Speech
Dinner for Defence Force representatives
Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae, Secretary of Defence, Graham Fortune; Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral David Ledson; Chief of Army, Major General Lou Gardiner; Chief of Air Force, Air Vice Marshall Graham Lintott and Commander Joint Force, Rear Admiral Jack Steer, and your spouses, Mrs Janine Mateparae, Mrs Kate Fortune, Ms Barbara Levery, Mrs Judith Gardiner, Mrs Dianne Lintott, and Mrs Sally Steer. I greet you in the languages of the Realm of New Zealand, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa lahi atu, taloha ni. Welcome to Government House.
Together with my wife Susan I am delighted to host this dinner tonight as a way of meeting each of you in this setting.
In particular, and first, the welcome is to you, General Mateparae, and what a thrill it is to recognise that your term as Chief of the Defence Force and my own as Governor-General commence somewhat at the same time. Tenakoe e te Rangatira Toa no Tuwharetoa. Kei te mihi atu kia koe.
As Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief, I look forward to my involvement with the Defence Force during the years of my term. I look forward to working with each of you in your particular capacities during my tenure, not least because, in my view, the armed services provide good role modelling for citizenship inNew Zealandand role modelling for things such as teamwork and participation.
This formal gathering of Defence personnel underlines the coming together of the elements involved in modern governance - military, civil, executive and prerogative.
That formal structure means that Defence says "we can", the Government says "you should" and the Military "does it".
All of what is done (and I have read today my first Defence briefing) is in the interests of a small and vital country respected for its principled stand in world events.
We are known around the world as a nation which both celebrates and encourages peace. Indeed the contributions that our armed forces make in the pursuit of international peace belie our size. It is I think a matter of pride that we are recognised globally as a dependable and effective peace-keeping force.
Our men and women who serve in this capacity around the world, deserve the community's gratitude.
Over the next five years, I hope to meet a number of these people who are servingNew Zealand, both here and overseas, and to register something of this matter of recognition and pride. My briefings say that I may well gain from visits to one or more overseas posts, a keener appreciation of the significant and sometimes treacherous work members of our armed services do on our behalf.
Tonight, I would also like to pay tribute to Graham Fortune, who is shortly to retire as Secretary of Defence. Graham is a long time "insider" having had careers in journalism and the foreign service before his current tour of duty at the head of the Ministry of Defence since 1999. You will be ending a career in the public sector that began in 1965. Graham, you and I had more than something to do with each other with you in your Secretary of Defence position and myself as an Ombudsman. I am happy to reflect in this public setting, what a fine standard you set. There was one particular long running case when the nature and extent of the lines between service and ministry and executive government needed careful preservation and you did so impeccably. It was said by a contemporary English Chief Justice Lord Woolf that "In defending democracy we must not forget the need to observe the values which make democracy worth defending."
You certainly were a hallmark for that then and you have done so otherwise in a number of settings, and thanks are due for your selfless commitment toNew Zealand. May I also mention you Kate and your work alongside Graham and your work in producing what for any new Governor-General of New Zealand will be a valued reference work about the Pacific.
Ladies and Gentlemen. I now close by thanking you again for coming to share what I hope will be the first of a number of meals together.
Tena koutou katoa.