Speech to the Wellington Club International Secretary's Day

The Wellington Club, The Terrace

Good morning everybody, and thank you for the invitation to speak here today, its a great pleasure to have been asked. Like all of you, I've proudly brought along my Secretary, Metua Takairangi.

Like me, Metua is new to Parliamentary life, working in my office as a Ministerial Secretary. I employed Metua when I was elected as a New Zealand First MP, and thankfully she has followed me through to my new position as Minister of Youth Affairs.

Metua is a valuable asset in my office. She is the first person that people meet when they visit my office, along with her tasks in word processing, arranging travel, diary, organisation, looking after me and now and again, saving me from the odd boring meeting.

We certainly need to ensure that we value our secretaries. And, we must also recognise that value in some way. International Secretary's Day is one day of doing that, although I'm sure that many bosses need their secretaries to remind them of when it is!

I certainly value Metua, indeed, all my staff, without their support and loyalty, the life of a Minister would be impossible!

Not only does a secretary to a Minister do all the normal stuff, like typing, arranging meetings, travel, and so on, but they are normally the first port of call for someone who wants to see me. The person who is that first port of call is very important. They need to portray a positive image, and positively promote the work that I'm involved in.

I'd like to think that Metua does that for me, and I'm sure that all the Secretaries here do an admirable job for their boss.

Metua, hopefully you don't have to do too much covering up for your boss' bungling!

I know you are kept extremely busy and you are to be admired for also working towards completion of your law degree. Well, for me, and Metua I guess, life has been exciting recently, and I've been having an awesome experience over the last few months. I've been given an enormous opportunity, no doubt surprising myself and a whole lot of other people!

Two years ago I graduated from University with a BA in politics. One of my goals then was to be a Member of Parliament. I have to say though, my time has come a lot sooner than I had ever imagined. Politics wasn't just a vision for me, it was a passion. I had a drive to be involved in decision making, because I could see that participation was the way to make a difference, and I wanted to stand up for what I believed in.

On leaving University I got a job as a Researcher with New Zealand First. I was working on policy, research, media and speeches for Winston Peters and Tau Henare. The challenges and learning were enormous, at times it was difficult, but it was interesting and constantly stimulating.

Before the election, Winston approached me and asked me to stand as a candidate. Well, I was impressed, but I refused. I thought that my age would count against me. He came back some time later and tried once again to persuade me to stand. This time, he got his way. I decided that if nothing else, an election campaign would be another learning experience.

The election was incredible, and I was placed high enough on our Party List to gain a seat in our first MMP Parliament.

Then within weeks of the election I was thrown into coalition talks with National and Labour. These were hectic weeks for all involved.

As a young, and indeed inexperienced MP, I found myself at the negotiating table. Sitting across the negotiating table were the likes of the Prime Minister and Jenny Shipley. At other times it was Michael Cullen and Mike Moore.

I had certainly never imagined that situation while studying politics at University, only a couple of years earlier!

After the coalition was signed and sealed we saw the make-up of Cabinet. And now, Im not only a new MP, but also a new Minister. The Minister of Youth Affairs - and as you know, compared with my colleagues Im probably the best qualified for that particular portfolio.

What better experience could one ask for in a Minister of Youth Affairs, than youth itself. As the Minister of Youth Affairs, I see my role as that of a lobbyist and a leader. I and the Ministry of Youth Affairs must work to influence other Ministers and Government Departments.

Well, it's now been nearly 4 months since the Coalition Government was formed, and we are working extremely hard to make some of the changes we've signalled, particularly in health and education. I firmly believe that we have a strong agreement between New Zealand First and National, and that we are going to provide, at least, 3 years of sound economic management, together with a coherent social strategy to provide the best possible deal for all New Zealanders.

I do believe that MMP is successful, though it certainly has its teething problems. If we look at the make-up of Parliament itself we now have a much more representative Parliament. We have a more balanced Parliament with ethnic, gender and age groups better represented. Nonetheless, we shouldn't be complacent, because there is still much to achieve.

It has also been interesting and encouraging to see the parliamentary environment become more balanced, just as there is an increasing number of males seeing secretarial work as a possible career path.

Anyway, the role of Minister of Youth Affairs is an exciting one, and one designed to increase the participation of young people, and also to ensure that Government policies are focused on the issues for young people.

I'd like to think that I am fairly "switched on" to the needs, desires and aspirations of young people. And one thing I'm very aware of is the need to avoid putting all young people into one single group. There are dangers inherent in labelling us as one clear social group, and attaching a stereo-typical image.

Young people are too diverse for that. Let me paint a picture.

Some young people feel alienated from the rest of society and their sense of self worth isn't always strong. Some of that has to do with the biological processes of growing up, but it can also be attributed to a number of other factors. Access to information, access to trustworthy confidants, a lack of pride in ones culture, for example.

Add to that the fact that our parents are probably working harder and longer hours than ever before, the world is increasingly competitive and we don't quite match those "beautiful people" we see on TV and in films.

The result? A crisis of perception. Where do we fit in this world? Are we worthwhile? And who cares anyway?

