Search

Good afternoon.

As you know, the Government has had a very strong focus on welfare over the last three years.

We introduced a number of changes to benefits in 2010 which are already having positive effects, and in August we announced a new approach to welfare as it affects teenagers.

What we are announcing today is a much bigger step forward – a comprehensive reform of the benefit system, building off the recommendations of the Welfare Working Group.

Leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum.

Forum Secretary-General Tuiloma Neroni Slade.

Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon.

Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Kamalesh Sharma.

Secretary-General of the ACP Group of States Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas.

His Worship the Mayor of Auckland Len Brown. 

Diplomatic representatives.

Distinguished guests.

Welcome to New Zealand and the great city of Auckland for the 42nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon.

Secretary-General Tuiloma Neroni Slade.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Distinguished guests.

Kia ora and Pacific greetings to you all.

It’s a great pleasure to be here today to deliver this address in the 40th anniversary year of the Pacific Islands Forum.

New Zealand is committed to strengthening and deepening relations with our closest neighbours in the Pacific.

This Government has made good progress on Pacific relations in the past few years since we came into office.

Thank you for that introduction, Myron. And thank you to the US Chamber of Commerce for continuing to support the US/New Zealand relationship.

It's great to be back in the United States. I arrived in Washington DC only last night, but on my way over, I spent a couple of days in California.

I met representatives of the film industry in Los Angeles, and visited some IT companies – including Facebook and Google – in San Francisco.

It’s a great pleasure to be back again to open the Local Government New Zealand conference.

I’d like to acknowledge the hard work of your President, Lawrence Yule, and board members.

I’d also like to extend my personal thanks to Local Government Minister Rodney Hide.

Rodney has been an effective and focused Minister for the past two and a half years. He has been instrumental in the Auckland governance reforms and, as you know, he is a dedicated advocate for the local government sector.

Mr Harry Jenkins, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senator the Honourable John Hogg, President of the Senate.

The Honourable Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia.

The Honourable Tony Abbott, Leader of the Opposition.

Honourable Members of the Australian Parliament.

Distinguished guests.

It is a great privilege to address you in this esteemed chamber.

I address you as Prime Minister of New Zealand, as a proud member of the trans-Tasman family, and as a former resident of this great country.

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am very proud to be leading a Government that is doing the right thing by New Zealanders.

And I am proud to be leading a Government that has faced the challenges of the last few years and is putting New Zealand on a path to stronger and more sustainable growth.

Yesterday’s Budget was another firm step on that path.

The plan the Budget sets out is very clear.

First, it’s about getting the government’s finances in order.

Ladies and Gentlemen

I want to start by thanking Business New Zealand for co-hosting this lunch.

More importantly, I want to thank them for the constructive role they play in representing New Zealand businesses and employers.

I’d also like to thank Fujitsu for their part in sponsoring this event as well.

In a week’s time Bill English will deliver his third Budget.

We are here today to remember the people we have lost, to express our grief and sorrow, and to re-affirm our commitment to this city and to each other.

On the 22nd of February Christchurch experienced an earthquake of such violence that it stole from us the lives of dozens of people, and dramatically altered the lives of tens of thousands more.

All who were caught up in that earthquake, all who have seen the images and read the stories, have been horrified by it its scale and by its callous disregard for so much that we held dear.

I move that this House express its condolences to the people of Japan for the losses they have suffered as a result of the recent earthquake and tsunami.

A magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck northern Japan on Friday the 11th of March at 6.46pm New Zealand time.

The earthquake caused a huge tsunami which has devastated parts of Japan’s north-eastern coast. It was also felt to a lesser extent around the Pacific.

Thousands of people in Japan’s north-east are dead or missing.

The extent of the number of casualties is only just becoming clear.

Good afternoon

I thought it appropriate to make some comments to mark the announcement made a short time ago in Christchurch that the rescue phase has come to an end, and that we are now fully in a recovery phase.

This will be a very sad day for the families of those who are missing.

This is also a very sad day for all those involved in the rescue effort, who have worked night and day combing the city valiantly searching for signs of life.

New Zealanders have woken to a tragedy unfolding in the great city of Christchurch.

The earthquake that struck the Canterbury region at ten to one yesterday has wreaked death and destruction on a dreadful scale.

There is no reason that can make sense of this event.

No words that can spare our pain.

We are witnessing the havoc caused by a violent and ruthless act of nature.

Many people have lost their lives. Families have lost their cherished loved ones. Mates have lost their mates.

These deaths are the greatest loss.

Forum Co-Chairs. Ambassadors. Ladies and gentlemen.

Kia ora and good morning.

It’s great to be here and to welcome you to the fantastic city that I grew up in.

I’d particularly like to welcome our US guests and thank you for travelling to join us for this forum.

It’s always great to have our friends from across the Pacific paying a visit and I know that some of you travel here regularly.

As you will know, Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region were shaken by a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake six months ago.

This is a very special day for the New Zealand Parliament.

Prime Minister Gillard, New Zealand acknowledges and welcomes you as the first foreign leader to address the members of our House of Representatives.

It is entirely fitting that an Australian Prime Minister is the first leader to have this honour.

This is also a sad day for the New Zealand Parliament.

Today we acknowledge with great sadness the loss of a New Zealand soldier in Afghanistan, Private Kirifi Mila, as the result of a motor vehicle accident.

Mr Speaker
Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet
Leader of the Opposition and party leaders
Honourable Members

It is truly a privilege to be the first Australian Prime Minister, indeed the first foreign head of government, to address members of the Parliament of New Zealand. 

I accept your welcome to this historic chamber as a profound tribute to the friendship between our nations and our people.

I also acknowledge it has been some time since a full bilateral visit by an Australian Prime Minister ...

This year the National-led Government will continue building a brighter future for New Zealand.

Our 2011 programme will focus on achieving two of our key goals:  We will build the foundations for a stronger economy and build better results from the public services New Zealanders rely on.

These are the platforms upon which New Zealanders’ aspirations rest. 

Building a strong economy, based on real enduring growth, will provide New Zealanders the jobs, improved incomes, and improved living standards they desire and deserve. 

Ladies and Gentlemen.

This year is about building a brighter future for New Zealanders and their families.

That is only possible if we lift the country’s economic performance, and by doing so deliver the jobs, higher incomes and better living standards New Zealanders aspire to and deserve.

That means making responsible decisions now, as the economy picks up, to increase national savings and reduce the country’s debt.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The stage I stand on today is a small stage – too small to hold the four million New Zealanders who would like to express their deepest sympathy this afternoon, and show solidarity with this community at the time of its greatest suffering.

But you can rest assured that those four million people are behind you today as they have been since that fateful afternoon almost two weeks ago.

New Zealanders as a whole are not an overly-religious people and are not given to public outbursts of emotion.

This afternoon New Zealand has been devastated by the news we have all been dreading.

A second explosion at the Pike River Mine confirms our very worst fears.

The 29 men whose names and faces we have all come to know, will never walk amongst us again.

This is a national tragedy.

A tragedy for the men's families, their workmates and friends, their community and our nation.

New Zealand is a small country.

A country where we are all our brothers keeper.

So to lose this many brothers at once strikes an agonising blow.

It's a pleasure to be here this afternoon.

I'd like to thank Don Nicolson and the members of your National Council for the invitation to speak to you.

Post-Cabinet Press Conference, 4pm

Good afternoon. Today I want to talk to you about the second Indicators and Progress report on the Government's plan to fight P, which comes one year after the plan was launched.

Thank you for your
welcome.

It's great to be here
today and to be part of your conference.

It is a pleasure to be here today as Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism.