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I want to acknowledge Dr George Laking, your Chair and Te Rina Moke, your Chief Executive Officer for the opportunity to be here with you all.

I have been greatly looking forward to this hui – to celebrate our medical graduates, medical fellows, medical practitioners, health workers and health professionals.

By virtue of the career you have chosen you have opted for a life of passion, a life of selfless commitment to the greater good – the wellbeing of the people.   It is good to be in your company.

Good afternoon.

I’d like to thank you for the invitation to be a part of the Midwinter Dialogues series here at the University of Otago in Christchurch.

It has been three years since I last spoke to you all, and much has happened since then.  In 2011, the Christchurch rebuild was forefront in our minds. 

Once more, I want to thank the health professionals and students in this room for your leadership and hard work during such a challenging time.  And the challenges are still ongoing.

Good Morning.

It is a pleasure to be here in Auckland this morning to launch this exciting new primary healthcare service. STAR (Specialist Treatment and Rehabilitation) demonstrates innovation that will deliver specialised health services for patients with chronic and long term conditions.

I would like to acknowledge:

Good evening, and welcome to Premier House.

It is a pleasure to be here to launch the Women’s Health Research Centre Trust.

This is a great opportunity to discuss the opportunities and challenges of women’s health in New Zealand, and to acknowledge the work of the Women’s Health Research Centre in meeting these challenges.

Acknowledgements

Tēnā koutou e te mana whenua o tēnei rohe, Tainui waka, Waikato iwi,  e Te Whare o Te Kāhui Ariki, ka nui te mihi ki a koutou katoa.

Tēnā hoki koutou e ngā tāngata o Te Moana Nui a Kiwa. He mihi hoki ki te reo whakamoemiti i tenei ata, nā reira e te minita, tēnā koe.

Thank you to Fa’amatuainu Tino Pereira for introducing me - and to Leaupepe Peta Karalus, the Chief Executive of K’aute Pasifika Trust.

It is a pleasure for me to be here to speak at the opening of Nikau House. This is an exciting time for you all, a new beginning and I’m glad to be able to share this with you.

I commend the management of Elizabeth Knox Home and Hospital for the decision to invest in the future of your facility, thereby future-proofing the care that your residents will receive.

Thank you for inviting me to your annual conference. It is my pleasure to be here to express my support for your organisation and to hear how your work is progressing.

I would like to acknowledge:

I want to thank Waitangi Wood and Lee Tuki, current Māori caucus representatives for the opportunity to talk with you and Warren Lindberg in his role as Chief Executive.

In ten days’ time, I will be preparing to give my valedictory speech.   Usually in election year there is a curious intensity, as campaign fever takes over Parliament.  Add to that, the frenzy that is associated with the impending closure of the Parliament, let alone the end of eighteen years of service, and you can probably guess that the demands on my time are at an all-time high.

Tēnā koutou katoa.

Ki ngā kuia me ngā koroua o Ahuriri, tēnā koutou.

Ki ngā whānau me ngā hapū o Ahuriri, tēnā koutou katoa.

Ki te Poari Matua me ngā kaimahi o Te Kupenga Hauora Ahuriri, tēnā koutou. Otirā ki a tātou te hunga ora, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

I am so very pleased to be here at this wonderful celebration of two decades of dedication. 

E ngā kanohi o Ngāti Raukawa i konei i tēnei rā, tēnā koutou katoa.

He mihi nui rawa atu ki a koutou kua tae mai nei ki te whakanui i te kaupapa o te rā nei. Tēnā koutou.

Your Honour the Mayor and Councillors of the Horowhenua District Council.

The Chair and Chief Executive of Mid Central District Health Board.

The Chair and General Manager of Te Rūnanga o Raukawa.

The executive leadership of the bCentral Primary Health Organisation

The fabulous project sponsors of Te Waiora – Materoa Mar and Ana Winiata.

In three weeks time, at about this time of the day, I will stand to deliver my valedictory speech after 18 years in Parliament.  

The usual pre-election frenzy of making sure all loose ends are tied up has intensified beyond belief, as I look critically across all my portfolios, and assess what needs to be done before I shut down the computer and close the door.

But if there’s one thing I know for sure, it is that the future for tobacco reform has never been more promising.

Ki a koutou Ngāti Toa, Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Kauwhata, Rangitāne, ngā iwi o te motu katoa.

