Opening of Sunderland School and College

Ladies and Gentlemen, Students, I greet you in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and Sign Language.

Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and (Sign)

Specifically I greet you: Mayor of Waitakere City, Your Worship Bob Harvey; Principal of Sunderland School and College, Kent Favel; Chairman of the School Board, Alex Findlay; Staff, Students and Invited Guests.

Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and myself to be here for the official opening of SunderlandSchool and College this morning. It is always a pleasure in this role now nine months old to visit schools and to talk with young people.

It is also a pleasure to be in Auckland, a city in which I was educated from primary school right through to university.

I am speaking as both a former Auckland schoolboy, and as Governor-General.

To provide a better understanding of what brings me here as Governor-General, I would like to talk for a moment about the role of the Governor-General, and how I came to take this office. I will begin with the second part of this.

The story of my career is rather longer than I have time to tell today.

However, to cut a long story short, I studied law at AucklandUniversity. After I graduated, I became a lawyer and then a Judge in Palmerston North and Auckland. In 1995, I was appointed Ombudsman, a role I served for ten years.

As Ombudsman, I investigated complaints made by members of the public against New Zealand' s central, regional or local government or agencies. It was my job to make decisions about whether or not their complaints were reasonable.

In August of 2006, I was appointed Governor-General.

So what does this actually mean? What does the Governor-General do?

First, it is important to understand that New Zealand is a Monarchy, and so our formal Head of State is the Queen - Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II. However, because she lives in London, 12,000 miles away, she needs someone based here in New Zealand to represent her.

The Governor-General's duty is to fulfil this role for a term of five years. I am responsible to her.

Next, we live in a democracy.  Every three years people vote in the General Election for the person and group of people whom they want to represent them in Parliament. That process is quite separate from my appointment.

It helps to think of the Prime Minister and her Government's role as the business arm of our country.  In ruling, Prime Minister Helen Clark and her Government make all the policy decisions about what happens in New Zealand. 

That means their job is make sure the roads are in good and safe condition, that there are sufficient numbers of doctors at the hospitals and sufficient numbers of teachers in schools - among many other things.

The Governor-General's role is a bit different.  It is to act as a symbol of national unity and leadership.

There are three main parts to that.

The first is constitutional. This means it is my job to be part of the legal machinery and to ensure the Government is working correctly and fairly, within the rules of New Zealand law.  The laws passed by Parliament or regulations or appointments of Heads of Government organizations are made by the Governor-General as a result.

The second part of my role is ceremonial. It means I represent the State at public ceremonies such as opening new sessions of Parliament, welcoming visiting Heads of State and attending Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day commemorations.

The third part of my role is what brings me to SunderlandSchool and College today. That is, providing leadership to the community.

This is one of the most enjoyable aspects of my role as it puts me in contact with a wide range of New Zealanders of all ages, from whom there is much I can always learn.

Being at SunderlandSchool and College today brings to mind the importance of learning - not just while you are at school, but right throughout your life.

To me, the following Maori saying aptly reflects the value of learning:

Te manu e kai i te miro no nate ngahere.
Te manu e kai i te mataurangi no nate ao.
The bird that feeds on the miro berry has the bush at its domain.
The bird that feeds from learning has the world at its domain

Learning is the one of the most important things we can do to develop into unique and confident individuals. Learning is also an important part of our lives' journey as it is only with learning that we can move forward.

As founding students at SunderlandSchool and College you are already on this journey. I have read an impressive array of briefing material about the school.  I think you are lucky to be at this new school. It offers a range of activities and facilities that will give each of you a platform to excel in whatever you choose.

As you grow and develop, so will the school. I am informed there are many additions planned for the school over the next five years and as students, you are likely to benefit from this.

As stated in the school prospectus, one of Sunderland's educational philosophies is that of teaching traditional values and standards. Learning these values is just as vital to ones' development as making sure you are involved in a range of academic, cultural and sporting activities.

As such, the 'Value for the Week' section in the school newsletter is an effective way of teaching students important values and perhaps providing parents with a handy refresher course as well.

I would like to congratulate all those who have been involved in establishing this important educational addition to the Waitakere community. I wish SunderlandSchool and College the best for its future growth and development.

I began speaking in all the New Zealand realm languages.  May I close by speaking in Maori issuing greetings and wishing you good health and fortitude in your endeavours.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa