Gareth Hughes Maiden Speech
Highlights of Gareth Hughes Maiden Speech. Full text can be found here.
24 February 2010
“As the youngest member in this House I represent a generational shift both in Parliament and in the Green Party caucus. I was born in 1981 in a very different New Zealand. 28 years ago we had 3 million people and 7 million sheep; you needed a doctor’s prescription to buy margarine, and we had a very different National Party Prime Minister. One who was thinking big – if also a little sloppy. In 1981 my home town, like the rest of New Zealand, was split by conflict over the racist Springbok tour. It was also the year the honorable Leader of the Opposition arrived in this House.
Like people of my generation I don’t remember the 1984 election that ushered in so much change for New Zealand. This revolutionary transformation of the political and social consensus was on par with the Vogel, Liberal and first Labour Government reforms which were such historical turning points. 1984 is a long, long time ago now.
In 2010, I am hopeful we are on the cusp of another revolution: a transformational change. I’m looking forward to the opportunity of working with the Green Party to shift us from a dirty, unfair and old-fashioned economic model to an innovative, sustainable and fair economy.
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“It wasn’t till I left home to study Religion and History at Victoria University – and personally contribute my $30,000 to the more-than $9 billion national student debt – that I was exposed to the most radical political idea of the last fifty years: the Earth isn’t growing.
It sounds simple and obvious enough but then you stop and think: our economic system is dependent on infinite growth on a finite planet.
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“History is a passion of mine and can sometimes reveal inconvenient truths. Many New Zealanders wouldn’t know Maori had a Declaration of Independence, couldn’t name a Treaty clause and wouldn’t know that sovereignty – tino rangatiratanga, wasn’t ceded in a treaty– it was taken at the point of a musket.
To take my seat in the House last week I pledged allegiance to the Queen and her heirs and I look forward to the day when we reform our constitution: ditch the monarchy, decentralize our political structures, and see genuine Tino Rangatiratanga for Tangata Whenua.
Two years ago I became a dad and I want my son to grow up knowing his history, eating safe food, enjoying a stable climate and a prosperous economy.
Though our politics differ, I know all the Members in the House want these things too for all Kiwi kids. However, why are Governments of both colours failing?
This Government, like Labour’s before it, ignores warnings of the end of cheap oil and continues blithely building more motorways, chronically under-investing in public transport and walking and cycling, and perpetuates the housing crisis that sees people of my generation effectively forced out of affordable home ownership. As different as Coke is to Pepsi, they both ignore the crisis in the oceans, depend on debt to fuel growth, and continue to support growing inequality.
In desperation, the current Government is hunting the last protected places for coal and other minerals. Mining companies can already mine in 87% of New Zealand, and the National Government, by opening up the last 13%, is undoing its own wise decision from 1997. Mining the National Parks is like burning the furniture to keep warm.
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“Next year will be my dreaded 30th, it’s election year and it’s also the year New Zealand has the privilege of hosting the Rugby World Cup. As a rugby fan I’m very interested in making sure the Cup is a success. While I concede I can’t – as in my 6 year-old boyhood fantasy – score the winning try in the Cup final as an injury replacement for Sean Fitzpatrick, we can make sure the tens of thousands of Cup visitors come away with a view of Aotearoa New Zealand that we’ll be proud of.
With the prestige of hosting the Cup come huge economic benefits. But the event also carries huge risks to our important and valuable brand if we are seen to drop the ball on sustainability. Last year the Guardian and the New York Times ran very damaging yet accurate articles on our environmental performance. Just last week New Zealand dropped from first to fifteenth place in the Yale and Columbia Universities’ environmental performance index.
I’m not suggesting we cancel the Cup to avoid embarrassment and brand risk. I’m suggesting we start making 100% Pure a reality.
The Cup could add the urgency for a raft of cost-effective, job-producing green initiatives from transport to housing, from energy to waste. At present, we are sleepwalking towards the worst outcome: waking up the day after the final with a mess to clean up and nothing to show for the party.
In summary Mr Speaker, I’m not motivated to action by the apocalyptic nightmare of environmental crisis, rather I am inspired by the vision of pristine rivers, clean, fast transport options and an economy which measures the things that really matter.
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“To everyone whom I have the privilege to address tonight and to future generations: I wish I could change the science of climate change and the injustice of inequality – but I can’t. So instead, I am going to change the politics.”
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