i runga i te tika me te pono mō tō tātou motu whānui o Aotearoa, nō reira huri rauna, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.
[I summon guidance. I summon the great unknown. The house of Uenuku shakes with fury. A house of power, of fear, of strength, of the sacred. It is said that we can bring forth the enlightened wisdom from those above. The heart mourns the multitudes who have gone to the great beyond as we seek guidance and direction today.
Let it be for all time.
We are united.
Mr Speaker, I would, firstly, like to thank you for opening our session with a prayer, you have connected heaven to the earth, the earth to heaven. Thank you. I would also like to congratulate you on being confirmed to your current position by the Governor-General. Congratulations to you on the appointment.
It is appropriate that I acknowledge the multitudes who reside in the hidden realm, those who shouldered many in this House. Go in peace. My friend Rudy Taylor was one. Last week, we returned him to the womb of the land and so I acknowledge Rudy and those who are lying on the many marae throughout the country. To those who we have lost, est in peace.
I will leave the dead to themselves and bring my speech back to us, the living, and the many important tasks we have in front of us.
Firstly, I would like to congratulate the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, and the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Grant Robertson. The country has spoken. The people have decided that you two will lead the country and our Government. Congratulations to you both.
I cross the floor to acknowledge the leader of the National Party, the Hon Judith Collins, and your caucus that stands behind you.
To my relation Shane, I would like to congratulate you on your election as deputy leader of the National Party. You have brought great honour to your tribes and your subtribes of Te Kapotai and Ngāti Wai. Congratulations on your appointment.
I turn to my relations in the Māori Party. Rawiri, Debbie, congratulations to you both. The Māori world has also spoken—you have been elected to work and advocate for Māori issues of the country. We too endeavour in the pursuit of that goal. Congratulations again.
To the leader of the ACT Party, David Seymour, congratulations on the fruition of your party. I remember a while back we spoke and you told me about your strong desire to grow your party and you have made that desire a reality. Well done. To my friends the Hon James Shaw and the Hon Marama Davidson, congratulations to you both, the co-leaders of the Green Party, as you have also grown your party. Well done.
I would also like to acknowledge the previous Ministers the Hon Eugenie Sage and the Hon Julie Anne Genter. Thank you for your hard work in the previous Parliament.
To all of the new members, congratulations. To my own party, to the Labour Party, congratulations to the new members.
I would like to thank you for expanding the size of this Government, I would like to thank the members of the Māori caucus of the Labour Party—there is much work to be done to fulfil the hopes, the dreams and the needs of Māori. I would also like to congratulate the Ministers of Cabinet. To my Māori Minister colleagues, Peeni Henare, Willie Jackson, Nanaia Mahuta, Kiritapu Allan, Meka Whaitiri, I congratulate you all. There is much work to be done.
Finally, to the officials of this House, I would like to thank you for the hard work that you will be doing over the next three years.
I will leave my thanks there. To everyone in this House, to the Speaker, I congratulate you all and hope that we can conduct ourselves with respect and integrity for the
