Northland-based list MP Mark Cameron believes he owes a debt he will struggle to ever repay to the New Zealanders who fought in World War II.
Cameron, who was voted in on the Act Party list in October's general election, made the comments during his maiden speech in Parliament on Tuesday.
He is one of eight new Act MPs this term as the party increased its presence in Parliament from one MP (leader David Seymour) to nine.
"To have risked so much, the loss to family, potential not realised, dreams never met and yet all those brave souls who flew on," Cameron said on Tuesday.
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Advertise with NZME.But the Northland farmer dedicated his maiden speech to "all the men and women farmers, the fishing folks and all of New Zealand's blue-collar workers".
Cameron said his mission was to return a sense of pride to rural New Zealand.
"We farmers are tired and weary of being political fodder for some New Zealanders' guilty conscience about their own environment.''
He said farmers are tired of being pandered to during an election campaign only to be ignored once the votes have been cast.
He said Act would not accept "cynical soundbites" about "dirty dairy" and "suggestions animals are destroying the planet or that industry perpetually pollutes".
"Rural New Zealand deserves better than being told 'desist and diversify' by people with so little experience of how farming and industry actually works."
Cameron said his greatest goal in Parliament was to restore the understanding that farmers were "so bloody important".
Cameron was the fifth-highest polling candidate in the Northland electorate in the October election, getting 1279 votes. He was eighth on Act's party list.
