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Thank you so much for inviting me here to Te Pūtahitanga o Te Wai Pounamu’s first Hothouse weekend.  And thank you to our fine MCs, Rā Dallas and Sheree Waitoa, for making us all so welcome.

I have to admit that ever since your launch in July, I have talked about little else than the fresh new face of innovation that Te Pūtahitanga o Te Wai Pounamu represents. And so I want to firstly mihi to your Chair, Norm Dewes and the Board, to Lisa Tumahai, the Chair of Te Taumata and your dedicated staff.  

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.

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, Ngai Tahu,  tēnā koutou katoa.

E ngā iwi e huihui nei i tēnei rā, tēnā hoki koutou.

This is such an amazing complex. 

I always love coming here – the beauty, the majesty, the awesome feeling of being in this wharenui.  I always think of the late great Monte Ohia and his passion for mātauranga Māori. 

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.

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha, tēnā koutou katoa,

Tēnei te mihi ki a koutou katoa ngā mana whenua o tēnei whenua me ngā rangatira o Te Tari o Te Ariki o Ngāti Tūwharetoa hoki, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa.

I acknowledge the iwi of Tūwharetoa, who have upheld the sacred expression of kaitiakitanga over your special landing places.

I am so pleased to be here with the Māori Reference Group of the Taskforce for Action on Family Violence and to be gathered in this place, to recognise such a significant – indeed a historic milestone.

There are many reasons why I am so pleased to be with you tonight.

First and foremost it is a great pleasure to have watched the progress of the New Zealand Disability Support Network since I officially launched it four years ago in 2010.

I launched the network having been in the job of Minister of Disability Issues just one short but frenetic year.  

I am so glad to be able to join with you today in celebrating the success of the Disability Action Plan and your commitment to take it further.  

Ever since my valedictory speech last Thursday, I have been even more aware of the significance of certain achievements and experiences I have gathered during my eighteen years in Parliament.   It is absolutely clear to me that the progress that I have watched so keenly in the disability sector has been one of those ‘stand-out’ moments for me of my time here.

I have been so looking forward to being with you today, to celebrate the transformation that we see already evident in Te Pūtahitanga o Te Wai Pounamu.

It is the most powerful concept to think that all of our whānau here in Ōtautahi are simultaneously connected in time and concept with all the whānau gathering at launch events today at Murihiku, Ōtākou, Tai Poutini, Whakatū, and Wairau.

Tēnā koutou. Ka mihi au ki te kaupapa o Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. He taonga motuhake tēnei nō tātau, nō te motu. Kia kaha tātau ki te ako i te kupu o te wiki. Kia ora.

My acknowledgments firstly to:

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 tātou katoa.

Tēnā koutou Te Akitai, te mana whenua o tēnei rohe, ka nui te mihi ki a koutou.

Tainui waka, Waikato iwi ki te whare o Te Kāhui Ariki, ngā tāngata o Te Moana Nui a Kiwa.

Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou.

I was a little bit thrown by the kōrero this morning.  

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.

I am so very pleased to have the opportunity to join you again.  

Thank you, Henare Mason and Ngāti Whatua, for the warmth of your welcome to us all.

I congratulate the Deputy Commissioner Disability, Rose Wall and the Health and Disability Commissioner Anthony Hill for this excellent initiative. From the look of your programme there are some fabulous features of this day ahead.

I am thrilled to be with you tonight; at this very important launch – and to celebrate with you and congratulate you on an amazing milestone in reaching thirty years.

I’ll let you into a secret too – I’ll go out of my way to be in the company of such beautiful kuia as Aunty Kiwa (Hutchens) because she does so much for our wairua just learning from her example in life.  She has had a huge impact on me.

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.  

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.

I acknowledge firstly, Pastor Kenneth Fuliese, for blessing our fono with your presence and your gift of words.

Thank you to our accomplished Master of Ceremonies – Memea - and I am always happy to be in the company of Fa’amatuainu Tino Pereira who has provided such fine leadership to the work of the Pacific Advisory Group and in particular the evolution of the Pasefika Proud fono.

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.

Talofa lava, Kia ora, Fakalofa lahi atu, Aloha, Ni sa bula, Malo e lelei, Kia orana, Taloha ni, Halo olaketa.

I am so pleased to be here tonight to celebrate with you the diversity, the resilience and the splendour of tagata o te moana nui, the peoples of the Pacific.

Thank you Reverend Tokerau Joseph for opening this fono with your blessing for our day.

As we gathered together in silence, I thought of a Native American verse, which in less than twenty words challenges us to focus on what we know to be right:

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.