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Konnichiwa. Good afternoon.

It’s a pleasure to be here at your conference.

I want to thank the members of the Japan New Zealand Business Council – on both sides of the Pacific – for all the good work you do in developing trade relations, and in helping our countries get to know each other even better.

In particular I want to acknowledge Ryu Yano, the Chair of the Japan side of the Council, and Chair of Sumitomo Forestry, who has done so much for New Zealand-Japan relations over many years.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Good evening.

Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting me to speak to your 2012 National Council.  It is a great pleasure to be speaking to you again this year.

I would like to thank your national executive committee and president Don McIver.  Don has been a tireless advocate for veterans for the last few years.

As Prime Minister I have the privilege of meeting many veterans and hearing your remarkable stories.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Selamat pagi. Good afternoon.

It’s a pleasure to be here at this forum and I’d like to acknowledge the organisers – the ASEAN-New Zealand Combined Business Council and Export New Zealand.

As you know, I took a trade delegation to Indonesia earlier this year.

Some of you were on that trip, and I hope you found it valuable.

I had the pleasure of having Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan as my host Minister, meaning we got to spend a lot of time together.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

It is a great honour for me to be here in Tohoku and to attend this memorial service. I would also like to thank the Governor of Miyagi, Yoshihiro Murai, for helping to make this visit possible.

It is particularly poignant coming here from New Zealand, another land of earthquakes and volcanoes.

Today I saw parts of Miyagi Prefecture which were terribly damaged on March 11 last year.

It was a dark day that will be permanently etched into the minds of the people of Japan.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Ministers and Members of Parliament, Ambassador Xu, members of the Diplomatic Corps, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting me here today.

Can I start by acknowledging the Contemporary China Research Centre at Victoria University and the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs who are hosting this event.

This seminar today marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and China.

I welcome the opportunity to reflect on those 40 years.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Good evening, and thank you for the invitation to speak at this event.

I’m conscious as I talk to you tonight that this museum is also a war memorial.

The galleries here record the names of those who fell in the many conflicts New Zealand has been involved in.

So we remember the most recent of them – the five soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan over the last few weeks.

They are owed a great debt, both by this country and by the people of Bamyan province, in a country very far from New Zealand.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Tēnā koutou katoa, Talofa lava.

On behalf of all the guests from New Zealand here with me today, thank you to His Highness, the Head of State, and to the Government and people of Samoa for your warm welcome to us.

Thank you to Prime Minister Tuilaepa for your friendship and generous hospitality.

I would also like to acknowledge the large Parliamentary delegation that has travelled to Samoa with me, together with representatives from the Samoan New Zealand community, many of whom are household names in both our countries.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Thank you for inviting me to speak at your annual conference.

I understand this is the first time the conference has been held in New Zealand, so I’d like to extend a warm welcome to those of you who are visiting our country.

Putting my Minister of Tourism hat on for just a moment, I’d like to encourage you to have a good look around while you’re here. I hope you enjoy your stay.

I want to start today by acknowledging the good work ANZSOG does to develop and strengthen leadership in the public sector.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

It’s a great pleasure to be back with you to open the Local Government New Zealand conference, and to be here in beautiful Queenstown.

I’d like to acknowledge your President, Lawrence Yule, and your board members for their hard work. I enjoy a great working relationship with Lawrence and meet regularly with him and LGNZ chief executive Malcolm Alexander.

I’d also like to extend my personal thanks to Local Government Minister David Carter, who took up the portfolio earlier this year, in addition to his role as Primary Industries Minister.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Thank you for your welcome.

Can I start by acknowledging some of the special guests tonight – former Prime Minister John Howard, Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott and members of his Parliamentary team.

And I’d like to thank the Menzies Research Centre for inviting me to give this lecture.

The Menzies Research Centre has made an important contribution to public policy thinking in Australia over many years. It is an impressive institution.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Thank you for hosting me again, for what has become my regular post-Budget speech.

Yesterday was Bill English’s fourth Budget and again he has done a remarkable job of managing the Government’s books while continuing to maintain the trust and support of New Zealanders in these difficult times.

I also want to acknowledge the support and constructive involvement of the ACT, United Future and Maori Parties, who are all supporting this Budget, as they have supported the previous three.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good afternoon and thank you for coming to this pre-Budget speech.

I want to thank Business New Zealand for hosting this event today. And I want to thank them for the very constructive role they play in representing New Zealand businesses and employers.

Budget 2012 will show the Government is on track and sticking to its plan.

As Bill English said in a speech a few days ago, we are set to post an operating surplus in 2014/15.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister
  • Budget 2012

Selamat pagi. Tena koe. Good morning.

It’s a great pleasure to be here in Indonesia and it’s a great pleasure to be addressing this distinguished gathering of Indonesian and New Zealand business.

This is my first visit to Indonesia as Prime Minister. But like the rest of the world I have been watching your country with admiration.

Your progress in the 21st Century has been extraordinary.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Good morning, it’s great to be here.

I’d like to acknowledge my Chief Science Advisor, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, and the many other youth health experts here today.

It’s a privilege for me to be here with so many people who are committed to the health and wellbeing of our young people.

Thank you for the work that you do.

I share your passion for the future of our young New Zealanders.

As I travel around New Zealand, the energy and enthusiasm of the vast majority of our young people makes me hugely optimistic for our country.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for coming this afternoon.

It’s a great privilege to have won the trust and goodwill of New Zealanders for a second term in Government.

I don’t take that for granted.

That’s why we’re working hard to take the country forward and deliver strong and stable government, just as we did over the last three years.

Today I want to talk about public services.

But before I do, I want to put this speech in the context of the Government’s overall priorities.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

February 22nd, 2011.

It is a date permanently etched into all our minds.

A date that will go down in the history of New Zealand as one of our darkest days.

We all remember where we were when we heard the news. Christchurch - our second-largest city and home to 350,000 people - had been struck by an earthquake so violent and destructive that it would go on to claim 185 lives.

February 22nd began as just another summer day here in Canterbury.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister

Ladies and Gentlemen

Can I start by saying that it’s a tremendous privilege to have won the trust and goodwill of New Zealanders for a second term in Government.

I don’t take that for granted and I never will.

I learned quickly when I came into Parliament that a government has to earn the trust and goodwill of voters again and again, every day.

And that’s what we’ll be doing.

We proved in the past three years that we can deliver strong and stable government in difficult times.

  • John Key
  • Prime Minister