Mihi and acknowledgements.

Thank you all for being here, and thank you to all of you who have played a part in the workshops leading up to today. 

I have been given the honour of giving expression to the purpose for which we are gathered. In speaking to our journey, today is an important milestone. This is not the first time we have gathered, and it won’t be the last.

In 2021 we will host an international conference that will bring people to Christchurch so we can focus on making a global contribution to disaster risk reduction, sustainable development and climate change adaptation through the dual concepts of risk and resilience.
Our journey shows they are inextricably linked and equally vital to our future locally, nationally and globally.

There are people here who know the struggle that I have personally experienced, working alongside my constituents as the MP for Christchurch East when the earthquake sequence occurred, joining with the community in a collaborative response in the hard hit eastern suburbs, facing up to the experience of being red-zoned along with my neighbours, studying the essential elements of post disaster recovery, taking on the decision-makers when I felt they didn’t understand best practice, and constantly finding strength in all those who offered to help Christchurch and those existing and emerging community leaders who became confidantes and friends who have inspired me to carry on.

Learning the lessons from our experience and ensuring that they are embedded into nationwide planning for future disaster recoveries have been my drivers.

When we experience adversity, when we are traumatised by events outside our control, when we lose a loved one or a friend in circumstances that we know must have been avoidable, we look for meaning in the sure knowledge that our experience will prevent others going through what we have been through.

There are many reviews that have been undertaken and they show there were things we did incredibly well – in many respects we were much better prepared for recovery here in Christchurch than we realised – however there were mistakes made and we must not allow them to be repeated. 

I always say we look back, not to blame, but to understand.  And understand we must. That is our purpose.

We are here to listen to one another.  We all have valuable perspectives which we share in this spirit of understanding. 

There are significant highlights for me, when I reflect on the past few years. Bringing Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu to the table is one.  It started with Ecan – and the government of the day must be congratulated for what was a bold move.  We can now embed this in legislation, in the same way that we have done for all the regional governance structures, off the back of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011, which recognised Ngai Tahu as a strategic partner.

Leaving aside the incredible contribution to the response effort and the recovery, a highlight for me was Ngai Tahu’s partnership with Ara and Hawkins that enabled rangitahi to take up apprenticeships during the rebuild.

Recover Canterbury was a public private partnership between the public sector and the business community led by CDC and the CECC. The employee subsidy was gold and enabled businesses to sort things out without worrying about paying their staff for a short while.

Gapfiller – literally created life in vacant spaces and still does today.
CanCERN the network that self mobilised to represent the collective voices of affected communities.

Project Lyttelton which reminds us you don’t need a civil defence group when you have a timebank.

And all the creative people who have written books, made films, produced art telling our story in ways that touch our souls.
All of these will contribute to the symposium.

I was pretty well prepared for this morning earlier in the week, when an interview on an unrelated topic led me to a speech I had given back in 2012.  I was referring to something I had picked up from an early recovery seminar that had been held just over three weeks after the first earthquake.  I went looking for the presentation.  I’ve popped the agenda up on the screen, along with a couple of pages, and highlighted the contributing agencies.

Look at the collaboration that went into bringing together such a comprehensive seminar in such a short space of time. 

Look at the messages – recovery is complex. It is not linear, it is not uniform, it has multiple perspectives, and it always occurs in a dynamic environment.

I picked up a lot of messages from this presentation.

Balance deliberation & speed through leadership & collaboration.

Recovery is an opportunity for reconciliation, restoration & renewal; it is NOT just a rebuilding project

We need to involve local people in joint learning and public decision making, we need to capitalise on local culture and knowledge. We must mobilise local capacity to rebuild, and enable local communities to make choices that build safer and more sustainable communities.

And it is the last that is my trigger for what I wanted to say.  Secure the things that are good for the community, and discard those things that hold us back.

This was what I had been reminded of in my speech – always look for the missing story.  We know the story of the storm or the earthquake or the mine explosion or even the finance company failures – which was why I was looking for the speech.  And we know what happened afterwards – people died, homes were lost, buildings destroyed, and, in the case of the financial markets, lifesavings were gone.

But what was going on before the crisis occurred – here we see identified patterns of physical development, public risk, community resilience & sustainability.  It could be low appreciation of risk or high risk taking or a lack of independently monitored regulatory measures to secure high risk environments, (buildings, mines and financial markets). We are told that if we ignore this story in the recovery process we can re-entrench pre-event vulnerabilities. 

If there is one thing that disaster offers us it is the opportunity to put things right, something we might never have been able to do otherwise.

