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\I am so happy to be with you today, to celebrate the opening of your new stand-alone office in Porirua.

I want to acknowledge the dignitaries and leaders of our Pasefika communities living here in the greater Wellington region.   I pay my first respects to our officiating minister, Reverend Perema Leasi for your leadership in our hui.

I acknowledge the tautoko of Ngati Toa Rangatira, tena koe e Taku.

Greetings to our newly returned Mayor Nick Leggett, and to local MP Kris Faafoi.

Thank you Reverend Elama Maea for opening this fono with your blessing for our day.

I want to acknowledge:

·       Fa’amatuainu Tino Pereira : the Chair of the Pacific Advisory Group;

·       Murray Edridge; the Deputy Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development

Thank you Reverend Elama Maea for the opening prayers – for setting the right platform for us tonight; to come together in the spirit of Pasefika Pride.

Thank you, also to Sandra Kailahi  - who was such a wonderful host when we launched the Ngā Vaka o Kaiga Tapu Family Violence conceptual framework last year.  It is with great pleasure that I learnt you would be helping us to celebrate the next part of our journey tonight.

My humble acknowledgments, firstly to

I am delighted to welcome here today, to your House - our Special Olympic graduates, your friends, supporters, sponsors and of course your families who make it all possible.

I want to thank Ian McKelvie, MP for Rangitikei; and the Chairperson of Special Olympics for the honour of addressing you at this very important event.

I acknowledge two very important people with us today - Kathy Gibson, your Chief Executive and Grant Quinn, the Founder of Special Olympics New Zealand.

I want to thank Cindy Johns, your National Manager and Hamish Taverner, your National Chairperson for the opportunity to speak at this event. I also thank Lee Rutene for opening this event.

I can’t help but think that flying free like the butterfly is a wonderful image for your logo. For 30 years you have been speaking up and giving voice to the voiceless to say what was important to disabled people.

It is with great pleasure that I follow in the footsteps of your esteemed life member, Robert Martin, in this very important milestone event.

First, I would like to congratulate the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, NZ Inc and all the agencies and sponsors for putting this event together.

I move that the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Bill be now read for a second time.

Speech to Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association (RSA) National Council

I must say what a pleasure it is to be at my first RNZRSA Council Meeting, and what a privilege it is to be your Veterans’ Affairs Minister.

This is a portfolio that a number of my colleagues envy me for holding, and it was certainly a special moment when the Prime Minister offered me the portfolio in January.

Good evening and thank you for inviting me to be here.

It’s always a pleasure to address the RSA National Council and to thank you for the work that you do.

New Zealanders are extremely grateful for the contribution our veterans have made to our peace, our freedom and our security.

Ex-servicemen and women hold a special status in the hearts of New Zealanders.

Good morning and thank you for inviting me to open the 105^th Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Greyhound Racing Association.

Can I acknowledge:

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

E aku Rangatira,  Tēnā koutou katoa,  Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou       

Good afternoon everyone. It’s a pleasure to be able to speak to you today at this event to mark World Mental Health Day. And of course it’s also Mental Health Awareness Week.

I would like to thank Professor Max Abbott for inviting me to join you today.

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

Good afternoon. First I would like to acknowledge MercyAscot Managing Director Andrew Wong, chair Richard Fisher and CEO Geoff Sparkes, as well as Health and Quality and Safety Commission deputy chair Shelly Frost.

Thank you for inviting me to speak at Medicines New Zealand’s “Medicines Transform Lives” Conference.  I would especially like to thank and acknowledge the Hon Heather Roy, the Chair, Kevin Sheehy, the General Manager, and the directors and members of Medicines New Zealand.

Thank you Bob, and thank you to the New Zealand Companion Animal Council for inviting me here today to talk with you about animal welfare.

Can I acknowledge Joyce D’Silva Joyce, Ambassador and former Chief Executive of Compassion in World Farming, and my fellow MPs – Trevor Mallard, Mojo Mathers, Ian McKelvie and Andrew Williams.

Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, and of course the members of Emirates Team New Zealand.

What a fantastic welcome home for the team. These guys deserve this.

I told you guys it was getting pretty big.

I had the honour of witnessing on behalf of the New Zealand Government first-hand the talent, the perseverance, the relentless hard work and the highs and the lows of Emirates Team New Zealand in San Francisco.

This whole team, on and off the water, threw every single thing they had into this event.

Ki a Kingi Tuheitia, me te kahui ariki anei nga mihi. Aa, ki te tangata whenua o te rohe nei, nga iwi o te waka o Tainui,  tena koutou. Tena koutou te whanau whanui, nga mihi nunui kia koutou katoa.

Firstly I mihi to Te Arataura Tainui Waikato and the Tuwharetoa Trust for your tautoko of this event today.

I acknowledge the presence of the Mayor of Hamilton, Julie Hardaker, tena koe.

Performance criteria and improving quality - A Whanau Ora Approach

I am delighted to be with you at the 2013 New Zealand Healthcare Summit.  

There is nothing closer to my heart than thinking about performance criteria to improve Maori health outcomes.  

‘Ensuring financially sustainable and efficient healthcare provision for all New Zealanders’

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

Thank you Nevil for your introduction and greetings to everyone here today. 

Launch of Draft Tertiary Education Strategy and proposed changes to university and wānanga governance

Introduction
Can I thank Pat and Victoria University for hosting me here today.

Today I would like to outline the government’s new Tertiary Education Strategy.

It will chart the direction for the tertiary sector over the next five years, a direction that will ensure we stay up with the world’s best, and deliver on the needs of our students in the 21st century.

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, rau rangatira ma, tēnā koutou katoa.

I’m delighted to be here with you today. I would like to acknowledge the kaumātua for their welcome. 

I would also like to acknowledge the PPTA executive including your president Angela Roberts.

We are all here because we believe in improving the lives of young New Zealanders.

Every day I meet so many people who are passionate about education and the ability of our education system to improve the lives of young New Zealanders.

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

Thank you, Iona, for your introduction and a warm welcome to you all. Today is International Day of Older Persons, a day to celebrate the value of older people, and I am delighted to be here sharing a part of this day with you.

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

Thank you for inviting me to join you this afternoon.  I am told that New Zealand hosted the first IPAC Conference in 2001 and played host again in 2006, with both held in Wellington.  Being a South Islander, I am pleased that this year’s Conference has moved south to Queenstown.

Good afternoon everybody.

I would like first to extend a special welcome to industry and business leaders, my parliamentary colleagues, and our partner PGP programmes here today as we showcase the wide range of PGP programmes underway to date and exciting innovations they are progressing. 

We will – I understand – be hearing from some of the newer programmes shortly.  I’d encourage you to explore the stands, and I also understand you can even sample some of the programme’s products in today’s canapés.