De La Salle College Prize Giving Assembly

Ladies and Gentlemen and Students of De La Salle, I greet you all in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - English, Maori, Cook Island, Niue and Tokelau.

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

More specifically I greet you: Principal, Staff, Parents, Friends and Students.

Thank you for the invitation to De La Salle College today to speak at your prize giving assembly. The first 109 days of office as Governor General have confirmed for me that it is a continuing part of the role to speak with our country's young people, especially those completing an important chapter of their education and growth and are moving on to a new era in their lives.

De La Salle has been providing high quality education for more than half a century now.  There is a rather stark reference on page 163 of the recently published biography of Archbishop James Liston by Nicholas Reid that says:- "Liston invited the De La Salle brothers to establish a boys school in Auckland.  With scant resources and Spartan facilities De La Salle College was opened in mid-1953".  How different things are today and what a difference the proverbial Rip Van Winkle would notice if he woke today and saw a large and vibrant part of New Zealand that is South Auckland.  I am happy to relate to here as someone who worked as a Judge in the Courts in South Auckland particularly at Otahuhu and as someone who has had community contacts otherwise with South Auckland.

This school's emphasis on multiculturalism has long been an example here and, with the rest of the country becoming - as the census results of the last week demonstrate -  multicultural, it seems that De La Salle have long been ahead of time.

Reverend Brother has already spoken of the achievements of the school this year and I must say a perusal of your school record makes for impressive reading.  As an ardent rugby follower, I have been particularly impressed with the fact that your 1st XV made the semi final against Auckland Grammar, capping a great season that saw twice as many wins as losses.

Congratulations also on all your other sporting, academic and also cultural achievements which reflect very well on you as individuals, and your school as a whole.

I just want to add a little bit on how I came to be Governor-General, and what my role entails.

I went to Sacred Heart in Glen Innes, studied law at University, became a lawyer, then a District Court Judge. In 1995, I was appointed an 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 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.

So what do I actually do? I am still learning myself.

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 me. That means she 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 that 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 represents the State at public ceremonies such as opening new sessions of Parliament, welcoming visiting Heads of State and attending Anzac and Waitangi Day commemorations.

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

This is the part of my job that is the busiest in terms of volume. It involves travel all around New Zealand visiting schools, opening functions, launching appeals and attending special events such as the opening of new buildings.

It is also the part of the 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 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 College, or even on the very first day of primary school. It begins the moment you are born and it should never stop.

Today, we are celebrating learning here at De La Salle. We are celebrating the achievements made, and what has been learned, during your time at this school.

There are so many awards being given today for good work and learning, not just in the academic fields, but in sport, and in culture. Each is important and together, they will help develop you all into New Zealanders that your parents and supporters and the community are proud of.

The challenge I offer you today is to take the learning that you have been offered here at De La Salle College and now build on that every day into the future.

In other words, 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.

I know that many of people of this school refer proudly to the fact that you are "Lasallians".  I am told that your vision for 2007 is "Being connected and engaged". I agree with this sentiment so much, that I am moved, in a small paraphrase of a famous speech of President JF Kennedy who on 26 June 1953 said to emphasise with people of Berlin said as follows:-

"Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was civis romanus sum [I am a Roman citizen]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is 'Ich bin ein Berliner'...All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!"

I want to say in an antipodean setting because of the phrase "being connected and engaged"  to say that I, too, am a Lasallian.

I congratulate all prizewinners, all graduates and all pupils and their families and friends. 

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