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Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.  Nga mihi nui ki a koutou.

Thank you Dr Gruner for your warm welcome. I appreciate the opportunity to open this important conference.

I would like to also extend a welcome to Dame Tariana Turia and to the other conference presenters and to welcome all RACMA members and supporters. 

Warm greetings to all of you who have travelled to New Zealand specifically for this conference.

I would first like to comment on the important role medical administrators play in our health services. 

Kia ora and welcome everyone.

I am delighted to be here today to launch the report Getting it done: Utilising women’s skills in the workforce.

This report focuses on our work with Canterbury stakeholders to increase women’s participation in trades training and jobs, and how these lessons can be applied to opportunities in the labour market elsewhere. 

I’d like to start by thanking Leeann Watson for the warm welcome on this slightly chilly day.

It’s great to see my colleagues Hon Nicky Wagner and Jo Hayes here today.

E aku Rangatira Tena koutou katoa.

Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou

Distinguished audience Greetings to you all.

It is my pleasure to speak with you at this time.

Tonight I will talk about New Zealand’s forests, and how the New Zealand government is supporting the industry in a focused and targeted way.

We have specific challenges to address, and we want to add value to the industry as a whole.

This Congress is all about collaboration and learning from each other.

It is a pleasure to be part of the launch of the 2015 Children’s Health Stamp.

The relationship between Stand Children’s Services and New Zealand Post, and the proud history of the Health Stamp fundraising initiative, goes back to 1929.

Now that is impressive enough in itself, and a fine reason to celebrate the launch every year.

But it is extra special this year, because these stamps carry an important message for New Zealanders.

Each year in New Zealand, approximately 500 people die of skin cancer. 69,000 are treated for it.

Tēna koutou kātoa, good evening.

I am delighted to have been asked to speak at the launch of this exhibition, “Çannakale: Road to Peace out of War”.

As Minister of Internal Affairs I am responsible for the National Library of New Zealand and Archives New Zealand, which function as the memory of society and the memory of government respectively.

Between them, they hold many thousands of records and treasures relating to this most important time in New Zealand’s history.

Good afternoon everyone, and thank you for the invitation to speak today.

I have been looking forward to this occasion.

The country’s fire services have become an increasingly absorbing and important part of my portfolio of responsibilities in recent times.

Principally, that is because of the Fire Services Review, which I am sure all of you are aware of.
                 

Good afternoon, it is a pleasure for me to join you this afternoon for this year’s Green Cross Health 2015 Conference.

I would like to thank Green Cross Health for the opportunity to be here today.

It is a real pleasure to see so many pharmacists coming together with a genuine focus on the future.

I would like to take this opportunity to formally thank you and acknowledge you for your commitment and dedication to providing important health services in our communities.

Good afternoon and thank you for having me here - it is great to have the opportunity to speak to you today, my first such opportunity as Transport Minister.

I want to talk to you about three things:

• Our priorities and investment as a country in transport infrastructure
• Demand management and road pricing
• High Productivity Motor Vehicles

Investment in transport infrastructure

Good afternoon and welcome to the launch of the new National Drug Policy. 

I am very pleased to be here with you all today, and it is great to see so many familiar faces in the audience.

Today’s announcement is the culmination of what has been a lengthy process.

Many of you or your organisations are among the 120 individuals and organisations who submitted on the discussion document.  Some of you are also signatories to the Wellington Declaration on reshaping New Zealand’s alcohol and other drug policy. 

I am pleased to be here today to celebrate Tīramarama Mai – an initiative piloted by Maataa Waka Ki Te Tau Ihu and one of the first commissioned by Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu in this region. 

Like many significant Māori developments Tīramarama Mai has grown from a need identified by Maataa Waka Ki Te Tau Ihu for rangatahi aged 14-16 years, who for a variety of reasons, have been excluded from mainstream education.

This programme caters for a maximum of 12 rangatahi who live in Marlborough.

Good afternoon.

Thank you Jim for that warm welcome and for the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development’s hosting of this event.

Your invitation to address the Building Nations Symposium 2015 is both welcome and opportune.

Can I start by acknowledging Stephen Selwood, Mayor Lianne Dalziel and other local body representatives here today from around the region. 

Thank you for coming along today.

It’s a pleasure to be here in Christchurch, for the launch of the Thirty Year New Zealand Infrastructure Plan.

Meeting New Zealand’s infrastructure challenges over the next 30 years will require coordination across central government, local government and the private sector.

So I would like to recognise our partners for the progress we’ve made together, their engagement in developing this Plan, and their commitment to meet New Zealand’s infrastructure needs over the next 30 years.

