Whānau Āwhina Plunket event in honour of Chief Executive Amanda Malu and her service to Whānau Āwhina Plunket

E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga iwi o te motu e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

I specifically acknowledge: Dame Fran Wilde, Chair of the Board and members of the Board; Tarati Blair-Hunt, Trustee; Andrew Slater Chief Executive of Whakarongarau Aotearoa; Kura Moeahu Te Ati Awa; Amanda Malu.

Thank you very much for inviting me to speak at your farewell for Amanda.

It’s a privilege to have this opportunity to address an audience that shares my passion for health and wellbeing – and to thank you all most sincerely for what you do to help give our most precious resource – our youngest New Zealanders – a good start in life.

In a sense I feel I am wearing several hats tonight – as your Patron, Dame Cindy Kiro – as a former Children’s Commissioner – a health researcher and of course as a mother and grandmother.

It seems only fair that I begin by acknowledging the instrumental role of a Vice-regal spouse, Lady Victoria Plunket.

Lady Plunket deserves to be recognised for active involvement that went well beyond the bestowing of her name to your organisation.

Given that she bore eight children, Lady Plunket could justifiably speak with some authority on pregnancy and child-care.

Gavin McLean’s marvellous book The Governors provides details about her role in the early days of your organisation.

Like her sisters back in the United Kingdom, Lady Plunket took a keen interest in the development of the nursing profession.

She travelled around New Zealand encouraging communities to establish Plunket branches and amalgamation into a national organisation.

She promoted an educational focus for Plunket nurses and encouraged Truby King to make the Karitane Home into a nurses’ teaching centre. She even went so far as to help design the nurses’ uniforms.

In 1908, while pregnant with her eighth child, she lectured on the proper care and feeding of babies – and she found time to patent a special hood for babies’ prams.

Eighty years later, the then Governor-General, Sir Paul Reeves delivered a rousing speech to the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society’s 49th conference.

Sir Paul observed that children live within circumstances created by adults, and that unfortunately, society perpetuates a hostile environment for many children.

In his view, that is because not enough people commit to “living their lives by the rule that what is good for someone must ultimately be good for everyone”.  

If he were with us now, I fear Sir Paul would be moved to continue deliver such admonishments to us.

I am sure Sir Paul would be enthusiastically encouraging you in your mission to promote mana taurite/equity of health outcomes for all our babies and children.

It’s an ethos that I share with you. During my term of office, I will support organisations that make a difference in health and wellbeing, particularly for groups that are marginalised or disempowered.

Since my time as Children’s Commissioner, I have continued to advocate for children’s rights and wellbeing and having worked in the Health Sector, I appreciate how important it is to have vision and leadership to steer organisations through uncertain times, evolving governance structures, and cultural transformation.

Fran has outlined the many impressive ways in which Amanda Malu has fulfilled those expectations.

I was delighted that included rescuing the memory of two remarkable wahine who had been previously absent from the history of Whānau Āwhina Plunket – and that Government House could be the venue for the formal acknowledgement of Mere Harper and Ria Tikini’s role as midwives of your organisation.

Putting them at the centre of your origin story will give impetus to your Māori Strategy Ngā Pae o te Harakeke, strengthen your organisational values, and support your efforts to grow the numbers of kaimahi Māori in Aotearoa.

So I add my congratulations and thanks to you, Amanda, for what you have achieved in your eight years with Whānau Āwhina Plunket, and I wish you all the very best with your new role at ACC.