Good afternoon, Madam Speaker,
It seems to me that far too often boring people get up in this chamber and talk about their lives. I suspect I am boring, so I won't.
I was driven to politics by an urge to make my country a better place. From a young age I had a keen interest in politics and the world around me. I became aware of the injustices around me. I realised that there were people who had a lot more than me and that there were many who had a lot less. I saw how this affected people's lives and I wanted to make things better for people.
When I became leader of the Labour Party, my guiding principle was forward planning. It is the purpose of government to think ahead. When we are elected to such a short term, it is easy to chase short term goals. We must resist this urge and pursue good solutions to problems, rather than easy solutions. I think everyone comes to this house hoping to make New Zealand a better place - and it's been observed before that perhaps a better measure is whether they leave still trying to do the same thing. I believe I have escaped intact.
Madam Speaker, I'm proud of my achievements in this house and yet at the same time I have many regrets. Perhaps it's too soon to say. I think the paint isn't quite dry. There's so much more I could have achieved in my time and there's so much more I could do if I stayed. But it's time to move on. Bigger and better things await.
It has been rewarding to see the diversity in this house grow in the time that I've been here. If perhaps, at the same time, I've seen my own party shrink. This may seem strange coming from the leader of a major party, but we need to nurture small parties. MMP is about cooperation and diversity of ideas.
To those who will come after me; remember that the decisions you make will have consequences that last for generations to come. Don't make selfish decisions with rewards now and problems later. Be bold, be forward thinking and be compassionate. You're not in parliament to hold power, you're in parliament to make New Zealand a better place.