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Good morning and thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you today. It’s been an eventful few weeks in the immigration space and I’ve certainly learned that there’s never a dull moment when you’re looking after the immigration portfolio!

Tena koutou katoa,

I want to mihi to Wairoa College, for hosting us here today – to the principal Brian Simpson, Gary Mayo (Board Chair) and the Board of Trustees, and of course our wonderful rangatahi.

I understand that just two weeks ago, Wairoa College took to the stage at Kensington Stadium in Whangarei for the kapa haka a motu.

This followed a star performance in the Hawkes Bay leg of the 2012 Stage Challenge where Wairoa College was placed third in the open division.

I have been asked to speak today about the Government’s reform agenda which is a very wide brief, but particularly pertinent to my two portfolio areas of Primary Industries and Local Government.

But I want to start with a few comments on Antarctica and the Ross Sea as I understand you’ve just had a session with documentary film-maker Peter Young.

I haven’t seen Peter’s documentary, but I did watch the recent story on TV1’s ‘Sunday’ programme.

Good afternoon.

I would like to start by congratulating EDS for organising this event.

I am particularly pleased to see an environmental conference acknowledging up front that New Zealand’s economy depends on primary production.

This is to me a major advance on previous thinking which has seemed to pit the economy against the environment.

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

Thank you for inviting me to speak today.  It is a pleasure for me to join you today and to open your national conference.  Thank you to Cathryn Henty for your warm welcome.

E te tupuna whare, tēnā koe. E ngā uri o Ohomairangi, tēnā koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

I acknowledge my parliamentary colleagues, Todd McClay and Te Ururoa Flavell, Dr Toby Curtis, Malcolm Short and Mayor Kevin Winters.

Mai Maketū ki Tongariro ...
Ko Te Arawa te waka
Ko Te Arawa māngai-nui ūpoko tū-takitaki

From Maketū to Tongariro ...
Te Arawa the canoe
Te Arawa the determined people

Good afternoon, thank you for opportunity to speak at your conference today.

Since I spoke to you last year the New Zealand economy has been steadily rebuilding out of the GFC. Our economy is almost two-and-a-half per cent larger than it was this time last year, and the Christchurch rebuild continues to ramp up.  According to the March quarter Household Labour Force Survey 10,800 more people are employed in construction in Canterbury than this time last year, and the reality is we have just begun.

The launch of the Code of Conduct for Minimising Acoustic Disturbance to Marine Mammals is another of the many steps this Government is taking to ensure that we make the most of our promising petroleum potential in a manner that is well managed and consistent with the wider values we hold as a nation, and to the highest international standards.

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.

Good afternoon. I’m pleased to welcome so many of you here today for the launch of the Code of conduct for minimising acoustic disturbance to marine mammals from seismic survey operations.

There’s no doubt that conservation is important to New Zealanders as a whole. This is a fantastic attribute – it means we take a keen interest in conservation matters and also means that there is no shortage of challenging issues that gain a high profile in the media and around dinner tables across the country.

E kore au e ngaro, he kākano i ruia mai i Rangiātea.

Principal Tina Voordouv; the Rongomai School Board of Trustees and community; Dr Rawiri Jansen; members of the National Hauora Coalition; the Child Health Alliance; Counties Manukau DHB; friends, whānau, community.

I have to say I was utterly amazed when I did a little research into Rongomai School to discover the wonderful world of learning that is located at this address.

The programmes, the approaches, the priorities are as widely diverse as the populations and cultures that comprise the school population – Māori; Cook Islands Māori; Samoan; Tongan; Niuean.

Chairman Pat O’Brien and Harness Racing New Zealand Board Members, club delegates and invited guests, I want to thank you for the invitation to address Harness Racing's annual conference.

I want to acknowledge representatives of the New Zealand Racing Board, in particular interim Chief Executive Officer Bill Colgan.  I know that Bill will shortly be heading back to Australia.  I would like to thank him for his hard work at the New Zealand Racing Board over the last few years. 

I am very pleased to be here at the signing of the Taranaki Biodiversity Forum Accord. This is a big step forward and sees a range of agencies and parties working together to better protect the special values of the region.

First of all though, I want to congratulate you on recognising the importance and value of biodiversity. Often people ask - what is the importance of biodiversity? Why do we need to worry about it?

Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak today at the launch of the ANZ India New Zealand Business Forum's India Viewpoint.

I want to commend ANZ for this initiative and the advice to business that it has compiled about how to succeed in India. 

The publication echoes advice for a range of big emerging economies with which New Zealand businesses are increasingly engaging, for example China, or Indonesia, or Brazil. 

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

I would like to acknowledge John Hornell, the Chief Executive Officer of the Hepatitis Foundation, who invited me here today to celebrate this event with you. It is a pleasure to be involved in such a significant international day.

Good afternoon and thank you for asking me to say a few words today. It’s great to be here to celebrate two significant milestones for Immigration New Zealand.

I’m sure most of us here today know what a major contribution immigration makes to New Zealand’s economy and society.

Immigration creates jobs by encouraging innovation, deepening our links with international markets and providing the capital and skills we need for growth.

It’s great to be here to have the opportunity to talk about the important contribution that agri-food sectors make to the New Zealand economy.

Agri-food accounts for:
• more than $24 billion of exports
• about 10 per cent of total employment in New Zealand
• over two-thirds of New Zealand’s merchandise export earnings; and
• more than half of New Zealand’s manufacturing.

That doesn’t include the significant contribution our fibre industries – wool and timber - also make to New Zealand’s economy.

Thank you very much for inviting me to be here today.

This is an important event because export education is such an important contributor to the economy, and an important priority for us as a Government.

In fact it’s now our 5^th largest export industry, worth around $2.3 billion a year to the economy. 

Nga mihi ki a tatou katoa, i roto i tenei wiki whakahirahira – te wiki o te reo Maori.

I want to acknowledge my parliamentary colleagues who have joined us tonight; National President, Clive Lansink; Vice President Jonathan Godfrey and Executive Officer Rose Wilkinson who has worked so hard to make this event a success.

It is a great honour to be welcoming you here to your place – in the Parliament which 25 years ago passed the Māori Language Act 1987.

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.

New Zealand has a long history of innovative demand management, starting with the deployment of the first ripple control systems 60 years ago.

Ripple control, while it has served us well, is becoming outdated technology.  New technologies and systems are available that have the potential to dramatically change the way consumers interact with electricity systems. 

I believe the potential for smart grids in New Zealand is significant.  

I’m delighted to be here today to share with you this exciting development in the Tāmaki Transformation Programme, and ultimately a positive advancement for the future generations of Tāmaki residents.  

I’m joined today by the Mayor of Auckland Council to sign the Tāmaki Heads of Agreement between the Crown and the Council – a first in New Zealand. This will see the people of Tāmaki placed at the centre of all future regeneration and development activities.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you Andrew and thank you Horticulture New Zealand for inviting me to speak with you today.

I want to use this as a good opportunity to talk about the one issue that is a genuine concern to many people in this room – New Zealand’s biosecurity system.

It’s also a good opportunity to challenge some of the exaggerated allegations about our biosecurity system.