E te Mangai o Te Whare, tēnā koe

Thank you Mr Speaker for allowing me to deliver this speech to the house.

I am privileged for this speech to be my last action in the house, and look forward to looking back at what has been an interesting career as Housing and Urban Development Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister, Leader of the House, Health Minister, Environment Minister, Speaker of the House, Internal Affairs Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Regional Economic Development Minister, and finally Prime Minister.

I have been proud to represent the people of the South Island, and specifically Otago from my electorate offices in Nelson, Queenstown and Dunedin, talking to the every day people, and ensuring outcomes that are beneficial for people from all walks of life. Do not get me wrong however, there is much work left to do! I hope the people who will serve in the house, now and in the future will continue this work.

In particular I thought I would present some of the things I am most proud of.

• Rather than locking myself in to one ideology having the foresight to move to the party in which I believe my constituents would feel represent them best, from Independent, to ACT, to Labour, I did what I believed was best for people in my electorate.

• Finally was able to design policy that meaningfully impacted the lives of those living in regional areas, as for too long these schemes were too centrally focussed and did not make enough progress. Involving communities more is only beneficial for any regional investment.

• The largest spending on energy infrastructure since the 1970s, will provide Aotearoa with a path towards 100% renewable energy, a sector in which there has been a significant lack of investment in the last few decades. This is including smaller scale energy schemes.

• Making sure that the house is a place in which we can have robust conversation, but continues to be a safe place for everyone, during my role of speaker. Also making it much more accessible for new members.

I will keep this one short, but I would like to thank everyone who I have had the pleasure of working with, especially the Rt Hon. BestinBounds, Hon. GregorTheBeggar, and the Hon. lily-irl who I have taken much guidance from, and look forward to seeing how the new policy is to be implemented in parliaments to come.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa