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Mihi
Te maunga tupuna, Taranaki
Tū mai, tū mai rā
Ngā uri whakaheke
Koutou ngā kaikawe o ngā tohutohu
a Tohu Kākahi, a Te Whiti o Rongomai
Karanga mai, mihi mai, whakatau mai.
He rā tino nui tēnei mo te Karauna
He rā tino nui tēnei mo te Motu
Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Introduction

E nga waka     (distinguished representatives)

E nga mana     (esteemed guests)

Tena koutou katoa      (greetings one and all)

I would like to acknowledge the following:

Ms Olga Cogen, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium

His Excellency Mr Leasi Papali’l Tommy Scanlan, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps

Tēnā koutou katoa me ngā tini āhuatanga o te wā. Nau mai, haere mai.

Good morning.

Thank you Prime Minister for your opening comments, and thank you Sir Wira for taking on the role of Summit Chair.

I also want to give special acknowledgement to our four keynote speakers who will help set the tone for what I hope will be some incisive discussion today.

And thank you all for being here and for the contributions you make every day to help ensure that New Zealanders are living safer and happier lives.

My thanks to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Dr John Chipman, and the Singapore Ministry of Defence for what has been a very rewarding event.

This forum is one of the world's pre-eminent institutions for defence diplomacy. 

It provides a chance for friends and neighbours from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond to talk openly about the challenges and opportunities we face in our region. 

Tonight’s event is one of the best demonstrations possible of farmers caring for their land and wanting to leave it in a better state for future generations.

It’s an event I’m proud to support and champion loudly to as many New Zealanders as possible.

This year has seen tensions rise between farmers and your critics and this is likely to continue as we get closer to the election. Tonight I want to say a few words about how we can tackle this divide and tell our story.

I assume the title ‘Seismic Shifts’ doesn’t require me to deliver a long, detailed dissertation on what many people here in Canterbury have lived through for more than six years, or to give you a lesson on the world’s tectonic plates.

It does, however, afford an opportunity to discuss changes in the structure of the economy and the role of communications and the public relation sector in getting information and messages to affected people.

Yesterday, Steven Joyce delivered the ninth Budget from a National-led government since 2008.

Tēnā koutou katoa. Welcome. It’s a pleasure to be here today to talk about my first Budget as Education Minister.

I am honoured to be here with so many people dedicated to ensuring young New Zealanders get the best education and the best opportunity to be successful. Your passion and drive can literally change the course of lives. You can inspire our future leaders, entrepreneurs, explorers and artists with what you do every day.

Mr Speaker

I move that the Appropriation (2017/18 Estimates) Bill be now read a second time.

It is an honour and a privilege to present my first budget to the public of New Zealand – the ninth of this National-led Government.

In doing so I acknowledge my predecessor and our new Prime Minister Bill English for his hard work and leadership in facing down the decade of deficits, bringing New Zealand successfully through the Global Financial Crisis, and responding to the impacts of the Canterbury earthquakes.

I would like to welcome you all here today – in particular the CAARA members visiting from Australia.

CAARA has been hosted by Archives New Zealand in Wellington once before, about 10 years ago – it is great you could make it over to us this time, and I hope that your meetings so far have been insightful and productive.

It is great that the New Zealand National Archives is hosting this symposium to coincide with your visit. My hope is that everyone here will get to absorb some new knowledge from the four speakers this afternoon.

Tēnā koutou katoa

I am pleased to welcome you to the opening of this extraordinary exhibition.

At the centre of He Tohu are three taonga which have played a significant role in shaping our nation:

• He Whakaputanga, the 1835 Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of the New Zealand;
• the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi; and 
• the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition.

I would especially like to welcome and acknowledge:

Tēnā koutou katoa

I would like to welcome you all here to celebrate the launch of three New Zealand Post stamps commemorating the He Tohu exhibition.

I would especially like to acknowledge:

It is a pleasure to open this year’s Australasian Casino and Gambling Regulators’ Conference.

Today, I will briefly share with you some thoughts about your Conference theme “regulatory excellence”.

But first, I want to reiterate the warm welcome provided by the mihi whakatau and waiata.

Thank you all for joining us in Auckland, especially our international guests and speakers who have travelled from across Australasia and further afield to be here.

Delivered to executive members of the Auckland Secondary Principals Association and Auckland Primary Principals Association - not delivered word for word

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to meet with me. It has been a busy first three weeks, but getting out to schools and eaerly childhood centres and meeting principals and leaders like yourselves is so important to me.

Thank you Ashley Church and can I thank the Property Institute for hosting this event.  I would also like to acknowledge:

• Adrienne Young-Cooper, Board Chair of Housing NZ
• Andrew McKenzie, Chief Executive of HNZ
• Chris Aiken, Chief Executive of HLC

I would like to thank you all for being here today and for your on-going interest in the important subject of housing in Auckland.

Tēnā koutou, hello and good morning ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for the opportunity to open this conference, and to share some thoughts about building a 21st century digital government.

‘Digital government’ and ‘digital transformation’ are buzzwords you will all be well familiar with.

They are nice, high level terms that flow easily off the tongue.

But what does ‘digital government’ and ‘digital transformation’ really mean for your average person?

I am delighted to be addressing you as Energy Minister as I understand just how vital this portfolio – including your part in it – is to our New Zealand way of life.

Electricity is fundamental to our well being and necessary to our economic success. As trustees of distribution companies you are the stewards of this important sector.

For many decades the electricity industry was largely stable and secure with little change. 

Good evening everyone and welcome.

Thank you for asking me to address the first ever Manufacturing and Design Conference (MaD).

Good morning, it’s great to be here on a beautiful Wellington morning. I’d like to acknowledge Professor Alan Merry, Chair of the Health Quality & Safety Commission. I’d like to also thank the HQSC for hosting us all today.

As you’d expect it is a busy election year. With my Minister of Sport and Recreation hat on I’ve spent part of the Parliamentary recess at the World Masters Games – a pretty interesting and inspiring experience.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

It’s a pleasure to be here today.

Can I start by acknowledging my Deputy Paula Bennett and paying tribute to the man who is responsible for pulling this year’s Budget together - Finance Minister Steven Joyce.

And can I say it’s a pleasure to lead a country that’s becoming more confident and sure of itself, and where we have so many positive choices.

New Zealand has an enviable international reputation.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātau katoa. Ka mihi au ki te iwi kāinga, ko Taranaki Whānui. Ko Te Raukura e tū nei, kei waho ko te Whanga-nui-a-Tara e pīata mai ana.

Greetings to everyone gathered here. I acknowledge the local iwi of Taranaki Whānui. It is appropriate we are here in Te Raukura with Wellington Harbour sparkling at our feet.

Good morning and kia ora koutou.

I am pleased and honoured to open this year’s annual Five Nations Passport Conference which begins today.

Firstly, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to delegates from participating countries here today from: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the Republic of Ireland.

Thank you for coming all the way to Wellington, New Zealand.

Good afternoon.

Thank you John and Peter and the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.

Special guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Budget 2017 is now just under one month away and preparations are continuing.

I have four key areas I am thinking about in getting ready for this year’s Budget.

First, delivering better public services for a growing country – providing all New Zealanders with the opportunity to lead successful independent lives.

E ngā mana, e ngā waka e ngā reo o te motu

Tihei mauri ora!

No reira tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā no tātou katoa.

Today we come together as one, to remember. To remember the brave men and woman who stood for our country. To remember our shared history. 

To remember and acknowledge what Anzac means to us - collectively as a nation and individually. For each person here today, from our kaumatua to our mokopuna, there will be a connection that is individual and unique. On this day it will be felt most deeply.