Mr Speaker.

I look forward to my first term in New Zealand's 53rd Parliament.

It is with humility and awe that I address this House; but it is also with a sense of continuity.

I am keen to pay tribute to my predecessors who have represented Auckland's North Shore with distinction: the Hon Maggie Barry and the Hon Wayne Mapp. Thank you for the generous support you've shown me – support, I’m honoured to say, that was echoed across the North Shore.

Thanks also, to the people of my electorate for the faith you expressed in me. Without your support, I would not be here today.

I see that many of the North Shore team have made the trip down here today. I want to especially acknowledge David, Andrew, Gary, Azita, Judith, Logan and Bradley. The significant contribution you made to my election campaign is greatly appreciated.

I want to thank the many volunteers who got me here today: members of the North Shore National Party and my friends who ensured that a candidate campaigning in his first election was always supported. You matched my determination to reach out to everyone who lives on the Shore with enthusiasm and agility.

Because of you, our campaign benefitted from fresh perspectives.

And because of your efforts we enrolled voters from across the political spectrum in conversations about things that matter, regardless of the party they would typically vote for.

You helped achieve this because you understood that there's a new expectation in this country. New Zealand needs leadership that enrols all of our energies to tackle the tasks facing us. Challenging times demand more than ever that we work together in the interests of all New Zealanders.

When we campaigned on the Shore to clean up our beaches now, not in a couple of years, I knew there were people on the left, right and centre who agreed. They may not all have voted for me, but right now they are demanding action, and quite rightly.

When I stood up in town hall meetings to say that traffic-clogged roads are a nightmare for commuters and the environment, I knew there were people who had never voted National before, who never-the-less agreed that ferry services need expansion, not cutbacks.

And the Harbour Bridge is a bane in the lives of everyone who lives on the Shore. The lack of a second Waitemata Harbour crossing stifles business and chews up time that none of us can afford waste, regardless of where our political loyalties lie.

So I congratulate the volunteers who worked with me to get the important stuff in front of people as did the volunteers who supported candidates from all parties throughout New Zealand. Whatever your politics, you all brought a passionate commitment to our democracy and the ideals that make this country exceptional. And I thank you all for that.

It was certainly an election like no other, and I thank our President Peter Goodfellow, regional chairs and the party officeholders and staff who rose to the challenge. I especially acknowledge the fortitude and tireless commitment of our leader, the Hon Judith Collins.

In fact, there are a great many people who should be thanked for me being here today, and I'm going to acknowledge them by sharing how they, and the experiences they provided to me, informed my opinions and enriched my understanding of the world.

I grew up in a typical rural family with parents who had a healthy respect for the benefits of hard work and a genuine love of the land that provided for us. I remember well the time my two brothers, Tim and Paul and I sold wind fallen apples at our farm gate to finance a family holiday - and roped in cousins to help. You know, kids can achieve a lot with the right encouragement and support.

Thanks, Mum – Dad; you are great role models. I knew then, as I do now, that I was very lucky. And as a member of this Parliament, I'm acutely aware that too many children throughout this country and in my own electorate don't have the advantages I enjoyed. That knowledge stands beside me today.

As an ambulance officer for St. John I've been into homes with black mould on the walls; treated children with breathing problems in overcrowded housing, self-harm due to mental health and I've been with colleagues on the roadside, as we try to save yet another life blighted by drugs and crime.

When I decided to complete a Bachelor of Health Sciences and become a paramedic I wanted to make a difference. But having spent much of my adult life in banking and finance, I quickly saw that the system wasn't working. To deliver change, real change, I'd have to apply all of my skills and experience to the challenge.

I set my sights on pushing the health system to do better from within. I became the Deputy CFO for one of the country's largest DHBs, while still volunteering on the ambulances after hours. Working simultaneously at both ends of the system opened my eyes to the importance of a bold vision, coordinated approach — and action not talk.

Health and education can't be silo-ed out from our country's economic performance, our strategy for affordable housing, or the importance of providing a sense of self-worth for our citizens.

It's all linked, and these challenges need action to sort not just the symptoms, but the root causes of these issues.

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 21 months old - I've had a lifetime association with a system that's blessed with passionate professionals yet plagued by broken decision making. It's time to fix that. We all need to fix that.

We have the people, and we undoubtedly have the resources. We must put individuals, families, and communities at the heart of decision-making; not existing government structures and ways of doing things.