Thank you for the invitation to open the 2015 New Zealand Seafood Industry Conference.

Your industry is vital to the economy, especially regional economies, directly providing 8000 jobs and earning more than $1.5 billion in export revenue each year.

This year’s conference has a great theme. “Sustainable Seafood – Adding Value” is a perfect summary of where the wider primary sector - not just seafood - needs to head, and matches with our priorities as a Government.

Opening remarks

It’s a pleasure to be here in Canterbury. I’d like to thank the New Zealand Medical Association for inviting me today. I’d also like to acknowledge Lesley Clarke, CEO of the NZMA and Dr Kate Braddock, Chair of the GP Council of the NZMA.

Primary care

Primary care plays a crucial role in improving the health outcomes of New Zealanders and lifting performance across the health sector.

Today we are here to celebrate the achievements of ten outstanding Māori academics of our time.

This year, appropriately, is also the 10^th anniversary of Te Kāhui Amokura, which was established to lift Māori student participation and achievement rates across our eight universities.

Aotearoa New Zealand’s long and proud tradition of Māori academic achievement dates back to the late 1890s and early 1900s.

I would like to acknowledge Robert Brewer and the governing executive of Spirits New Zealand, the representatives from Hospitality New Zealand, New Zealand Winegrowers, and the Brewers Association of Australia and New Zealand.

The brief I was given for today was “regulation of alcohol and alcohol policy”.

I will start with a statement of the obvious - most New Zealanders do not drink to excess. Many New Zealanders enjoy a drink or two, and there is nothing wrong with that.  But there is a minority of drinkers for whom that is not the case. 

It’s a pleasure being here this morning and thank you Allan Cooke for the warm welcome.

First, may I acknowledge our gracious hosts, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, for hosting us here this morning and the Family Law Section of the Law Society for their continued support.

Nine months into the job, I have to say I’m thoroughly enjoying being Minister of Justice.

It’s an exciting time for your industry which is having a really strong year. Let me give you a few highlights worth mentioning:

• Apple & Pear export revenue exceeded $570 million last year.
• Fruit exports are worth $2 billion
• Horticulture exports are now worth just over $4 billion, and have grown 17 percent growth over three years.

Overall, I believe your industry’s success doesn’t get the coverage or kudos it deserves.

The New Zealand Pipfruit industry is world leading. It produces the safest and tastiest fruit for the world’s most discerning customers.

Open Debate: Peace and security challenges facing Small Island Developing States, delivered by Murray McCully, Minister of Foreign Affairs, July 30, 2015 (New York time).

I thank our distinguished briefers for their informative contributions and the heads of government and Ministers who have come to New York to participate in this debate.

Of 44 small island developing states, only 6 have served on the Security Council.

Good evening. Thank you Julian Raine, Horticulture New Zealand President, for that introduction. It is a pleasure to join you this evening in recognising excellence and future leaders of the horticulture industry.

I would particularly like to acknowledge outgoing Chief Executive Peter Silcock for all his contribution to the industry over the past 30 years.

Tonight I want to talk to you briefly about the long-term value that can be created by recognising talent and growing leaders.

A growing industry

Statement delivered by Foreign Minister Murray McCully, United Nations Security Council Open Debate on the Middle East, Thursday 23 July 2015 (New York Time)

Right across the Middle East, grave issues continue to demand this Council’s attention.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate. The civil war in Syria rages on. In Iraq, sectarian divides provide space for groups like ISIL to prosper. A basis for lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians remains elusive.

It’s good to be back at the Minerals West Coast Forum to speak to you all again.

This is the third time I have spoken at the forum and it’s a special privilege to be here to mark the 150th year of mining on the West Coast. This region was founded on mining and the industry has a rich history which we should celebrate.

Let me begin by saying again how important the minerals industry is to the Government and to New Zealand.

Minerals make an important contribution to our economy

Good morning everyone.

It is my pleasure to be here with you in Rotorua.

Lawrence, thank you for your kind welcome, and also your leadership and drive to deliver better local government across New Zealand.

Mayor Chadwick, it’s a pleasure to be back in your city, thank you for being such a gracious host. 

I want to acknowledge the hardworking ‘local government team’, Associate Minister Louise Upston and Jacqui Dean, Parliamentary Private Secretary for Local Government.

Address to the Institute of International and European Affairs Leadership Forum on Climate-Smart Agriculture, 16 July 2015

It is a great pleasure to be in Dublin – it always is. I have visited Dublin regularly since my first visit in the early 1980s and my visits are always focussed on agriculture.