First, I would like to extend my thoughts and support to the people of Christchurch including TINZ members from the region and their families.

My sincere condolences and sympathies to all who have lost loved ones, friends or colleagues.

As a Cantabrian myself with a large part of my extended family in Christchurch, my heart is very much with all the people of that redoubtable province at this time.

Tena koutou, and good morning.

I am delighted to be here today to celebrate the commitment and effort of all involved in improving the oral health of the children and teenagers of the Southland region.

However, before I talk about this new clinic and the Government and Southern DHB’s plans to improve oral health, I wish to acknowledge the work that has brought us to this point today.

It has been a long time in the making.

This day has been made possible by the leadership of Southern DHB and, most importantly, the support and input of this community.

We’re here today to release a significant survey – one which, for the first time in 21 years, gives us a clear and up-to-date picture of the state of oral health in New Zealand.

Overall, the survey shows that the oral health of New Zealanders has improved over time.

It validates the improvements in oral health shown in the annual monitoring of the school dental service.

The Government spends over $100 million each year on providing free dental care to children and teenagers.

Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me to be here with you today.

When your Chairman, Stephen Eagles invited me to speak today, he reminded me of our first meeting in Manchester back in 1994.

At the time Stephen was contemplating a move to New Zealand.

He tells me that I promoted New Zealand to him as a country with an economy with firm foundations based on long-sighted policies.

I am pleased to have been so influential.

Sixteen years ago, Stephen and I sat and discussed the economic prospects of New Zealand.

Thank you very much for inviting me to be here with you today.

I am especially delighted to be part of tonight’s proceedings honouring leadership in an organisation whose objectives align so closely with my own and those of the Government.

Tonight, we pay tribute to a small group of your members who have demonstrated excellence in leadership, but I want to talk about the leadership that NZICA itself demonstrates in the accounting community in New Zealand and even beyond our borders.

I am very pleased to have been invited to talk to your annual conference once again.

Good morning and thank you for inviting me here to address this conference.

I move that the Taxation (Income-sharing Tax Credit) Bill be now read a first time.

The question of whether drug offenders should be punished is not as straightforward as it might first appear. 

Good morning and thank you for the invitation to address your Conference today.

Good morning and thank you for inviting me here to address this conference. 

Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to speak at this year's Suicide Prevention forum.