Speech
The Breakfast Club Address
May I greet everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - 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 morning (Sign)
May I specifically acknowledge you: Ron Aylan-Parker, Breakfast Club co-ordinator; distinguished guests otherwise; ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and myself to attend the Breakfast Club at the Auckland Club this morning. I have been asked to speak on my vision for the future of New Zealand. This is a somewhat daunting topic, which one can approach from many different angles.
I will approach it by first looking backwards for, as Spanish born but American resident philosopher George Santayana once famously said: "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." In doing so, I am also reminded of the words of another American, the writer Franklin Pierce Adams who once quipped: "Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory."
In the second half of last year, New Zealand passed several significant milestones in its history. Some were publicly marked while others slipped by almost unnoticed.
The first such, on 26 September, was the 100th anniversary of the declaration of Dominion status in 1907. While that declaration meant that New Zealand was no longer a colony, it did not, as some in the media have recently suggested, result in New Zealand becoming independent of Britain. New Zealand remained a part of the British Empire and was no more or less independent that it had been before. That's probably the way most New Zealanders wanted it as language, culture, defence and trade links bound most European people to the wider 'Britannic world', then at the height of its prestige.
Outside of the pomp and ceremony in Wellington, Dominion Day was a largely low-key affair. In Foxton, for example, the Town Clerk read the proclamation to an audience of two—himself and the local newspaper reporter.
It wasn't until 25 November 1947, when New Zealand finally adopted the Statute of Westminster that this country truly became an independent nation. Adoption of the Statute—16 years after it had been passed by the British Parliament—meant that Britain could no longer pass laws for New Zealand without request and consent from Wellington. On 6 September 1948, Parliament passed its first citizenship legislation, creating for the first time the concept of New Zealand citizenship, although with somewhat mixed messages, it was entitled the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act.
Ironically, while both these laws resulted in fundamental changes in our constitution and place in the world, neither have ever been marked with the same level of fanfare.
A further milestone, marked on 12 October last year, was the 90th anniversary of the Third Battle of Passchendaele. On that fateful day in Belgium, New Zealand suffered its greatest military losses either before or since. In a space of two hours, more than 2800 men were killed, injured or lost in action. The decision to send New Zealand troops, into what commanders on the ground, could see was going to be a disaster, was made by British rather than New Zealand commanders.
In July last year Susan and I visited the battlefields in Flanders and represented New Zealand at the European commemorations of the Battles. The sacrifice of so many was brought home to us when we visited the largest Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Tyne Cot, where headstones stretched as far as one can see.
Later this year on November 11, we will mark the 90th anniversary of the end of what was meant to be the war to end all wars World War I. While the horrors of the First World War meant that New Zealand "went where Britain went" in the Second World War, the country did not, however, so easily give away control of its troops. My predecessor, Lord Freyberg, as head of the 2nd NZ Expeditionary Force was given explicit instructions that he was a servant of the New Zealand Government and not the British military. Along with signing the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 and joining the League of Nations and later the United Nations its own right, this was further evidence of New Zealand's growing independent stance in its foreign relations.
As an aside, I might note that despite being truly independent from Britain for more than 65 years, it was not until 30 years ago this month that we managed to beat them at cricket!
What these anniversaries remind us is that New Zealand has changed so much in a relatively little time. For a nation that is about as old as the invention of photography, we have gone from being a dependent colony to independent nation in a very short space of time. New Zealand decides its own place in the world. For example, this year will mark 35 years since HMNZS Otago set sail for Mururoa atoll to protest French nuclear testing in the Pacific.
But in that short time, New Zealanders have conquered the world's highest peaks, split the atom, and excelled internationally in sport, in science, in literature, in cinema and in the creative arts. With the reference to the "highest peaks" I particularly acknowledge the late Sir Edmund Hillary who died during last month. The national outpouring of grief at the loss of a uniquely New Zealand hero and leader not only showed how he had touched all of us, but how we had matured as a nation.
