Speech
New Zealand Bravery Awards
E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga iwi o te motu e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.
I specifically acknowledge: Hon Gerry Brownlee, Minister representing the Crown; Commissioner Mike Bush, Commissioner of New Zealand’s Police; and Mr Paul Baxter, National Commander, New Zealand Fire Service.
Tēnā koutou katoa.
It is a great pleasure for Janine and me to welcome you all to the Transitional Cathedral for this investiture ceremony. What makes today particularly special, both for Janine and me, and for everyone gathered here, is that this is an occasion where we can acknowledge the significant contribution made by individuals to the rescue efforts at the CTV and Pyne Gould Corporation Buildings following the 22 February earthquake in 2011.
Their actions, in the aftermath of the earthquake, reflect an extraordinary level of professionalism, compassion, dedication and courage. Accordingly, those to be honoured today have all rendered outstanding service to the people of New Zealand and the Crown, and it is appropriate that their contributions are recognised in this way.
Ladies and gentlemen, as each recipient is honoured, I invite you to join me in thanking and congratulating them for their service to our country. Mr Hewitt Humphrey will now summon the recipients, and read their citations.
Conclusion
It is a great privilege to acknowledge the professionalism, dedication and extraordinary courage of the 27 individuals who have received Bravery Awards today.
It has been three and a half years since the 22 February quake – but the dreadful images of devastation remain imprinted on the nation’s memory.
We recall billowing plumes of dust and smoke, the sirens, the helicopters. We remember the exhausted and anxious faces of people scrambling over the rubble.
We mourn the 185 people who lost their lives. And on this occasion we acknowledge the 133 people killed in the CTV building and Pyne Gould Corporation buildings. They all had their own stories of lives cut short and families who grieve for them.
Measured against those tragedies are the stories of miraculous survival – due in no small part to the actions of people who are with us today.
It could be said that the recipients of today’s awards were just doing their job. The fact remains that few of us could do that job.
The citations we have heard indicate the qualities required to toil for hours on end in tiny dark cavities, without breathing equipment or safety gear, not knowing what the next aftershock might bring.
Today we are recognising the dedication of people in our emergency services, our armed forces, in our hospitals, in our communities, who had the presence of mind, the training, the expertise, and the willingness to step in and put their lives on the line for others.
And we only need to read the accounts of people who were pulled out of the rubble, up to 25 hours after the quake, to know how desperate the situation for them was, trapped in spaces they likened to concrete coffins – and how miraculous they thought their rescues were.
Our nation is united by our shared experiences of triumphs and tragedies. It is at such times that we have a clearer sense of what matters to us as a people – and when the chips are down, we value people who can demonstrate compassion and courage.
Compassion in the midst of all the confusion, fear and devastation of that day – when, at great risk to their personal safety – these brave people found a way through to victims in collapsed buildings and saved lives.
It is time to say to you, we appreciate your bravery, you have our gratitude, and your efforts will not be forgotten.
In this transitional Cathedral, which expresses the hopes and future of the people of Christchurch, we acknowledge the actions you took to give the gift of life to others, so that they too could also have a future.
Kia ora, kia kaha, kia manawanui, huihui tātou katoa