Maiden Speech

Mr Speaker,

Over the most recent weekend ... four young people tragically died in our Capital City ... and highlighted the need for a strong voice for Youth in this ... our first ever MMP Parliament.

Because the lives of our young people get ever more complicated with each passing year, as a Parliament we must acknowledge the pressures and work constructively to address them while also recognising and celebrating the enormous potential of young people.

The fact is the certainty of past social and economic structures are over ... we expect and demand from our young people greater responsibility for their own lives ... at earlier and earlier ages. We expect them to be adult and independent ... but very often we fail to equip them with the abilities to be so.

The value systems of our modern society no longer provide the certainty and strong direction of previous generations. Previously respected institutions and professions ... including this Parliament ... are now regarded with cynical distaste.

This is not to suggest that past practices were necessarily the best practices. But it does serve to highlight the need for this Parliament ... to be aware of our responsibility in providing a safe and secure environment for all our young people; including Maori and Pacific Island youth.

One that provides them with a supportive family environment, a decent education, a high standard of health care ... and a range of personal options and information before they make their life-changing decisions.

Personal Thanks
I take great pride in being one of the youngest MPs in this new Parliament and the youngest ever Minister of the Crown. It has been a sudden and dramatic path from university student to parliamentary researcher leading me to the unique opportunity of involvement in the Coalition negotiations ... and now, Minister of Youth Affairs.

But rather than make things easier ... I believe that both my youth and recent progress bring with them even greater obligations. For I bring with me a closer and deeper understanding of my age group ... and a sense of urgency about the need to get real and give all young New Zealanders a proper chance at life.

Before I outline what I see as my personal principles and aims ... I want to acknowledge and thank those who have given me this rarest of opportunities.

My family and friends have provided me the love and support that has made this political dream come true. My parents; Margaret and Wayne, gave me a good education and the freedom and support to grow - the opportunity to savour new experiences but the safety net should I ever fall.

My childhood was spent fishing and playing on beaches. For much of my teenage life we lived beside the sea, on the rugged and beautiful south coast of Wellington. Like many Kiwis, I have an affinity with the sea. It is for this reason that I feel concern about the quality of our systems for managing marine resources. Recreational fishers have been marginalised from decision-making in spite of the fact that they contribute an estimated $745 million to our economy each year.

Now, on to my personal catch ... my fiance Chris - who is a quintessentially good man - has shared the twists and turns of fate over the past 2 and a half years ... I thank you for giving me the love and encouragement to take on this challenge. Knowing that you will always be there for me ... has given me the strength to make this choice ... and to make a success of my chosen vocation. I love you.

To the New Zealand First party - to Winston, Doug, Tau and the team - I thank you for recognising that age should never be a barrier to public service ... and for giving a young researcher the opportunity of a lifetime: To be a Member of Parliament at this unique time in the nation's political development. Working with you in the past 2 years has been rewarding, if not a little challenging, and it has enabled me to gain a good understanding of the challenges faced by our nation including Tau's wicked sense of humour.

To my Hutt South Electorate Team - in particular, Grahame Houghton, Ellen Te Moni, Denise Komene, Gary Logan and Sarah Porter ... my thanks for your help during the '96 Campaign. Your loyalty to me and New Zealand First was unfaltering.

Also, I want to acknowledge and thank those people who have made the MMP electoral system a reality.

They include the lonely lobbyists who crusaded outside Parliament - the Electoral Reform Coalition and their supporters. They also include those MPs who advanced the cause of proportional representation in this House - again, another lonely minority. And I pay particular respect to the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform - who sifted the evidence ... researched the international examples ... listened to the people of New Zealand ... and created a unique political system that recognises our own identity as New Zealanders.

Personal Ideas
As a party `list' MP I do not possess a particular responsibility for a defined set of constituents - based upon geographical location. Although I reside in the multi-cultural, Harbour City - and will open a constituency office here - my role is much broader than that.

Both because of my position as Minister of Youth Affairs - and because of my personal inclination - I believe that my direct constituents are the young people of this country. Particularly those teenagers and young adults who do not feel a part of the political process .. nor have had a voice to represent them in the House.

Political apathy is the curse of the young.

