Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Parliament began its new year, not with welcomes, but farewells.
The first formal event each parliamentary year is an outline of the government's intentions, but this year the prime minister's statement was delayed by successive rounds of speeches farewelling the fallen.
Prior to those obituaries was a period of silence noting the passing during the summer break of three former MPs.
Those MPs were Russell Marshall (Minister of Education and later Foreign Affairs in David Lange's government), Ann Hartley (Deputy Speaker during the Helen Clark government), and Dame Tariana Turia (former Labour MP and founder of Te Pāti Māori).
Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming
Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
The first round of obituary speeches were for a not for an MP. The prime minister led a motion spoken to by all parties on the recent https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/539152/slain-police-officer-lyn-fleming-farewelled-as-a-life-saver-and-fearless-station-matriarch death on duty of police Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming].
"Lyn was an officer highly respected by her peers, her staff, and her bosses.
"She was a leader who exemplified professionalism, and she was a matriarch of the Nelson Police Station… To Lyn's community, who have lost someone so dear, I share in your sadness, and in the weeks since Lyn's passing there has been an absolute outpouring of love."
- Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
Police officers gather for a minute's silence to remember their colleague Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming. Photo: Samantha Gee
"Our officers put themselves on the front line every day. They face the most dangerous of circumstances. They put themselves in harm's way to protect the safety of our whole community.
"The loss of a police officer is not just a loss for that family and for that community; it is a loss for all of us.
"It is a loss for all of New Zealand.
"They devote their life to serving and protecting, often sacrificing so much in the process. Their commitment and their bravery make an impact that resonates far beyond their duty. We owe them all a debt of gratitude."
- Labour leader Chris Hipkins
Dame Tariana Turia
Dame Tariana Turia. Photo: LDR / Moana Ellis
It is a rare thing for MPs to farewell the founder of a political party, in this case, the founder of Te Pāti Māori - Dame Tariana Turia.
The obituary motion was initiated by the party's current co-leader Debbie Ngarewa Packer.
"She was an extraordinary wahine, not just as a politician but as a whaea who would often pick up those who were born with fire in their bellies and didn't know what to do with it.
"Her life's work was driven by her unwavering belief that every whānau in Aotearoa had their own solutions, were self-determining, and had the power of communities behind them.
"She was a trailblazer, and we heard that for three or four days as we were sitting there at her tangi. Her advocacy transformed the lives of many.
"She had a real family. So she never made us think we couldn't be here if we had real families with real-life issues, with real whānau issues.
"And one of the things that I will really dearly remember, preciously about Whaea Tariana is that she made sure she never forgot her husband and her kids and her mokopuna.
"One of the things that I want to do is remind ourselves, as the year starts, of the legacy of Whaea Tariana: to never forget your partners, to look after your tamariki, to make time for your mokopuna.
"Because 18-year-olds hear all the kōrero that we heard on her poroporoaki night was the undying love of her mokopuna, and I think that's the precious part that I'd leave for Whaea Tariana."
- Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa Packer
Photo: Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
Every party spoke, and spoke fondly, but among the people who knew her best was one of her former staff; Labour MP and former speaker, Adrian Rurawhe.
"I got to drive her sometimes; quite often, actually. One of the more funny things: she wasn't a very good navigator and [her husband] Uncle George used to tell me, 'Don't let her tell you where to go, which turns to take. She'll get you lost.' And she did.
"But she did not get our iwi lost, she did not get our hapū lost, and she did not get her whānau lost, never.
"She had this vision for the future of whānau. We're not there yet; this country is not there. I don't think this country's quite ready for what she had in mind.
"If members go back to what she was saying in 2004 around Whānau Ora, the Whānau Ora that we've got today, great government policy, great kaupapa, but it's not quite the version that she had anticipated or wanted.
"But I believe she set the foundations for that legacy for the future to actually achieve what she saw as the vision for Whānau Ora.
"She had this absolute faith that whānau, we should be talking about and encouraging them and supporting them in the things that they wanted to do because she really believed that they had the answers… to all of the issues that they were facing.
"But that needs a partnership arrangement with all of the rest of Aotearoa, and that isn't quite what we've got now.
"So for those of you or us that want to remember her into the future, I just say that the way to do that is actually to make that legacy a reality the way that she had envisioned."
- Former Speaker Adrian Rurawhe
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