Aquinas College Gymnasium Opening

Ladies and Gentlemen, and students, 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

Specifically I greet you: Your Worship Stuart Crosby Mayor of Tauranga, Aquinas College Principal, Brendan Schollum, as well as your staff and members of the school community.

Thank you for inviting me to open this exceptional new gymnasium today.

In visiting Aquinas today, there are several resonances for me - first reflecting on the 13^th century Italian philosopher and theologian who has influenced much Western thought in the succeeding 700 years.  The man of whom it was said (and for those seeking a role model how about the following)  - for people described him as refined, affable, and lovable. In arguments, he maintained self-control and won over his opponents by personality and great learning. Of simple tastes he impressed his associates with his power of memory. When absorbed in thought, he often forgot his surroundings. However, he was able to express his thoughts systematically, clearly, and simply.

The second resonance is of my own upbringing in a New Zealand Catholic household, the third is the name of the University hostel of that name where I stayed in Dunedin for year in 1964 and the last is the fact of the principal Brendan Schollum having been the distinguished principal in his term of my secondary school Sacred Heart College.

My years of my upbringing were important in developing a sense of achievement, which has gone a long way towards helping build a professional life that has followed.

It is affirming to observe a contemporary school that achieves a mandate to retain a firm Catholic tradition. This is clear in the six qualities, I am advised, the school aspires to: prayer, truth, scholarship, service, joy and family.

To give you all a better understanding of what brings me here as Governor General, I would like to talk for a moment about the role of my office in New Zealand.

You might wonder how I came to be Governor-General. 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, became a lawyer, 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?

I am sure some of you are aware 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 whom they want to represent them in Parliament.  People also have a vote for the party they want to be the Government.  When the votes are counted the person who is able to command a majority in Parliament (that is more than half the votes) becomes the Prime Minister.  The Prime Minister is the leader of our country, not me. The Prime Minister leads a group of people appointed as Ministers who form the Cabinet.  The Government is said  to rule whilst the Sovereign (and her representative reign).  It helps to think of the Prime Minister and her Government' s role as the business arm of our country.  Prime Minister Helen Clark and her Government in ruling make all the policy decisions about what happens in New Zealand.  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 at schools - among many other things.

The Governor General 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 ensure the Government is legitimate, and that it is operating according to the law and to how New Zealanders intended it to operate when they voted for it.

Legitimacy of Government is supremely important because it is the foundation of civil peace.  When Parliament passes laws and the Government appoints a Judge or a Diplomat the Governor General ensures that the lawful steps have been taken and if so signs it into effect.

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 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 sees me travelling all around New Zealand visiting schools, opening functions, launching appeals and attending special events such as the opening of this gymnasium today.

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

I enjoy all parts of my role, because I personally have a great love and enthusiasm for New Zealand and the beauty and experiences that it offers all her people. I believe this is a sentiment shared by all New Zealanders.

If there is a theme to my career, it is learning. Learning about people, about how we live together and 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 college, or even on the very first day of school. It begins the moment you are born and it should never stop. Learning is the very essence, as well as the foundation of life.

The following quote from famous American deafblind author, social commentator and activist, Helen Keller, reflects this well:

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.

In opening this gymnasium today, we are opening up further opportunities for students to learn. The wonderful thing about a gymnasium is that it is a multi-purpose learning facility. It is used for sports, cultural practices, meetings and many other pursuits.

A venue such as this has implications for the community too. I am aware that the construction of this building was covered through a partnership between the Tauranga City Council and Aquinas School Diocese.

Local groups have already begun to utilise the facilities and this will no doubt foster a strong relationship between the college and its local community.

I would like to finish today by issuing you all with a challenge or wero. I believe a strong part of learning is understanding your personal strengths and weaknesses and growing as a person by that knowledge.

I challenge you to look at your strengths and find what makes you stand out from the rest - what makes you individual. Once you find this very essence of you, use that knowledge to excel.

This new gymnasium will no doubt go a long way towards helping each of you identify your own talents and perhaps even exceed your own expectations.

I congratulate Aquinas on a fine new addition to its school facilities.

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 koutou katoa.