Chris Carter - Maiden speech

CHRIS CARTER: Māo te whiwhinga i te tūranga tināno motuhake e pupuri nei a koe i tēnei wā. Kei te mōhio ahau kei a koe te mana me te kaha ki te whakahaere i tēnei tūranga he hāonore tino nui māou mo te tangata whenua o tēnei whenua hoki. Tēnā koe!

First of all, I wish to congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your election to the very important office you now hold. I am certain you will exercise that office with great ability and mana. Your elevation as Speaker is not only a personal tribute to you but also a tribute to the tangata whenua, the first people of this land.

Ou te fia ta'ua i le agaga fiafia, le auai i le Palemene o la'u uo lelei, le sui faipule o Otara. O lona filifilia, o le ulua'i tagata Pasefika i le Palemene, o se la'asaga aupito taua lea, i le atiina'e o Niu Sila, o se tasi o atunu'u o le Vasa Pasefika.

I also acknowledge the presence in this Chamber of my good friend the member for Otara. His election as the first Pacific Island MP marks an important step in the development of New Zealand as a Pacific nation.

I am proud to come before this House as the new member for the Te Atatu electorate. Te Atatu was established as a new electorate in 1978. It has been a Labour electorate for 12 of its 15 years. I was honoured and deeply privileged to be elected to represent Te Atatu in the 1993 general election.

Tonight, I acknowledge the presence in this House of my immediate predecessor, the previous member for Te Atatu, who now represents the people of the Waitakere electorate. I also pay my respects to my Labour predecessor, the Hon. Michael Bassett, who served the electorate for 12 years. His work as Minister of Health and as Minister of Local Government will be long remembered. I wish him well in his retirement from politics and look forward to his continued contribution as a political and social historian.

I also take this opportunity to thank all of those who helped me in the election campaign. They were tireless workers, who managed to knock on the door of every house in the electorate, dodging dogs and working long hours for a Labour victory in Te Atatu.

Last year New Zealand celebrated 100 years of women's suffrage. I am very pleased that my team in Te Atatu contains many strong, intelligent, and assertive women. I would be lost without them. Their energy and commitment always remind me how much women contribute to the success of any undertaking. I thank them.

I also thank the Pacific Island and Indian communities in Te Atatu. Without their votes and support I would not be here tonight.

I wish to reassure the people of the Te Atatu electorate that I pledge to be an honest, open, and effective representative on their behalf. I am ever conscious that I must now represent all the people in my electorate, whether or not they voted for me. I want to use the occasion of this maiden speech to affirm, once again, that all my constituents can expect me to be their representative regardless of their race, religion, age, sex, disability, or sexual orientation.

Some sections of the press seem determined to label me on the grounds of my sexual orientation. I reject any label but that of the Labour MP for Te Atatu. My sexuality is incidental to my primary role as the Labour representative for the people of the Te Atatu electorate.

My electorate encompasses a swath of dormitory suburbs in Waitakere City, west Auckland. The seat swings in an arc around the shores of the Waitemata Harbour. Fringing the electorate are the bush-clad hills of the Waitakere Range. Contained within this electorate is a large expanse of former harbour board land, adjacent to the sea. I believe that this land can be considered as one of the great treasures of Auckland. I am committed to working with Waitakere City Council to ensure that the whole west Auckland community benefits from the development of that land.

The west Auckland suburbs of Te Atatu, Glendene, and Kelston, which make up the electorate, are largely comfortable places to live. The casual visitor could well comment that they represent the New Zealand dream at its best: large sections sloping down to quiet, tree-lined streets, with well-tended gardens surrounding homes of the 1950s and 1960s. Yet all is not well in this suburban heartland. The ravages of unemployment; domestic violence and abuse; and fears over health changes, education, and asset-testing are creating considerable stress in my electorate. I could fill the full 30 minutes of this speech with sad and tragic anecdotal stories about the stresses some of my constituents are facing, many directly and indirectly stemming from recent Government policy initiatives.

I was a teacher in the Te Atatu electorate for many years, before being elected to this House. Teachers are a group of people who are in touch with the lives of a great many ordinary New Zealanders. When I was in the classroom, I began to appreciate, through my interaction with my pupils and their families, just how hard life is becoming for some people in our country. Now, as an MP, I see in my electorate office the beleaguered casualties of deregulation and the cut-backs in Government support services. Every day my office receives visits or phone calls from desperate constituents.

Personally, I have found that helping people with these problems is the most satisfying part of my new job. It can be a very sad and humbling experience as well. I have had people in my office who have been in tears because they wondered, after benefit reductions or accident compensation changes, how they would feed their children. I have had visits from old people desperate with worry that they could lose their homes or savings because of asset-stripping. Others have come who are confused or angry because Government departments have failed to respond to their calls or have sent them incomprehensible letters in response to sometimes desperate situations.

After four months as a Labour MP, I am utterly convinced that I made the right decision when I decided many years ago to join the Labour Party and fight for social justice for all. I stood as a Labour candidate because I believe in democratic socialism, not just in a political context but as a philosophy of life. I believe that the community has a moral and ethical duty to look after its less fortunate and more vulnerable members. We either believe in helping our neighbour or we do not. I do.

My own personal experiences of life, some of which I will discuss shortly, have convinced me that the resources of the State must be harnessed to safeguard the rights of minorities and to provide care and assistance to those who, because of their race, age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, or economic circumstances, are less than equal with the majority or the powerful.

The English philosopher Jeremy Bentham described the measure of right and wrong as "the greatest good for the greatest number". A simple definition, yes—but a true one. The 19th century socialist Edward Carpenter wrote: "The State, guided by humane principles and accountable to the people, must safeguard the poor, the weak and the dispossessed, because no other soul will." That, I believe, is true, and it is still the essence of Labour Party philosophy today.

It has become fashionable in some quarters to claim that socialism is a discredited philosophy. I refute that assertion. Indeed, I see that there is now an even more pressing need to implement socialist principles. Social democratic philosophy sees the State rather differently from the way in which a conservative philosophy does. We in the Labour Party believe that the State must act to correct the imbalances in our society that favour the rich and the powerful. The conservative position is the laissez-faire posture. "The less the Government does, the better.", it says, and "Let the market sort out the matter."—a position first postulated, perhaps, by that patron saint of the Business Roundtable, Adam Smith, so long ago.

We know that if the market is left unchallenged, social injustice will be heightened and the result will be more suffering in the poorer sections of our community. The law of the unregulated market is, in the end, the law of the jungle, where only the strongest can survive or flourish until the whole rotten edifice collapses.

I know all about survival. In my life I have had to struggle against prejudice and intolerance, and I have developed an empathy for others who have had to face similar difficulties. I stand here tonight

16 March 1994 as the first sitting member of this House to acknowledge publicly that my personal sexuality is different from that of the majority of New Zealanders and, I imagine, from that of the majority of members sitting here tonight.

A person's sexuality is a private matter, and indeed it should remain so. However, on the occasion of my maiden speech I would like to discuss the implications of my personal sexuality. I do not do this to flaunt my difference or to bait certain members of this House who seem to have enormous difficulty in coping with this subject. I speak tonight about my sexuality for two reasons. Firstly, I believe that my sexuality has played a very positive role in my life. It has shaped my personal philosophy and has sharpened my sense of social justice. As a teenager I learnt all about hiding my real feelings and opinions. I also learnt all about what it feels like to suffer ridicule and contempt, engendering a sense of low self-esteem and strong feelings of guilt and worthlessness. I learnt, as probably few members in this House have ever learnt, what it actually feels like to be at the bottom of the heap, and what effect this oppression and discrimination can have on one's life.

Such an experience breaks some in my particular situation; for others it can lead to a deep cynicism and often hedonistic behaviour. For me, it meant that I developed a strong, stubborn determination to succeed on my own terms, and in doing so led to a realisation that I was not alone in treading an unequal highway. As a young adult, I began to appreciate that many others in our society are not treated equally.

