Luncheon hosted by the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons

May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the Realm of New Zealand, in English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.

Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the afternoon (Sign)

May I specifically greet you: Hon Peter Milliken, MP, Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada; Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Members of the Senate and the House of Commons; Parliamentary officials; Officials from the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs; Board members of the Royal Commonwealth Society; Distinguished guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.  To our Canadian hosts may I also say: Greetings and Bonjour.

Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and I to this Luncheon here at Parliament Buildings in Ottawa today.

I would like to take an opportunity to speak briefly about the significance of this visit and of the relationship between our two countries.

Yesterday my wife Susan and I were hosted to a State Welcome and Luncheon by the Governor-General of Canada, Her Excellency Rt Hon Michalle Jean and His Excellency Mr Jean-Daniel Lafond and I wish to reiterate how honoured to have been accorded the honour of this first State Visit by a New Zealand Governor-General to Canada. 

Mr Speaker, New Zealand and Canada share a common Commonwealth heritage and Westminster parliamentary and legal traditions.  For these and many other reasons, our two countries enjoy close and friendly relations. 

I know from my time as a Judge that there are many connections between the judicial systems in New Zealand and Canada and their personnel and that our superior Courts frequently quote Canadian cases in their judgments and have lawyers citing Canadian authorities to them. 

I am also aware of many connections in the wider legal fraternity. For example, Some examples suffice. Canadian legal and constitutional expert, Peter Hogg QC holds an initial degree from Victoria University in Wellington New Zealand.  He was awarded an honorary doctorate from there in 2006 for his many accomplishments.  Another to receive an honorary doctorate from Victoria University, in 2007, was Emeritus Professor David Mullan, the Integrity Commissioner for Toronto.  Professor Peter Burns QC originally from Dunedin and then Auckland has in the last 30 years been a law teacher and international figure in criminal law reform in this country.  Lastly Justice Grant Hammond of the New Zealand Court of Appeal is a Kiwi who came back to New Zealand from Canada after having been a Law Reform Commissioner in Alberta and a law professor previous to that.

At the Government and Parliamentary level there are also many connections.  For example, I have learned Mr Speaker of you leading a multi-party parliamentary delegation to New Zealand in July-August 2005.  Several members of the New Zealand Government have also visited Canada in recent years. 

Our countries are both founding members of the United Nations and have worked collaboratively in the ASEAN Regional Forum, APEC, OECD, WTO, and the Cairns Group of agricultural exporters.

On a regional level, while New Zealand looks to the Pacific to assist a number of young and small nations of that region, Canada has invested its assistance readily with many nations of the Caribbean.  I am one of many contemporary New Zealanders with a  personal interest in Pacific.  While I was born in New Zealand, my grandparents migrated from India to Fiji where my parents were born.  I also have cousins living in Samoa.

New Zealand and Canada also share a strong defence heritage.  Last week, before I left for this trip to Ottawa, I spoke at the National War Memorial in Wellington on ANZAC Day. It is a national day, shared with Australia, where New Zealanders commemorate those who served and died in conflicts throughout the world. 

ANZAC Day was first celebrated in 1916, to mark the disastrous and fruitless campaign at Gallipoli to capture the Dardanelles in 1915.  In that campaign New Zealanders fought with valour alongside the Newfoundland Regiment.  I am keenly aware that on many battlefields since that time, New Zealanders fought and died alongside men and women from Canada, standing with honour to defend the democratic freedoms we all hold dear.

That shared history and that level of co-operation and respect has seen our defence forces work alongside each other in a number of international security operations in more recent years, such as in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Timor-Leste.

There are also strong trading links between our two countries.  Canada is one of New Zealand's top 20 markets with exports of about NZ$538 million in the year ended December 2007 while imports from Canada were worth about $584 million.

Canada, like New Zealand, believes that  innovation, including the successful commercialisation of new products and services, is a  key to continuing a successful economy.  I have been briefed about Canada having an Innovation Strategy and a host of supporting programmes comparable to New Zealand's Growth and Innovation Framework.

Canada is also New Zealand's eighth largest source of tourists.  A successful bilateral working holiday scheme, for citizens of both countries aged between 18 and 30, has been in existence since 1994, offering 2,000 visas year. 

These items along many other connections and traditions have seen New Zealand and Canada engender a similar view of the world.  We tend to identify with each other's interests and concerns.

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate, both on a personal level, and on behalf of the New Zealand Government, deep thanks for Canada's hospitality in hosting this State Visit by a New Zealand Governor-General.  I am confident that much valuable knowledge and information will be shared and we will end up with a better understanding our respective countries' interests.

And on that note, I will close in New Zealand's first language, Maori, by offering greetings and wishing you good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.