A stable influence on the House

Sue Moroney's maiden speech touched on themes including races and race relations. Picture / Mark Mitchell

New Labour MP Sue Moroney launched her career in Parliament yesterday by paying homage to the racing roots of her Waikato family.

The list MP wore the family's racing colours of blue, black and a touch of red - the same colours worn by this year's third-place getter in the Melbourne Cup, the horse Xcellent, bred by brother Mike.

Sue Moroney told the House of the defining experiences in her life.

"Like my colleague Lynne Pillay our family never had Michael Joseph Savage on their wall either, but we did have a very tasteful mural of a horse race over our fireplace."

But she had loving, hard-working dairy-farming parents who sometimes struggled but drew strength from a community that pooled together - teaching her the benefits of working together.

The big "OE" was her second defining experience, from which she brought back a deep appreciation of New Zealand and its people.

Travelling abroad she saw the "close relationship between intolerance and oppression" and realised with regret she knew little about tangata whenua here.

She recalled with guilt being an editor of a newspaper purporting to represent the voice of the community, who had never been to a marae and who had little knowledge of the Maori community.

"But here's the good news, our two sons aged six and seven have already been on to a marae because their state-funded kindergarten took them there.

"For them it's already part of being Kiwi and they don't have to go overseas to find out about it."

Her involvement over the past 18 years in the trade union movement helped put everything into context.

"I learn that you win some and you lose some, but you never ever give up, you just regroup and develop a better plan."

She also hit out at critics of political correctness.

She said it was literally about shifting power from the hands of a few to those of the many and she was "all for it".

The continuing need for redistribution of power and a more proudly culturally inclusive society dominated much of the long-time trade unionist's speech.

She began by paying tribute to Speaker Margaret Wilson "from one Waikato woman to another".

"I celebrate the dignified and fair but firm way you conduct business in this House.

"It is personally fulfilling for me to be able to deliver my maiden speech through you."

She also congratulated Prime Minister Helen Clark for leading Labour to a third term, which was an "awesome achievement for an awesome woman".

She acknowledged former Labour MP Helen Duncan "who worked tirelessly to recognise the work of NZ women".

She was pleased to be part of a Parliament with more women that ever before, pointing out that women now comprised 32 per cent of MPs.