Culturally, New Zealand has also changed markedly. In 1907, the Maori population had declined to such an extent that some forecast the complete demise of the race. Maori language and culture were seen as quaint museum pieces while the confiscations of the land wars were injustices keenly felt by those who had experienced them first hand.
Today, Maori are a vibrant part of New Zealand society, culture and economy. Maori language and culture are cherished as an important part of New Zealand's increasingly diverse multicultural society. Last year, for example, marked 20 years since Maori was recognised as an official language. While much remains to be done, the injustices of the land wars are finally being resolved.
New Zealand is now more culturally diverse than at anytime in its history. The 2006 Census revealed that about 23 percent of New Zealanders were born overseas. A century ago, most New Zealanders born overseas hailed from Britain and Ireland. At the last census, the number of New Zealanders born in those isles had dropped to 28 percent—exactly the same proportion as those born in Asia.
Such diversity will increasingly be the norm and I believe that my appointment as Governor-General, as one born in New Zealand, but with links to Fiji and India, is a reflection of that underlying change.
That diversity is enriching New Zealand's culture, society and economy. It also bodes well for greater understanding between different cultures. The words of former American President Jimmy Carter come to mind and although he was speaking of the United States they seem equally apt in describing New Zealand's growing diversity. Carter said:
"We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams."
But these different beliefs, yearnings, hopes and dreams also pose challenges as the values of those new to our nation may clash with the democratic and secular values New Zealanders hold dear. We will have to sensibly debate how those differing values will be reconciled and as business and community leaders, the members of your Breakfast Club can play an important role in informing this debate.
In New Zealand's short history, another area of dramatic change has been in the role of women. While New Zealand became the first country to grant women the right to vote 115 years ago in 1893, it was not until 1919 that they could stand for election to Parliament. And it was 41 years after suffrage that a woman was elected as an MP, when Elizabeth McCombs was elected 75 years ago.
The role of women in New Zealand has changed dramatically as women now pursue careers in business, the community, the military and politics. During the time of my predecessor, Dame Silvia Cartwright, New Zealand was probably unique in the world in that when she was sworn in March 2001, women held five pivotal political and legal roles of Governor-General, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Chief Justice and Attorney-General. Despite those advances, statistics continue to show that women lag behind men in representation in senior management and director roles and in pay equality.
And finally, given that many of you are business executives, I note how our economy and international trade has changed. We continue to be producer of agricultural products, but to the beef, lamb and dairy products that we primarily sent to Britain, we have added a host of other products and we now export to almost every nation. Australia, followed by the United States, Japan and China are our main export markets now, while they are also the source of most of our imports.
Tourism has grown to be a major industry, along with other services such as education and information technology. I wonder how many people realise that in the year to November last year New Zealand exported $434 million worth of books and newspapers and a further $429 million in toys, games and sports equipment? New industries will continue to appear as our economy becomes increasingly complex. One only has to look at the mobile phone industry as an example. Today it is a massive industry employing untold people involved in designing, manufacturing and marketing them along with many more employed in administering the billing systems and maintaining their complex technological infrastructure. Yet as little as 25 years ago, the industry simply didn't exist. Many people will finish their working lives in jobs that didn't exist when they left secondary school.
In conclusion then, my vision for the future of New Zealand is one of an increasingly diverse society. I have noted the changing place of Maori, of our nation's increasingly diverse cultural mix, the role of women, as three touchstone areas. To that could easily be added a diverse religious mix and increasingly complex family and personal relationships. These changes have in turn been mirrored in New Zealand's growing sense of identity in the wider world, both in business and international relations, which I have also briefly outlined.
My vision is also one where those things that make us different—whether as individuals or communities—are celebrated as strengths, not as weaknesses. It is one where all New Zealanders will engage with these differing communities and in a highly complex and differentiated economy.
On that note I will close in Maori, by offering greetings and wishing everyone good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa