Palmerston North Intermediate Final Prize Giving Assembly

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, I greet you in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - English, Maori, CookIsland, Niue and Tokelau.

Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni

More specifically I greet you: Chair of the Board of Trustees, Pat Handcock and Members of the Board; Palmerston North Intermediate Principal, David Jopson; staff and students.

Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and I to be here this afternoon in Palmerston North to speak at the school's final assembly and prize giving. It is a fine thing on Day 110 of my role to speak and engage with our country's young people and their achievements.

It is a double pleasure for Susan and myself today because Palmerston North was once home to us for three years.

Earlier in my career, well before most people in this room were born, I served as Judge in this city. As part of the work of the Court I had what is known as a specialist warrant for criminal jury trials.

That meant presiding over some very serious criminal cases to help ensure justice was delivered for all those affected by crime.

Speaking to a room full of young people, as I am today, is, I can tell you, a much more pleasant and uplifting way to spend two hours in Palmerston North than sitting in a court room.

You live in a fine lively city and I am happy to be back here today.

I thought today I would talk a little bit about what I do. As you may know, I have been Governor-General of New Zealand since August this year - not quite four months.

You might wonder how someone comes to be Governor-General. Well, the story of my career is rather longer than I have time to tell today.

But, to cut a long story short, I studied law at University, became a lawyer, then a District Court Judge. In 1995, I was appointed an Ombudsman, a role in which I served for ten years investigating complaints made by members of the public against New Zealand's central, regional or local government or agencies. It was then my job to make decisions about whether or not their complaint was reasonable.

Then, in August of this year, I was appointed Governor-General.

As to what I actually do, I am still learning along with my wife.

I am sure you all know that New Zealand is a Monarchy which means our formal Head of State is the Queen. But because Her Royal Highness lives in London she needs someone based in New Zealand to represent her and, in a nut-shell, I am the personal representative of Queen Elizabeth II.

Because we live in a democracy, the Prime Minister is the leader of our country, not the Governor-General. That means the Rt Hon Helen Clark and her Government make all the decisions about what happens in New Zealand. Essentially, they are the business arm of our country.  It is summed up in the phrase - the Queen reigns and the Government rules.

My role is to be, to the best of my ability, assisted by my wife Susan, a symbol of national unity and leadership.

There are three main parts to my job.

The first is constitutional. This means it is the Governor-General's job to make sure the Government is legitimate, and operates as New Zealanders intended it to operate when they voted for it.  This means assenting to laws passed by Parliament and signing the documents appointing people to important tasks such as heads of government organisations or being judges or ambassadors for our country.  Legitimacy of Government is important because it is the foundation of civil peace. 

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

The third part of my role is what brings me here today. That is providing leadership to the community.

This is the part of my job that keeps me the busiest. It involves travelling all around New Zealand visiting schools, opening functions, launching appeals and attending special events such as the opening of a new building.

It is also the part of my job which brings my wife and I into touch with so many wonderful New Zealanders, young and old.

If there is a theme to my career, it is that of learning. Learning about people, about how we live together and about how we can work together to ensure our country is one we are proud of.

Learning does not begin on the first day of a new job. It does not begin on the first day of school. It begins the moment you are born and it should never stop.

Today, we are celebrating your learning at Palmerston North Intermediate. We are celebrating the achievements you have made, and what you have learned, during your time at this school.

The vision of your school is to help make you all "confident and capable children developing in a supportive environment."

Looking around me here today and learning what I have been told, I can see that Palmerston North Intermediate is doing a very good job of achieving that vision.

There are many awards being given today for great work and learning, not just in the academic fields, but in sports, and in culture. Each is important and, together, they will help develop you all into New Zealanders we can be proud of.

My challenge for everyone today is to take the learning that you have been offered at Palmerston North Intermediate and build on it every day of your life.

Keep learning, keep exploring, keep talking and asking questions. This is the key to seizing every opportunity that comes your way and it will help ensure you have every chance to be whatever you want to be, to do whatever you want to do.

Then, I know, the future will be a very wonderful thing for all of us.

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