Rotary Youth Leadership Award Programme

May I begin by greeting 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 afternoon (Sign)

May I specifically greet you: Don Battah, Rotary Youth Leadership Award Programme Convenor; Programme organisers and participants.  On behalf of my wife Susan and myself, it is with pleasure that I welcome you to Government House in Wellington for afternoon.

As Patron of Rotary New Zealand, I have been asked to furnish some background to my life and to speak to the values that have been important in it, and in particular about leadership. 

When I was the same age as most of you, I never expected, either then or later, that I would one day be Governor-General.  It would be rare to find anyone who would set themselves such a goal—indeed, I think, in a country like New Zealand, one would look sideways at someone who said they did!

While my goals and ambitions were not well formed, I knew I wanted to be a professional person, to work with communities and I hoped for success in both. So I spent my early years not aspiring to be Governor-General, but instead wanting to be the best and most productive person I could be. In doing so, I have been able to follow a career that has taken me down many different paths.

After leaving secondary school in Auckland, I went to the University in Auckland and, after a faltering start, began to study the law.  It was during this period that I met and later married my wife Susan, who has been a vital part of my personal professional and family life.

Following graduation, I practiced as a lawyer in the courts for 12 years.  Half of that was as a Crown prosecutor and the other half as a regular court lawyer. 

In 1982 I was appointed as a District Court Judge, and for 13 years I worked in a number of places in New Zealand, including Palmerston North, West Auckland, South Auckland and Auckland Central.  I was a Judge who had both Civil and Criminal jurisdiction with a Warrant for Criminal Jury trials. 

In 1995 I was appointed an Ombudsman by Parliament and served for two five-year terms. This was fascinating work dealing with the public on the one hand, Ministers, Parliamentarians and Government Departments on the other. 

Last year, I was appointed as Governor-General.  In that role, I represent our Head of State, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, for a five-year term. As Governor-General I undertake a variety of important constitutional, ceremonial and community activities, including welcoming visiting Heads of State to New Zealand.

My career has on many occasions placed me in connection with leadership.  And with each change in my professional life my definition of leadership has expanded.  To do what I have, has required the enormous patience and skill and support of a loving wife and family.

People define leadership quite differently—some by vision, some by charisma, and some by the ability to inspire others. My own experience of leadership tells me that there are two words that leaders resonate—trust and respect.

Building and maintaining trust is a never-ending process and requires you to build the respect of your work colleagues, your family and friends and others in the wider communities of which you are a part.

I say "communities" plural rather than "community" because New Zealand is becoming an increasingly diverse nation and describing "the community" in monolithic terms is increasingly untenable.  The last Census revealed that 23 percent of New Zealanders were born overseas.  A century ago, almost all of those people would have hailed from Britain or Ireland.  Today, about 28 percent come from those places—the same proportion as those from Asia.

And it is not just in ethnicity that this country is becoming more diverse.  In religion, family relationships and work patterns, the New Zealand of 2007 is radically different from that of 1907. 

While that diversity is enriching New Zealand, it is also posing challenges, of which cross-cultural communication is highly significant. Increasingly you will be dealing with people for whom English is a second language. For example, it is estimated that for the 500 most common words in the English language, there are 14,000 possible meanings.  In that context, it is easy to see how a simple request could be easily misunderstood.  As you know, for example, a New Zealander told to "flag" a project, would give it a low priority or abandon it. But if the person asking them to "flag it" was an American, they would actually be asking them to give it a high priority.

In discussing leadership, it is important to distinguish between leaders and leadership qualities.  While not everyone's career will see them be a mayor, prime minister, governor-general or chief executive, everyone can show leadership.

Key leadership qualities include an ability to listen, to be professional in your dealing with others, and to display integrity, honesty and respect.  Leaders need to keep their feet on the ground and to recognise that it is their purpose to serve.  There is an old saying that "actions speak louder than words."  What you do in life says as much about who you are, and your commitment to those values, as what you say.  Your deeds can be a positive example to others that promote positive change. 

Leadership can take many forms.  Throughout the year, there are investiture ceremonies at the Government Houses in Wellington or Auckland where awards are conferred by the Governor-General to recognise those who have achieved in commerce, community and public service.  Some of those achievements are at a local level and others at the national or international level.  All, however, have shown leadership.

Another quality of leadership is courage.  In the last year, I have privileged to honour three people who showed considerable coverage. In July, I conferred the first Victoria Cross for New Zealand on Corporal Willy Apiata at a special investiture ceremony.  He received this award for outstanding gallantry in rescuing a seriously wounded colleague in Afghanistan in 2004.  And earlier this week, I conferred Royal Humane Society of New Zealand Silver Medals on two people, Erik Bradshaw and Christine Ryan, who placed themselves in great danger to save two climbers who had fallen 250m in the Mt Aspiring National Park in 2005.  Actions of all three people I have mentioned, in placing their own lives at risk to help others, are an inspiration to us all.

Courage need not be a quality confined to the battlefield or the mountain slopes.  In a recent book, British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has written essays about people displaying courage—people such as Martin Luther King Jnr and Nelson Mandela, saying that courage is the greatest of all virtues. He wrote:

"All of us value duty, honesty, kindness, humility, responsibility, integrity but none of these can exist without courage." As Winston Churchill said: 'Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.'"

Having the courage of one's convictions includes holding fast to values—such as honesty, justice and ethical conduct—and, if necessary, in the face of others who would give expediency a higher priority.  As the philosopher Hannah Arendt, who wrote seminal works on totalitarianism, noted: "The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil."

I urge you take full advantage of Rotary Youth Leadership Award Programme.  It will not only test you physically, but also emotionally and mentally.  Many of the qualities I have spoken of earlier, will be vital if this intensive programme is to deliver the rewards it has given many others in its almost 40-year history in this country.  I also commend Rotary for continuing to provide this programme, which has assisted thousands of young people worldwide.

More than anything, this programme has the ability to help you make a difference.  Making a difference is something everyone can do, sometimes in small deeds and sometimes in great, heroic actions.  To close I will quote the words of the greatest New Zealander of our time, the late Sir Edmund Hillary who, despite his many great feats in life, remained a humble man to the end.  He rightly declared that you don't have to be an intellectual to be a good leader. In his autobiography, he touched on many qualities of leadership of which I have spoken.  In particular he said:

"I discovered that even the mediocre can have adventures and even the fearful can achieve. I had the world beneath my clumsy boots and saw the red sun slip over the horizon after the dark Antarctic winter.  But for me the most rewarding moments have not always been the great moments, for what can surpass a tear on your departure, joy on your return, and a trusting hand in yours?"

On that note, I will close in Maori, issuing greetings and wishing you good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.