In contrast, there are some young people who appear overly confident. They're up with play, thriving at school or in work and having a blast of a time socially.

Those people still have the occasional moment of self-doubt but on the whole, they seem to be ok.

So, young people can fit anywhere in that spectrum. They might have body piercings, op shop clothes, designer labels, dreadlocks or a shaved head. Who knows? They are enormously diverse.

So let's accept them for who they are, believe in them and encourage them to grow into the adults they want to be.

Let's recognise that it's no simple thing being young, but it can also be a lot of fun - so long as you stay safe.

The media portrayal of young people is staggering. It's hugely negative - the affect of it is that it perpetuates the image of young louts, it puts the focus on crime, and eventually older New Zealanders begin to feel intimidated by us.

This is a real shame, because older New Zealanders do have an important role to play as mentors and role models for young people.

So, why have I mentioned these things today?

Because I see it as my responsibility to begin addressing the perception of young people to put the focus on the positive stuff while also being brave enough to acknowledge and address the negative.

I must effectively represent young people in Parliament and Cabinet.

Often young people are clumped together in the "too hard" basket - or they become an after thought when trying to rectify a policy that fails to appreciate diversity.

Young people do have a positive role to play in our communities. But how often do we give them a say in it? Its not that they arent capable of having a say, of contributing, of participating, of taking responsibility.

We often just dont give them a chance.

One way to give them that chance is through the Youth Parliament. Every MP in parliament has, over the last few weeks, been selecting a young person to represent them in the House of Representatives on the 26th and 27th of May.

During the Youth Parliament, the Youth MPs will learn about the Parliamentary process, take part in select committees, and participate in a debate on the floor of the House of Representatives. Now, it wasn't so long ago that I gave my first speech in the House, so I know that the young people involved are going to have an awesome time, but they're going to be nervous too. Oh, the Youth MPs, including Rodney Hide's, will fly to Wellington, thanks to Air New Zealand's sponsorship, and will then be billeted by local schools.

The last Youth Parliament held a debate about the drinking age. The Youth MPs that day voted to lower the drinking age to 18. The Ministry of Youth Affairs, took that and used it as policy advice, and fed the information into a submission for the Liquor Review Advisory Committee.

The Committee took the Youth Affairs submission very seriously, because it took a risk management approach to the proposal. In the Youth Parliament we saw real youth participation in action.

I should mention here though, that I have some concerns about the Report of the Liquor Review Advisory Committee.

I did support the lowering of the drinking age to 18, but on the proviso that a national identity card is introduced, and that there are no exceptions to the age.

Unfortunately the report did not recommend a national identity card, and suggests that anyone be allowed into licensed premises, so long as they are accompanied by a parent or guardian.

It is important that the law be more easily enforced and the dangers with this recommendation is that that will not be the case. It is essential that if we lower the age, that we also introduce strict enforcement of that, and the only way of achieving that is through a clearly defined age and national identity card.

My reason for this stance is that I think we need to recognise that young people are drinking, and ensure they are making safe decisions about it. Figures show that up to 76% of 14 - 15 year olds are drinking, and that up to 94% of 16 - 18 year olds are drinking. The drinking age is not about whether people are drinking, its about when they are drinking. 20 years is not realistic. 18 years is, and brings the law into line with other laws giving young people various rights at 18 years.

So, along with tougher enforcement, we need to provide a comprehensive education programme about alcohol. We need to remove the mystique about alcohol, and get across the image that it really isn't cool to be drunk.

We've managed to achieve that for drink driving. For young people it certainly isn't cool to be drink driving, and this is reflected in the statistics of ages involved in drink driving accidents. We need to put this message across about drinking, especially drinking to excess, and abusing the use of alcohol.

Also this week, we have moved one step closer to the equalisation of ages for young people, with further debate on an amendment to the SmokeFree Environments Act. This amendment proposes to increase the age to purchase tobacco, to 18 years. Other parts of the Bill focus on education and advertising, as well as restricting the access, by young people, to tobacco through the banning of the sale of single cigarettes and packets of less than 20 cigarettes.

The teenage years are some of the most important developmental stages of our life, so I intend to ensure that we do everything to protect that, and help our young people to make safe, healthy and informed choices about themselves and their actions.

This means that we cant "just do things" for young people. We need to help them to do it for themselves. Providing and encouraging participation is one step towards this.

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.

In the 1990's, political apathy is the curse of the young. They don't get involved, so Parliament ignores them, so they feel disenchanted, and on it goes. I have described it as a "cynical distaste" of the process and the politicians. We're not the heroes anymore. So how about making the young people the heroes?

What if we gave them the opportunity to take an active interest in their own communities - through youth councils and the like - so that they can be a part of the decision making process - they can express their views and concerns and get some action.

All of us should encourage young people to get active even if it's just a letter to an MP. It could be participation in youth councils, being a student representative in a school, or perhaps being a youth MP in the Youth Parliament.

At the very least - enrol to vote!

New Zealand First want to see a safe, healthy and enterprising New Zealand.

At the end of the day if we dont all take an interest in the future of our young people and cement the networks that are already in place ... then all the talk in the world, however well meaning will have been in vain.

Thank you.

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