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Thank you for inviting me to speak today.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the staff of the Canterbury Community Law Centre for their dedication, resilience, and hard work following February’s devastating earthquake.

With their premises red-stickered, not to mention what they were dealing with at home, they were quick to establish themselves in Recovery Centres, helping people get access to emergency Red Cross grants.

Within days they had also set up outreaches in Ashburton, Timaru, and Greymouth.

Good evening everyone.  It’s good to see so many friends and supporters of Archives New Zealand here tonight.

This evening we are in for a real treat.  We are here to see a new video about Archives New Zealand, six one-minute features showing some of Archives’ hidden treasures, and a newly restored version of the first ever film made by the National Film Unit – Country Lads, from 1941.

These videos really showcase the important role of Archives New Zealand, the services available and the treasures they hold.

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā hau e whā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Kia Orana, Talofa lava. Taloha Ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Ni sa bula vinaka, Malo e lelei.

Good morning everyone.

It’s now more than six weeks since a devastating earthquake struck Christchurch. It didn’t just change the physical landscape - it also altered the education landscape.

I’ve seen for myself the heart-breaking damage – and the sheer scale of it demanded swift decisions and out of the box thinking from everyone in the education sector.

Good afternoon and welcome to the official Midlands Health Network Integrated Family Health Centres launch in Hamilton.

It’s great to be here this afternoon to celebrate this development with you.

My association with your predecessor organisation Pinnacle Health goes back some 12 or so years when I spoke at the launch of Pinnacle in the Western Bay of Plenty.

And like then, you have put yourselves at the forefront of the transformational changes happening in primary care here in New Zealand.

And today we are launching that change.

Kia ora hui hui tatou katoa

I am delighted to join you for this symposium today, and I want to congratulate the Lake Water Quality Society on its role and for this event.

This morning I want to talk about the Government's agenda to improve freshwater quality in New Zealand. This includes: closer collaboration; increased funding; stronger central government direction; improved regulation; the need for better science; and a set of consistent and transparent reporting that will ensure we can monitor progress.

Today we mark a very significant step forward in health services.

For the first time, suitably qualified nurses - other than Nurse Practitioners – will be able to prescribe medication for their patients. Four demonstration sites start this month: Hawke’s Bay, Mid Central, Hutt Valley and here at Auckland DHB.

Innovation in health not only provides us with opportunities to do things differently, it also offers opportunities for those working in health to make more use of their experience and professional skills.

Mr Speaker, I move that the Environmental Protection Authority Bill be now read a second time.

Mr Speaker, the establishment of the Environmental Protection Authority marks an exciting new era of environmental management in our country.

Mr Speaker, I move that the Environmental Protection Authority Bill be now read a second time.

Mr Speaker, the establishment of the Environmental Protection Authority marks an exciting new era of environmental management in our country.

New Zealand deserves no less than a world class regulatory system that reflects our environmental values in conjunction with our economic interests.  We need to be smarter in developing ways to grow our economy while lifting our environmental management.

Professor Glyn Harper’s new book “Letters from Gallipoli” transcends time.

It takes us, the contemporary generation, back to the thoughts and values of our forbears of 96 years ago. We learn from the letters how they saw the world, how they saw New Zealand, how they suffered in war, and how they dealt with the horror they could have scarcely conceived as they boarded the troopships in Wellington in October 1914.

Good morning and thank you all for coming along today, many from the other side of the world. It is humbling to look around the room and see so many ‘world class’ Kiwis assembled in one place.

As a small nation we have achieved some incredible things, and when I look at the collective talent represented here today, I’m confident that we can do much more.

Frankly we must do – the world does not owe New Zealand a living.

NZ Dairy - The Next 10 Years

Sir Henry, ladies and gentlemen - and a particular welcome to our overseas guests.

We have in this room a few hundred people who will be critical to shaping the future of the industry over the next ten years. Appropriately, the theme of your Conference is “2020: Focussed on the Future”. I will put before you, in due course, five propositions – one could call them ‘mega-trends’ - that I think will drive the process forward; they are all closely linked with each other.

Thank you for the opportunity to make some introductory remarks at the commencement of what I regard as a very important symposium.

May I start by commending the organisers and sponsors for bringing together a very constructive programme and some speakers of the highest calibre.

The rise of China and the growth of its influence on regional and global affairs has been one of truly remarkable phenomena of the past decade.

For New Zealand, the implications have been profound.

I want to commence tonight by thanking the Institute for its kind invitation to me to make this address.

The Institute extended the invitation for the very best of reasons: I suggested to them that they should do so.

I, in turn, made the suggestion for the very best of reasons: I wanted an opportunity to set out, for an informed audience, the sort of challenges that we confront in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade over the next few years and give some indication of the approach we are taking to meeting these challenges.

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:

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā hau e whā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Kia Orana, Talofa lava. Taloha Ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Ni sa bula vinaka, Malo e lelei.

Good morning everyone and thanks for your welcome, Patrick.

First I want to speak about the devastating earthquake that hit Christchurch. 

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.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge Pieter Burghout, the Chair of the Construction Industry Council, and each of the Chief Executives and senior staff here today from key organisations in the building and construction industry.

Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to attend another of your strategic retreats.

Introduction

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā hau e whā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Good morning everyone. Thank you Sarah [Farquhar]for your welcome, and thank you for inviting me to speak with you today.

Firstly, I want to acknowledge all those affected by the earthquake in Christchurch last month.

I have been impressed by how incredibly hard early childhood education services have worked to re-open – bringing some certainty and normality to children and their families.

A new Ministry of Health publication is showcasing some of the innovative ways that District Health Boards (DHBs) are providing more surgery for patients.

Health Minister Tony Ryall launched to the booklet during a visit to Whanganui DHB today. Whanganui sits on top of the most recent health targets table for providing more elective surgery to patients.

Professor Manning, Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, Sir Paul Reeves and other distinguished guests. 

It’s a pleasure to be here today to officially open the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute’s forum: Climate Futures – Pathways for Society.

 I’d like to start by acknowledging Professor Manning who is stepping down as the Director of the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute.

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.

Good morning and thank you to IPANZ for the opportunity to speak today.

Public policy and public management are challenging tasks at the best of times – much more difficult than commentators, business people and the public often think.

It is this challenge that attracts so many capable, motivated New Zealanders to every level of the public service.

Thank you for inviting me to launch Kiwi-health-jobs-dot-com.

Christchurch

Before we talk about the kiwi health jobs website, I would like to reiterate my appreciation and thanks to everyone in the health service – both public and private – who’s pitched in and supported Christchurch colleagues since last month’s earthquake.

The challenge in Canterbury is ongoing. Our health professionals there will need a break from time to time. So, the many hundreds of offers to help in Christchurch will still be needed.