I believe that women in our country do still suffer oppression and unequal opportunity in our male- dominated society—witness, for example, the relatively small number of women members of this House, especially on the Government benches. I can see very clearly that non-pakeha New Zealanders, particularly our Maori and Pacific Island sisters and brothers, still suffer racial discrimination—often subtle, but nevertheless real. Many of our constituents on low incomes or benefits suffer from a lack of resources and opportunities, and are increasingly oppressed as an expendable underclass.

My own situation rapidly led me to a real empathy for those in society who, because of their race, their sex, or their economic circumstances, are judged to be less than equal. There are many people in my own multiracial and working-class electorate who know that they struggle to win on a very unbalanced playing-field. I understand, in a very personal way, their struggles, frustrations, and hurts.

My second reason for speaking tonight about my sexuality is the importance of being a "first", and the hope that this will provide to other homosexual men and women. I was not the first openly gay Labour candidate. In this respect, I wish to acknowledge the presence of my Labour colleague, Dr Ian Scott, who is my guest in the Chamber this evening. He stood as our candidate for Eden in 1981.

This Chamber has seen some important legislative changes that have affected profoundly the lives of gay and lesbian New Zealanders. Some members, past and present, deserve high praise for their courage and their sense of justice and humanity.

The former member for Wellington Central and now Mayor of Wellington, the Hon. Fran Wilde, deserves the undying gratitude and respect of all fair-minded New Zealanders for her sponsorship of the Homosexual Law Reform Bill. That Bill was not just a significant development for gay New Zealanders but also a milestone in the struggle for social justice in this country. All New Zealanders should be proud of this achievement, and I want to thank all members of this House, past and present, who voted for that legislation and enacted it into law.

I would also like to acknowledge the Minister of Consumer Affairs, the member for Waipa, who sponsored the amendment to the human rights legislation that led to the outlawing of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Her action proved to me that there are people of integrity and compassion in all parties in this House. I thank her, as well as all past and present members of the House who voted for the passage of that amendment.

Gains have been made but prejudice and social discrimination persist. Members have no doubt noticed how some sections of the press seem extraordinarily interested in my sexuality, at the expense of almost any other aspect of my life or opinions. I guess that is the price I must pay for being the first openly gay sitting member of this House. I have to say that it can be tiresome and insulting at times. In a month I leave for the UK via South Africa. I am half expecting to see a headline in the Evening Post or the Sunday Star Times containing a phrase such as "Gay MP decamps on overseas travel".

On a more serious note, I know that we each build on the foundations of those who went before us. I hope that my presence in this House will make it easier for other gays and lesbians to aspire to political or community office. Prejudice is based on ignorance. The best recipe for gaining an understanding of other cultures and lifestyles is contact and normalisation. My task is to show that I am an effective MP for my electorate and an asset to my caucus. I will certainly do my best to achieve those two aims. If I am successful, those who come after me will, I hope, find the trail less littered with braying donkeys and slippery banks.

Foundations are important, not just in blazing the trail for the normalisation and acceptance of minorities in our society but also in another area with which I have had a long association—education. In Shakespeare's Hamlet Marcellus observes that "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." Sadly, this quotation may soon come to apply to our education system.

For 16 years I was a teacher, and I am still a financial member of the Post Primary Teachers Association. I have a special relationship with the 10 primary schools, 3 intermediate schools, 3 high schools, and 2 special-education schools in my electorate. I know many of the staff and pupils at these schools and I visit them often. Everywhere I go I am aware of the low morale, pessimism, and extraordinary workload of the staff. During my long educational service I saw many changes in curriculum content and educational structures. Teachers weathered these changes with professionalism and a keen sense of commitment to their pupils. Yet I have to say that the last few years have seen a dramatic drop in the morale of the teaching profession. Principals, especially primary school principals, with meagre secretarial or accounting support staff have been expected to cope with an increasing responsibility for organising all manner of administrative and support services.