Tēnā koutou, ā,  tēnā tātou katoa.

I am so happy to welcome you here to your House, in the spirit of Puanga / Matariki.

There could be no better time to be launching He Korowai Oranga than at the Māori New Year.  

Good morning. Thank you for inviting me to celebrate the opening of this new development with you.

I would like to acknowledge:

• Minister Anne Tolley
• Sally Webb and Bay of Plenty DHB board members
• Council members
• Members of the Runanga
• Ron Dunham the CEO of Lakes DHB.

I would also like to acknowledge staff, patients and neighbours.

You were subjected to dust, ever changing places to park cars, changing entrances and having to walk right around the campus - thank you for your patience.

As an American entrepreneur wrote recently... "The opportunities at the intersection of health and technology will enable humanity to create health and wealth on a global scale ... seizing huge business opportunities while generating tremendous positive social impact for everyone, everywhere".

That is the amazing opportunity before you and your ideas and your businesses.  And that’s why this healthcare congress is so valuable.

Many people underestimate the importance of the health sector here in New Zealand. It amounts to one-tenth of the economy.

Thank you for inviting me to the meeting today. It is my pleasure to be here to express my support to the Network and to hear how your work is progressing. 

E ngā iwi, e ngā mana, tēnā koutou.

Tēnei te mihi atu kia koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te rā, huri atu te pō, nau mai te ao!

Nā reira, tēnei au ‘He muka nō te taurawhiri o Hinengakau’ e mihi atu nei kia koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātau.

It is always good to come home.

I love the kaupapa of this hui – featuring ‘Te taura whiri o Hinengakau’ -  the plaited rope of our tupuna, Hinengakau.

Kia ora tātau. Good morning, and thank you for your warm welcome.

Passion, dedication, and innovation.

Those three words describe the individuals and organisations represented in this room today. As the Minister responsible for mental health and addiction, I am privileged to be in a position to see how much these qualities are exemplified in the mental health sector.

So I would like to thank you now for those qualities and all that you bring to your work every day – work that makes a huge difference to so many across New Zealand.

Tēnā koutou katoa

Thank you for inviting me here today to speak with you on this very important topic, the future of the New Zealand health system.

I am appreciative of this unique opportunity provided by your Chief Executive, Dr Dale Bramley, as well as the Board members and members of the Waitemata DHB Executive Leadership team. Tēnā koutou katoa.

I want to mihi in particular to Awhina Health Campus and its partners.

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

Thank you very much to the Grey Power Federation Board, delegates, and observers for having me here today, and a special thank you to your President, Roy Reid, for his introduction.

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangaranga maha, tēnā koutou.

Thank you for inviting me to the World Heart Federation World Congress of Cardiology session to share some of our experiences from Aotearoa New Zealand.

I believe that very essence of global health equity comes from realising that something as precious as health is a citizenship right that all should be entitled to.

Ka mihi atu au ki te tangata whenua, te hau kāinga, nāu te reo karanga ki a mātou.

I firstly greet the traditional owners of this land, the Wurundjeri people.

Thank you for the invitation to speak today. A particular thank you goes to the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand who are hosting this conference.

Ka mihi atu au ki te tangata whenua, te hau kāinga, nāu te reo karanga ki a mātou.

I firstly greet the traditional owners of this land, the Wurundjeri people.

The issues around tobacco, trade and advertising have, of course, been particularly pronounced for indigenous peoples.  

For Aotearoa, tobacco was associated with the arrival of early Pākehā explorers and traders and was used as a currency and article of trade.  There was even an exchange of tobacco at the Treaty grounds as iwi and hapū leaders gathered to sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

Good evening and thank you Richard [Stubbs, Managing Director, P3 Research] for the kind introduction. 

I am delighted to be here tonight to celebrate the completion of renovations to P3 Research’s unit. 

I would like to acknowledge the ground breaking work that P3 Research does, both in Wellington and in Tauranga, to help develop new treatments. 

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

Good morning, it is my pleasure to be able to open the 2014 Heart Foundation Forum.

Thank you Tony for your warm welcome.

I acknowledge the life members, board members and delegates.

I would also like to acknowledge this morning’s other speakers Prof Phil Baker, Chair of Gravida and Professor of Maternal and Foetal Health at the University of Auckland, and Dr Debbie Ryan, Director of Pacific Perspectives.