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E nga mana tangata whenua, e nga reo, rau rangatira ma, tena koutou. E nga manuhiri kia Whanganui a Tara, nga hau e wha, nga iwi e tau nei, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. To the people of this land, to those who are to speak here, to the…

Ever since the possibility of an election under MMP became a reality, New Zealanders have taken a particular interest in the constitutional powers of the Governor-General.  I have talked about it on a number of occasions.  I have usually done so in the…

Ever since the possibility of an election under MMP became a reality, New Zealanders have taken a particular interest in the constitutional powers of the Governor-General.  I have talked about it on a number of occasions.  I have usually done so in the…

Seldom has our nation known such a universal expression of sorrow and of sympathy as we have seen in these last few days. At the beginning of the week the Prime Minister and I each sent to Her Majesty The Queen a message expressing, as best as mere words…

In the last couple of weeks I have been put in mind of a little story that was a favourite of the Reverend George Goodman, who I expect many of the Methodists here will remember, and who exercised a considerable formative influence on me in my younger…

Karanga mai, mihi mai, aku rangatira, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. In my salad days, when I spoke at a friend's wedding, I would quote a saying I had come across, that 'Marriage is like a birdcage.' The birds outside are flapping against…

In late 1994, the High Court of Malaysia was asked to rule on a weighty matter of constitutional law. Following a general election in one of the states of Malaysia in February that year, the head of state in that jurisdiction had appointed a new Chief…

Mr Orsman, Mr Samson of Oxford University Press, Vice-Chancellor Holborow, to all you distinguished guests here this evening: tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa, and a very warm welcome to Government House. The stated purpose of this evening is,…

Thank you for the honour you do me tonight. I have always valued my membership of the Club, and I was surprised to find, when I checked the record, that I have been a member for over a quarter of a century - an unkind way of saying 25 years. I began my…

Mr Murray, Mrs Aspey, members of staff, 6th and 7th formers of Tawa College: It's a pleasure to be here this morning at this very fine school. I have certainly heard a great deal about it, and about the achievements of those who have been to it, but I…

Honourable Members, please be seated. At the beginning of every new Parliament, the Governor-General formally opens proceedings by delivering the Speech from the Throne. This is an occasion of some pomp and ceremony. I wear formal dress, a little like…

Mr President, distinguished guests, Councillors and Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, ladies and gentlemen: It is a great honour to speak to you this evening: both as a newly admitted Honorary Fellow of this most respected College;…

You will all have seen copies of those old maps on which the empty spaces beyond the known shores bore the inscription - or the warning - "Here be dragons." New Zealand lay in one of those empty spaces, once. Of course, it was not empty. Navigators from…

Good morning - tena koutou katoa. Right from the start - well, even before it - I've failed three of the tests of true leadership. First, I've failed to identify my objective: I didn't get a title to this talk to the organisers in time for the printing of…

Sir John, Mr Fraser, Board Members, competitors, judges, sponsors, everyone involved in the Youth Skills Olympics. It is a privilege to be invited to share this Award Ceremony with you; just as it was so interesting and so stimulating to go to the Expo…

Kei te mana whenua; e rangi Prince Michael; Kei te Pirimia; kei nga mangai o nga whenua o te ao; kei te motu whanui e pae nei; tena koutou katoa. I have extended greetings to the Maori people of this place; to His Royal Highness Prince Michael; to the…

Your Worship and Mrs Gair, Doctor Diana Mason, Mr Clews, Mr Dowson, ladies and gentlemen. - Nga hau e wha Nga iwi e tau nei Tena koutou People from the four points of the compass Everyone gathered here Greetings to you. - Tena tatou katoa E whai nei Nga…

PUU-TAUAKI TAPU, PUU-TAUAKI MANA, PUU-TAUAKI IHI, TUU MAI, I TO TURANGA, WHAKAARI! TO TIHI, KIA RANGINUI, E TUU IHO NEI! O REKEREKE, KIA PAPA, E AWHI AKE NEI! PUU-TAUAKI TUPUA, NAU RAA, AA MATAATUA, WAKA TAPU, I MAI-MAI, KI TENEI TUA-WHENUA, TUU MAI! TUU…

My paternal grandfather, in his younger days, was a fiery Primitive Methodist minister who devoted much energy to writing and distributing pamphlets denouncing the Roman Catholic Church in general, and the evils of the papacy in particular. The boys at my…

Tihei mauri ora! Te Arawa tapu ... Te Arawa mana ... Te Arawa waka ... Te Arawa iwi ... mai Maketu ... ki Tongariro ... mai Tongariro ... ki Maketu. Tenei te mihi atu kia koutou ... nga upoko ariki ... Te Arawa whanui - tena koutou, tena koutou, tena…

On occasions like this, I have developed a habit, which perhaps I should break, of quoting a great 19th-century judge, Lord Bowen. It was Lord Bowen who began an after-dinner speech once by observing that, unlike him, Daniel in the lion's den had the…

Vice-Chancellor, ladies and gentlemen. I resist the Papal precedent and in our own languages say simply good evening and greetings - tena kotou, tena kotou, tena kotou katoa. I had the very great privilege of attending a school where languages were all…

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. There's increasingly strong evidence being collected around the world, that the make-up of the old-fashioned nuclear family - kids, plus mum, plus dad - is the most functional, the most desirable. Granted, it…

   , The Role of the Governor-General under MMP,     Tonight's talk, the role of the Governor-General under MMP, is I suspect, awaited with some interest, and not just in this room. Quite coincidentally, it fits in with the theme of a seminar organised by…

The Role of the Governor-General under MMP, Tonight's talk, the role of the Governor-General under MMP, is I suspect, awaited with some interest, and not just in this room. Quite coincidentally, it fits in with the theme of a seminar organised by the…

All the world may be a stage; but the portrayal of all the parts, and all the seasons that are played out on it, falls to the lot - the happy lot - of only a few. And for 25 years, some of those few have come and gone on this stage, some trailing clouds…

Mr President, Mr President, members of the judiciary from near and far, other distinguished guests, people of Ngai Tahu, ladies and gentlemen, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. There has, I should admit, been a sense of unreality about, the…

Prime Minister and Mrs Bolger, Mr Speaker and Mrs Tapsell, members of the Executive Council, the Chief Justice and Lady Eichelbaum, ladies and gentlemen. E te mana tangata, e te mana whenua, o te upoko o te ika nei, tae-atu hoki ki a koutou, nga ka-ranga-…

"Engineering and its customers" is the subject for this year's Hopkins Lecture, as advertised. It has turned out, however, to be one of those iceberg subjects that hides much of its size below the surface - the hidden part turned out to be the general…

Tena koutou e kui ma. Can it really be a year ago that I had the pleasure of entertaining the League at Government House in Wellington? I thought we were having an investiture and reception. Instead we had an instant party! In fact, about six of them all…

Good evening. As the programme says, the subject matter of this presentation tonight is "Early vice-regal representation in New Zealand between 1840 and 1889, from Sir George Gipps to Colonel T. Gore Browne, from Governor Grey to Sir William Jervois":…

Lovers of the English language have been besotted with Shakespeare for 400 years now. Shakespeare was probably happy with what he experienced - being loved at first sight - but the love has lasted. Teachers still instruct their pupils: "Muse on William…