Classroom teachers, with no salary rise for five years, have had to carry the extra burden of integrating special-needs pupils into their classroom programmes, managing the increasing stresses and paperwork associated with curriculum change, and the increased pressures of so-called accountability. Our teachers are the best educational resource this nation has, yet they are being ground down by increasing workloads. Urgent action is needed to provide principals, especially primary school principals, with the extra resources to best cope with the move to local autonomy in school self-management. Urgent action is needed to lessen the load and pressures on classroom teachers through more adequate staffing. Urgent action is needed to provide teachers with the increased remuneration they so deserve. If there is no action in these areas our fine education system will suffer long-term and perhaps permanent damage. Not only will our staff suffer but automatically so will the children. During the life of this Parliament I intend to work vigorously on behalf of the pupils and their teachers in my 18 schools. They are a precious resource to be supported and valued.

Another precious resource in my electorate is the large number and wide diversity of ethnic communities residing there. Te Atatu has a Dutch retirement village, Ons Dorp, located at one end of McLeod Road, and a Croatian cultural centre at the other end of the same street. We have several marae, and Samoan, Tongan, Niuean, Tokelauan, and Cook Island community churches abound. Kohanga reo, kura kaupapa, and Samoan and Tongan language nests are doing a fantastic job in fostering language and traditions among the young in their communities. These self-initiated educational centres are a wonderful attempt to develop children rich in two cultures who still have a sense of pride and place.

The electorate is the home of Mr Bill Teariki, the Cook Island Consul for Auckland; Mr Tupou Alama, the Consul for Tuvalu; and Mr Tony Covic, Honorary Consul for the Croatian Republic. Large numbers of Indians, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Croats live in the electorate. Auckland's recent Chinese New Year Festival was held in our area. I am privileged to represent such a diverse and cosmopolitan electorate.

I have been selected as the Labour Opposition spokesperson on ethnic affairs. I want to thank my caucus colleagues for their confidence in me and I look forward to working closely with ethnic groups not only in Te Atatu but also throughout New Zealand.

The member for Otara spoke so eloquently last week about the vibrant pulse of his multiracial electorate. Difference and diversity enrich rather than damage our culture. We are citizens of a multiracial planet. Let us celebrate our diversity.

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to my family. This is the International Year of the Family and I, like all other New Zealanders, belong to a family. In our rich and increasingly diverse society families can come in a variety of forms and compositions. Some are like Maori and Pacific Island families, which are often extended networks of people with whanau or aiga as a broad unit that can incorporate many different individuals. The more conventional pakeha family usually contains just three generations in a fairly direct sequence of grandparents, parents, and children. Now the presence of a large number of single-parent families and sometimes same-sex couples add to the possible structures that function as family units. Each has a place and should be respected.

In my family I have a partner who has supported me for 21 years. We have an excellent and loving relationship, which puts paid to any myth that gays cannot live in stable long-term monogamous relationships. My family also includes siblings and a father. Sadly, my mother, born Maureen Casey, died unexpectedly just before the election. I would like to pay a special tribute to my parents, especially as tomorrow is St Patrick's Day. My parents were the descendants of Irish immigrants. Seven of my eight great-grandparents were born in Ireland and the blood, and possibly the bloody-mindedness, of the Irish peasantry runs strongly in my veins. My parents were hard-working and honest people. They taught me from an early age that I should be strong and honest in my dealings with others. They believed in and were loyal supporters of the Labour Party.

Mr Speaker, my speech tonight may well be considered controversial by some people, and certain members of this House could be uncomfortable with my views. I would ask them at least to acknowledge and respect my honesty.

I would like to conclude my speech tonight with a quotation from the maiden speech of the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Mt Albert. I hope that I also can fulfil the sentiment she expressed at the end of her maiden speech: "My greatest wish is that at the end of my time in this House I shall have contributed towards making New Zealand a better place than it is today for its people to live in." Kia Kaha, Kia Toa, Kia Manawanui.