Order of St John Investiture

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, members of the Order of St John, representatives of government, and community, I greet you in the languages of the realm of New Zealand—in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.  Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the afternoon [sign].

Confreres, postulants—that is, the members who will be invested today—your supporters and guests of St John, it is a pleasure to be here today in the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul.

I would especially like to acknowledge you, Dean, the Very Rev Frank Nelson, Dean of Wellington, for your welcome to this beautiful building and to this most important occasion in the life of St John.

We meet today as a Royal Order of Chivalry—that is a group of people bound by a set of rules to provide care for the sick and the poor.  It is a Christian Order but one which, with open arms, welcomes those of any faith who are willing to participate in its work.

This afternoon, I will ask the postulants to declare before us all - your peers and families your dedication to St John as is required by the Order’s statutes.

I must also say that this is also a very special event for me as it is the last Order of St John investiture I will attend as Prior and as Governor-General.  Since becoming Prior in August 2006 I have been at eight investiture ceremonies and numerous wonderful other St John events, totalling some 68 in all, where Susan and I have met a great many members.  Some may have given more than 50 years of service and others just six-year-old Penguins just starting their St John journey.  Each event has had its own special character of enjoyment and pride, for example, Property Pride occasions or of sadness in seeing St John prominent at the Pike River or Christchurch disaster memorial services reflecting their earlier work on site or sites.

A highlight in the five year time has been to award more than 300 young St John members with a Grand Prior’s Award, which is the premier Youth award in St John.  St John youth continues to be a vibrant organisation and it is among the largest and fastest growing youth programmes in the country because alongside the remit of caring for the sick and injured is the one of training and development of the young and where there has been admirable use of computer technology.

Following more than 125 years of sound locally based development, it has also been a great pleasure to be part of St John as it has become a more unified and business-like organisation.  This has been a deliberate and necessary set of processes to meet the demands for services, the requirements of Crown contracts, and to be responsive to public needs for accountability and to benchmark with St John in other countries as a major international humanitarian charity.

What has remained unchanged, happily, is the passion, dedication, skill and empathy of St John members—nearly 80 percent of whom volunteer their time—providing high quality service and care for New Zealanders – showing the immeasurable power of giving. 

In the five years I have been Prior, members of the Order of St John have:
 
• treated and transported 1.7 million patients;
• attended more than 1.3 million emergency incidents;
• provided first aid and emergency care at some 43,000 events; and
• grown from an organisation of some 12,000 members to one of 16,000 members

The St John near the end of my term, is a more unified national organisation under a less complicated governance and management structure, with a clear sense of what it wants to be and with a strategy to reach there.  It has embarked on a process of improvement and innovation to meet the challenges of changing healthcare needs and growing demands being placed on St John services.

In the last five years, St John has taken bold steps to:

• centralise support services to reduce duplication and introduce specialisation;
• contract the number of regions to create two new regions from the amalgamations of the former Midland and Central regions and from the former Southern and NRSI regions;
• expand the provision of Community Care activities into many more communities;
• establish a clear clinical qualification framework and invest in the continuing education of all clinical members; and
• add the Taranaki ambulance service to its operations

All this has been achieved with the best possible care being at the heart of all that St John does.

As Prior, I have received warm hearted and good humoured support from Chancellors Rob Fenwick and Garry Wilson.  I have continually had opportunity to admire the leadership of Chief Executive, Jaimes Wood, and his executive.

St John is a proud organisation that is integral to every community in New Zealand.  That was amply demonstrated in the aftermath of the tragic earthquake in Christchurch on 22 February. St John was able to call on national resources and mobilise staff and equipment from around the country to Christchurch in order to support the local teams and care for the health and well-being of the community after the devastating earthquake. 

The earthquake saw a full range of St John people being called upon.  This included ambulance officers, communications centre call takers and despatchers, Friends of the Emergency Department volunteers, caring caller volunteers, finance, communications and HR teams, the medical alarm teams, area committee members and a number more.  Susan and I had the opportunity to meet a number of those people in the visits we have made to support those helping the people of Christchurch rebuild their existences. 

I congratulate all those to be invested today and thank you for the work you do for our communities.  Thank you all for your presence here today and for all that you do for St John.  You are part of a wonderful and worthy tradition and an organisation that will stay vital and relevant for New Zealanders in the future.

I also acknowledge your partners and families who stand alongside you. May God bless you all as you continue to care for our communities and for each other.

Having thus welcomed you I will close in our country's first language, offering everyone greetings and wishing everyone good health and fortitude in your endeavours.  No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.