Speech
Russell Worth hangar naming ceremony
To view photographs from the event, click here
I begin by greeting everyone 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 evening (Sign)
I then specifically greet you: Bill Day, Chair of the Life Flight Trust; Trevor Taylor, Deputy Chair of the Life Flight Trust, Dr Russell Worth and his family, Life Flight trustees, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It has been with pleasure that my wife Susan and I accepted the invitation to attend this event to honour Dr Russell Worth, one of the founders of the Life Flight Trust.
As Patron of the Life Flight Trust, I have been asked to unveil a plaque in Dr Worth’s honour, but before I do, I would like to speak about the Life Flight Trust and the contribution it makes to the lives of New Zealanders.
The inspiration for the trust came in the midst of tragedy, when plumber Peter Button was watching footage of the interisland ferry Wahine sinking in Wellington Harbour on 10 April 1968 with the tragic loss of 52 lives.
Watching people struggling in the water, Peter is understood to have commented to a friend: “There has to be a better way”.
There was in this response of Peter Button’s a mixture of compassion and practicality, which is of course, a very “Kiwi” approach.
Many New Zealanders have displayed the kind of practical compassion, or perhaps one could say compassionate practicality, with which Peter Button followed up his observation on that day.
Sir Edmund Hillary and Dr Fred Hollows are examples that spring immediately to mind, but I am sure we could come up with others.
I think it is also characteristic of New Zealanders that we join with others to turn inspiration into action. Behind the joke about the New Zealand propensity to form committees for projects large and small, is an underlying commitment to work together to change our communities for the better.
It is an aspect of our national life I have always liked and as Governor-General, it is one I have praised and honoured through investitures and other award ceremonies. The Life Flight Trust—which has had vice-regal patronage since 1987—is a great example of New Zealanders coming together for positive change.
Having bought a helicopter and learnt to fly it, Peter Button worked very closely with the man we are honouring today—Dr Russell Worth—to form the first civilian-run air ambulance service in New Zealand.
To date, Life Flight has helped save the lives of more than 14,000 New Zealanders – and continues to do so at a rate of about 1400 a year. Quite rightly Peter was honoured with an OBE in 1987 and Russell was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1999.
Many of those people have been our smallest and most fragile citizens—premature babies who would once have had no chance of survival.
I am told that recently Life Flight had a visit from a 23-year-old man who owes his life to the ambulance rescue service.
Lance Corbett was born in Masterton Hospital on a November night in 1991. At three o’clock the following morning, just six hours into his life, he stopped breathing.
He was swaddled in bubble wrap and put in a ‘hot box’ for his Life Flight journey to Wellington Hospital, with staff pumping air into his lungs for the duration of the trip.
Premature babies are now transported in fully ventilated, state of the art incubators, thanks to John Goldswain who in his work with Life Flight Trust has found a way of making incubators that are both strong and light enough to carry. I understand his latest design has enough room to carry twins.
Having mentioned Dr Fred Hollows and Sir Edmund Hillary, I would like to quote a very apt observation from each of these great New Zealanders. Dr Hollows once said, “I believe that the basic attribute of mankind is to look after one another.” In a similar vein, Sir Edmund Hillary made the observation that “People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.”
With its motto of “Saving Lives Above All Else” the Life Flight Trust has not only made it its mission to look after New Zealanders, but it continues to accomplish the extraordinary as a part of its everyday operations.
As Governor-General and Patron of Life Flight, I congratulate everyone, and specifically our guest of honour Dr Russell Worth, for the work you do on behalf of our community.
And on that note of praise, I will close in New Zealand’s first language, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.