Mr Bruce spoke of New Zealanders' changing attitudes over the years, of the shift in Kiwi culture from a "we" society to a "me" society. He said every MP over the age of 45 who went to a New Zealand university received a free education, including Prime Minister John Key.
He also described how his family, who had emigrated to New Zealand from Scotland, were given a state house to live in.
As was John Key's family.
Mr and Mrs Bond remembered the times, not so long ago, when you could leave your home unlocked with the doors open and get back hours later and find it the way you left it.
Mr Bond said there were jobs for pretty much everyone. Everyone knew their place in a society basically free from the class structure of the England he had known as a boy.
It was an egalitarian society, a more caring society and governments seemed to understand this.
But, for a myriad of reasons, predominantly political ones that I don't have the space to go into here, things have definitely changed.
Under the neo-liberal economic ideology introduced into New Zealand politics by Roger Douglas and expanded on by Ruth Richardson and successive Labour and National governments since then, we have seen a marked increase in the gap between rich and poor.
We have seen privatisation and the sale of state assets and we are in the midst of signing an international trade deal that very few New Zealanders actually know anything about.
We see students saddled with huge amounts of debt, even before they have left university to take on jobs where wages have not increased in proportion to living costs, and a government that wants to arrest them at our borders for the non-payment of these crippling loans.
And they wonder why they want to leave in the first place?
We see non-government agencies in Rotorua like the Salvation Army, St John's Church, Community Kai, Love Soup and others providing food and shelter to those in desperate need.
And they are run off their feet picking up, what in my opinion, should be the state's responsibilities.
Now there have been reports that penniless baby boomers are living rough on the streets of our bigger cities.
Pensions are so low they have literally had to sell the family silver, and in some cases the family home, just to survive until the end of their lives.
And now it seems the dream of owning your own home, is just that - a dream.
This was highlighted to me the other day when watching television and an ad came on promoting the great things gambling does for our nation in the form of Lotto.
While at the same time promoting gambling and all of its nasty implications, we are told its profits help fund many charity organisations.
This is all done at the same time as selling people the lie that they will win millions and never have to work again.
Sadly, I don't think we can return to those almost utopian days of the past, but we can put pressure on governments to do something about the present situation and that we want to make this country better for our children, not any worse.
