Mike Williams: Valedictory speech received with bubbly warmth from both sides

Former prime minister Jacinda Ardern giving her valedictory speech in Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell

I accepted an invitation to attend Jacinda Ardern’s valedictory speech at Parliament 10 days ago. I was very glad I made the effort.

I found myself placed in the “Speaker’s Gallery”, a spot I’d never sat before, in the company of former prime ministers and such respected luminaries as Sir Ashley Bloomfield and old friend Sir Tipene O’Regan.

The vantage point gives a quite different view of the Chamber and from there I could see the responses from all sides of the House.

Over many years I attended Parliament on numerous occasions but the atmosphere I encountered was quite unlike any I’d experienced before.

It is a tradition that valedictory speeches are heckle-free but this one was not received in silence, but with bubbly warmth from all sides.

Jacinda recounted her journey to New Zealand’s top job with dashes of humour and the graceful oratory that we’ve come to expect.

Mike Williams. Photo / NZME

She listed her most satisfying achievements as “crossing the bridge” to Māori more often including the creation of our first indigenous holiday, Matariki.

As she spoke, I thought that the Matariki holiday, if nothing else, guarantees her place in history 100 years hence.

She conceded there was more to do in the battle against child poverty but pointed out that there are now 77,000 fewer kids living in low-income households. Sole parents are $212 a week better off than when her Government was elected.

Though our memories of the Covid-19 pandemic are now fading, Jacinda’s valedictory was a reminder of how completely this once-in-century disaster overtook our country and government. The fact that New Zealand mitigated the effects of the pandemic better than any other country was mentioned, not laboured, and she touched on the misinformation and conspiracy nonsense making the pandemic so much harder for those responding by correctly following science.

She defended free speech, and at this point included a statement that I think will be echoed repeatedly in the future:

“Debate is critical to a healthy democracy. But conspiracy is its nemesis.”

After a generous round of thanks to her extended family, staff, advisers and party officials she, just perhaps, gave us a hint to a major reason for her departure from politics when she spoke of her journey to motherhood and her “darling girl Neve”.

Neve listened with her dad Clarke and the family group and her behaviour during what must have been a very long time for a 4-year-old was faultless.

Having described herself as a “crier and hugger” in her final words, that is just what happened. There followed a seemingly inexhaustible series of hugs starting with the Labour MPs but MPs from every party including the leader and deputy leader of the Opposition. Many around me were in tears.

I had very mixed feelings.

There was pride that the party of which I was once president had again produced a leader of such quality, essentially a working-class girl – Dad was a cop and Mum ran a school canteen – who’d reached the very pinnacle of achievement.

There was also sadness that we’d somehow allowed a politician of this value to slip away from us at such a young age.

Jacinda Ardern leaves her party well-led, in good heart and with a range of successes that should give it a good chance of a third term after October’s poll.

Just as we did with Helen Clark, I think we will see more of Jacinda on an international stage, but my guess is that she’ll first allow herself a quite bit of time to enjoy normal family life.

I was also saddened at the abrupt end of Napier MP Stuart Nash’s political career, though he has been the first to admit that this outcome is very much a self-inflicted wound.

The “hanging offence” that got Stuart fired from Cabinet and led to his retirement was to reveal details of a Cabinet discussion in an email to a couple of supporters sometime during the pandemic.

Though undoubtedly this is a firing matter, I can report from personal experience that ministers chatting about Cabinet goings-on is not all that unusual, it’s just that no one before has been caught committing such intelligence to writing.

There’s a political adage I used to repeat to new MPs: “If it’s on paper, it’s in the paper.”

Had this exchange been a telephone conversation, Stuart would still be in Cabinet.

In my view Stuart has served Napier with distinction and I recall that he once told me that politics would not be his final career.

I am very grateful for his support for the two major Howard League programmes – the in-jail literacy programme and the post-release driver’s licence initiative – both of which were trialled and perfected in Hawke’s Bay with Stuart Nash’s crucial support.

He will be missed.

* Mike Williams grew up in Hawke’s Bay and is an NZ Howard League director and former Labour Party president.