It has not always been that way. The youth of the 1960s ushered in fundamental societal changes ... the anti-War, environmental and feminist lobbies of the 1960s and 1970s sprang from our youth and produced far-ranging reforms within our society.

However in the mid-to-late 1990s, many young people are dissuaded from pursuing the same active interest in their community and their society.

In part, that is a reflection upon the political process.

Politics in New Zealand has severely discredited itself - and not just amongst the young. In addition, young people must now negotiate a bewildering array of personal choices and societal pressures.

The pressure to succeed... the societal emphasis upon material wealth ... the lack of respected institutions ... the attractions of alternative lifestyles ... the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse ... the deterioration of family life ... these are wholly different stimuli to those faced by earlier generations.

These are the new challenges to our nation's youth ... to create a meaningful and fulfilled life in a world that exhibits often confused and contradictory messages. It is not surprising then that the young are over-represented in all the worst social statistics - crime, suicide, teenage pregnancy and welfare dependency.

I see it is my responsibility to establish proper bridges between young people and our democratic institutions. To involve youth in our decision-making process ... to provide them with a voice, ... but also the opportunity to make that voice heard.

I thus intend that the Ministry of Youth Affairs takes an upfront, high profile and active role in the affairs of this Parliament - and in the wider community at large. In the past the Ministry has been little more than a bureaucratic add-on ... as Parliament paid lip service to the aspirations of young people. I am rejecting the age old political advice that fresh MPs should be seen and not heard. To play those kind of political games would be to deny both my constitutional and heartfelt duties to the youth of New Zealand.

In the short-term, I foresee three positive roles that the Ministry and this Parliament can play in youth issues.

The first is in coordinating a multi-disciplinary approach to the prevention of youth suicide. We all know that New Zealand rates poorly on the issue of young person suicide. But in my view, regardless of how we rate internationally the death of any young person is a tragedy.

Therefore, we must make a concerted effort at every level of society to ensure young people have the support they require.

Second, I want to provide a literal voice to young people by establishing a Youth Radio Network that will create a sense of community and connection between young people - that will address their issues and their concerns. The pioneering project of Crowded House's Neil Finn is exactly the kind of positive intervention that the State can make in the lives of young people.

Third, I want to see a much more positive `second chance' education and training system ... one that encourages and supports young people from welfare dependence back into work and provides a training or living allowance. The time has come for the vast numbers of young people that have been wholly neglected by past governments to have the opportunities they need to participate fully in society.

Again, there exists a greater need for coordination and cooperation between competing departmental bureaucracies. These may suit the internal power games of the technocrats ... but they do nothing for our youth.

In the various departments of education, training, employment, social welfare and health ... there exists the opportunity for integrated projects that focus on health needs ... and are created together and not in isolation from one another.

That sense of cooperation is, sadly, missing from our youth services.

It is my intention to call a Youth Summit later this year that will invite central and local government agencies, community organisations and voluntary groups, to plan a more effective strategy for assisting this country's young people. We need a blueprint that will identify particular youth needs and requirements ... and then plan the policies that give our young people the chance to develop themselves to the greatest possible extent of their potential.

I am not a great fan of the Westminster style of Parliamentary politics. It is a destructive and confrontational system and the move to MMP has ameliorated its side effects only a little.

I believe that there are MPs on both sides of this House who have ideas and concepts that will greatly benefit the youth of New Zealand. Good ideas should never be rejected just because they come from the other side of the House.

And because Youth Affairs and the future of our young people is so important, I want to make Youth issues non-partisan. I am sure that some more experienced MPs would brand this idea as naive. But, I have to say that all the best ideas have started from a challenge of the existing order ... and I similarly challenge this Parliament on behalf of the nation's young people to work in a more cooperative fashion. The cooperation of the parties in planning this year's Youth Parliament is a good start.

Finally, I want to say what an enormous privilege we are all granted in being elected to this Parliament. It is also a huge responsibility. There is considerable public scepticism as to our profession ... but I am optimistic enough to believe that the shared intellect, compassion and wisdom of this House ... can be harnessed for the greater good.

That will be my challenge over the next three years ... and I look forward to working with you all in making that dream a waking reality.

Ends