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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.

Thank you to Better Border Biosecurity (B3) for hosting this important conference. The theme is “10 years on – Adding Value to New Zealand’s Plant Biosecurity System through Research”.  

Today I want to talk to you about the importance of biosecurity to New Zealand, and the importance of scientific research to back it up.

I want to start by acknowledging the B3 partnership as a great model for working together on research.

Given the theme of your Conference – "Rising Asia: Messages for the Next 20 Years", it took me no time to select a topic for my speech – "TPP and Trade Integration in the Asia-Pacific".

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.

Mr Speaker, when the previous Minister of Local Government introduced this Bill, he followed on from the good work of his predecessors, particularly Hon Nick Dr Smith.  Dr Smith initiated the Government’s Better Local Government reform programme back in 2012.

I now add to those credits the fine work that Hon Chris Tremain did in 2012 / 2013.  This included the preparation and introduction of this Bill.

This Bill is the final legislation in the better Local Government programme. 

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.

Today is a very important day, and a long time in the making. This is the start of a new era of biosecurity partnership between the Government and industry.

We’re here for first signing of the Government Industry Agreement (GIA) for Biosecurity Readiness and Response Deed, between Kiwifruit Vine Health and the Ministry for Primary Industries.   

Mr Speaker,

I move that the Appropriation (2014/15 Estimates) Bill be now read a second time.

It’s a privilege to deliver the National-led Government’s sixth Budget.

It’s a particular privilege because this is the first Budget in six years to focus on managing a growing economy rather than recovering from a domestic recession and then the global financial crisis.

A growing economy supports employment and higher wages. It provides opportunities for families. And it pays for public services that New Zealanders rely on.

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:

Good morning - it’s a pleasure to be attending this conference on bioenergy at this time, when there is so much happening in this field. 

Countries around the world are facing the same energy challenge. 

We want to continue to grow our economies and help our people to prosper. 

This means we need secure and affordable energy.

At the same time, we’ve got to reduce our carbon emissions. 

There is no single solution to reducing emissions. 

Countries around the world are facing similar energy challenges.

We want to continue to grow our economies and help our people to prosper, but we need to reduce our carbon emissions and respond to climate change.

At the moment, the world is in a transition phase towards a low carbon future.

In the US, President Obama speaks of an “all of the above” policy on energy. That is also what we have here in New Zealand – a mixed and balanced approach to our energy future.

Thank you for inviting me to speak to you this afternoon. I am honoured to be representing the Government of New Zealand, as Minister of Internal Affairs, at this workshop on Legislative Openness.

The New Zealand Government has a strong citizen centric focus, and is making strong achievements in its digital engagement and service delivery, in support of core Open Government principles.

I have been invited to speak to you today on the topic of Moving toward Digital Democracy: Using technology in Citizen Engagement.

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.

Fellow Governors, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,

New Zealand extends its thanks to the Government of Kazakhstan, and to the staff of the Asian Development Bank, for their efforts organising this 47th Annual Meeting of the ADB.

We congratulate Takehiko Nakao on completing his first year as President of the ADB. We look forward to your continued leadership.

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.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Minister Kuntoro Mangkusubroto and signatories.

New Zealand has a proud tradition of openness and transparency.  We are number one on a range of integrity measures including:

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.

Good afternoon, it’s great to be here today.

I would like to thank Business New Zealand and Fujitsu for hosting this event.

Today I want to talk about the Budget that Finance Minister Bill English will deliver next week.

I will also announce two important initiatives that will be of interest to this audience.

But first I want to set the scene as Budget 2014 approaches.

This will be the National-led Government’s sixth Budget, and can I say Bill English is doing an excellent job.

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.

In August 2013, the Government announced the most significant reform of New Zealand’s workplace health and safety system in more than 20 years.

Our reform package ‘Working Safer – a blueprint for health and safety at work’ marks a turning point in New Zealand’s approach to safety at work. 

It provides us with a valuable opportunity to create and deliver a world class health and safety system.

Thank you Miriam, and thank you Prime Minister.

I would like to reiterate the Prime Minister’s welcome to you. In particular I welcome our international guests:

It’s great to be here in Christchurch today.

Thank you to everybody attending today, and thanks to the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce for hosting this event.

One of the National-led Government’s four main priorities this term is to support the rebuilding of this, our second-biggest city, and to stand beside the people of Canterbury.

From the first earthquake in September 2010, the Government has totally backed Christchurch and the wider region to respond, to recover and to rebuild.

Mr Speaker, this Bill is a crucial piece of legislation.

As members will remember, this legislation came from the Ministerial Inquiry led by the Hon Paul Swain. That Inquiry was set up following serious allegations of mistreatment of crew on foreign chartered vessels. It made a number of legislative and non-legislative recommendations to improve agency coordination, monitoring and compliance of foreign chartered vessels.

This Bill is necessary to ensure that health and safety requirements on all fishing vessels in New Zealand waters are of the highest standard.

Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be with you again today.

I would like to thank John and Raewyn and their team at the Wellington Employers’ Chamber of Commerce for inviting me to speak to you again this year.

I also want to acknowledge the Chamber’s work in promoting the Wellington business community and in grappling with issues affecting businesses in the capital city.

It’s great to see measures of business confidence in Wellington rising.