When I graduated from the University of Waikato with a Bachelor of Management Studies, I, like many New Zealanders, headed overseas to broaden my mind and gain new experiences. My accounting and finance majors inevitably led me into banking, with stints in Canada and Ireland before moving onto London.

My OE coincided with the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. At the time, I had a senior role in one of the world's largest investment banks, and that experience is with me today. I saw that people in glass towers can be heroes too; they can work round the clock to save the livelihoods of people they've never met. They can shoulder the responsibility to find a way through an economic calamity that seems without end.

The people I worked with through the GFC brought agility to new challenges, insight to complex issues and bestowed a valuable education on a business graduate from the Waikato. The importance of decisive and informed decision making was hammered home to me then, and that experience resonates with the economic challenges I see in my own electorate and the country as a whole as we seek a path beyond Covid-19.

An economic rebound that leaves the most disadvantaged behind and locks young people out of work and homeownership is a mirage. It might look good in the business pages, but if it fails where it counts, in our homes and communities, then it's not worth the paper it's printed on.

Right now, we've got a housing crisis in New Zealand, and yet there's plenty of land to build on. Why can't government, in partnership with iwi, community groups, and the private sector supply superbly designed and built homes that people are proud to live in? All that's lacking is our willingness to look beyond what we've always done and act.

In world terms, we are a young country. That's blessed with enviable resources and creative people. There are no excuses for a lack of vision.

My friends and colleagues will tell you I have little appetite for bureaucracy, excuses or time-wasters.

I want action backed by decisive, informed decision making.

How do we build an economy that empowers everyone to be all they can be? An economy that shares the opportunities it's creating?

How do we get to a health and education system that's eliminating waste so we can ensure resources are channelled to the people who are making a difference?

The answers and the leadership will come from our communities, our entrepreneurs, our workers, and yes, our Government, so that everyone in this country can get on with making their lives better.

It's no secret that I believe in limited government, but 'limited' doesn't mean being constrained in our vision, it means having a laser focus on the stuff government is meant to be doing. The stuff only governments can do: regulate, legislate, investigate; but also cajole, inspire and lead.

Sitting on these benches isn't an opportunity to indulge our particular and individual interests. Being in Government is about getting the important stuff done and not being distracted from that task.

Many, many people throughout this country are capable of making their own decisions, what they want from us is action on the things they can't influence.

Limited government creates laws. It builds frameworks and structures for better governance and to support our communities. It's focused on the incentives that will enable our private sector to thrive and generate jobs. And it takes a leadership role in protecting the environment.

A better Government will focus on:

1. A bold, long-term infrastructure plan

2. Ensuring government spending is not wasteful

3. Spelling out the returns to our nation of that investment

4. Creating an environment that encourages local and foreign investment

5. Ensure incentives align with outcomes we want as a country

And let's take on these challenges with the vision and teamwork to drive positive change beyond the next election. Our lives aren't governed by three-year intervals, so why is our decision making? New Zealanders expect more of this house than that. We need to put in place ideas today that will guide our country to 2040, not 2024.

It's our responsibility to define a clear roadmap for New Zealand and to put in place the measures that ensure all Kiwis can get there.

Being a part of a Parliament that's going to define this roadmap for our country, and act on it is why we're here. All of the people and the experiences that informed us on our various paths to these benches are with us in this chamber – we owe it to them.

I owe it to my two boys, Jack and Callum, and to my wife, Shannon. I'm incredibly grateful that they've supported my decision to enter Parliament, but they want to see results. There has to be a reason why I will spend half the week away from my family in Wellington; we have to deliver outcomes that resonate beyond this chamber and continue to resonate for the generations that follow.

I want to finish with a vision mentioned a few years ago about New Zealand becoming a technology and innovation centre. I'm sure in this chamber today there are members who consider that prediction a fantasy. But is it really so unreal to believe our future is going to be exceptional? Or is it simply that we don't have the confidence to go for it?

Look at the ideas and innovation created in this country just as the rest of the world is struggling. See farmers working flat out, factories producing valuable goods, and people from around the world hammering on the doors to get into a country they know is exceptional, even if we don't quite believe it.

Complacency will condemn us, as will future generations if we don't take this opportunity to lift up our country with both hands. Fellow parliamentarians, let's make it happen.

I thank the people of New Zealand for this opportunity; I am proud, so very proud to be the National Member of Parliament for North Shore, thank you.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa.

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