So the questions I want you to have in your mind as we listen to the presentations and discuss the ideas that are generated, is, how have we addressed our pre-event vulnerabilities? Have we fully understood the world of possibility this post disaster environment offers? What opportunities have we taken to ensure that not only Greater Christchurch, but the whole of New Zealand, is more resilient to the challenges we will continue to face?

The first of the images is a pre-event map of what was expected by way of liquefaction prior to the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence. You will struggle to see any difference in the map next to it (the map showing the experience of the Sept 2010 earthquake).  These two images show how accurate knowledge was about the pre-existing vulnerabilities to the damage that occurred. February was a little outside the box but not surprising given the extent of the peak ground accelerations. But it happened in the same places we knew it would.

And I have put these three slides below to show a typical house in Bexley’s Pacific Park Subdivision – before and after the quake. In the middle, are photographs I took.  On the left, this photo is inside the house – and you'll see the same amount of silt outside the house – the middle is the bathroom where like the rest of the house, the silt forced its way through unreinforced concrete slab foundations. I will never understand why any (let alone so many) houses were allowed to be built alongside a wetlands in this manner.

I have put the other image there just to prove that silver beet survives anything – which probably explains why it’s so good for you. I used that joke in the US and no one laughed – because they call it chard.

The buildings on this slide are representative of the tragedy that occurred in February. We knew about Unreinforced Masonry Buildings – the first people who died in the Hawkes Bay earthquake 80 years before had been killed by falling masonry as they ran out of buildings. And the CTV Building – it had been found wanting in an inspection years before the earthquakes, and it hadn’t been properly assessed after the September earthquake.

The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission of Inquiry began only 2 months after the February 2011 earthquake and was concluded just over 18 months later. 

Changes have been made, good changes that will make a difference, however there remains unfinished business in the regulatory framework for buildings after an earthquake has compromised them or the land they sit on.

The issue that worries me still is this.

Our law distinguishes between dangerous buildings and earthquake prone buildings.  The distinction between the two relates to whether or not a potential collapse is dependent on an earthquake.  We had a major earthquake in September 2010. 

By February 22, 2011 no legal obligation had been created by any regulatory or statutory authority that required anyone, unless they were specifically directed to do so, to undertake a detailed engineering evaluation of buildings that were occupied or insufficiently cordoned on that day.  185 People died – 115 people died in one building. Hundreds more were injured. Of the remaining people, over half were killed by falling unreinforced masonry. Why all these years later, do we not say that someone has to be responsible for ensuring buildings are safe to occupy before we allow people to return. Every local authority and every government department has a threshold for checking.  If it’s important for public buildings, then why not privately owned buildings?
We owe it to those who lost their lives or were severely injured, as well as all their families, that we get this right.  There is a Bill before Parliament right now that could do that with a simple amendment.

The question I ask, looking at the missing story, is have we really addressed the vulnerabilities that were exposed – both in terms of land use and the built environment – and therefore have we learned the lessons from our experience.

I think in both cases, we have come a long way, but still have some way to go. The Resource Management Act continues to prioritise existing use rights even where there is a marked increased vulnerability to natural hazards, and with the built environment we still don’t have a mechanism for ensuring buildings are safe to occupy after an event.

This paper was produced in May 2011, by the PM’s Chief Science Adviser. It covered the psychosocial consequences of the Canterbury earthquakes, incorporating information that had been put together after the September earthquake by the Public Health unit of the Canterbury DHB.  I found it a year later. It’s not that it was hidden – it just wasn’t proactively sent out to all the local MPs and other community leaders to assist us to understand the challenges we were having to confront in the community on a daily basis.  And given that this was known, why wasn’t it incorporated into the recovery from the outset?

It talks about the four phases: (1) the initial heroic phase (2) A honeymoon phase (3) The ‘disillusionment phase’ in which people realize how long recovery will take and become angry and frustrated.  (4) And then finally people return to a new equilibrium, but he cautioned that this is a long term process with no clear endpoint.

And maybe in this is the answer to my question. The fear of the disillusionment phase would be strong for a decision-maker under pressure to deliver. It’s worth exploring, but more importantly, we cannot let it happen again.

The key issue for recovery, we were told in this report, is a psychological sense of empowerment. The earthquake was a disempowering event – an event that individuals had no control over. The need to regain some sense of some control over one’s life is central to the recovery process. Disempowerment essentially reinforces the initial trauma.

A feeling of self-efficacy and community efficacy assists the population in reactivating their coping mechanisms.

Local governance, empowerment and ownership have been shown to facilitate recovery.

The inevitable tensions and conflicts in achieving this are obvious and cannot be avoided – therefore, they have to be openly handled with sensitivity. It follows that, from the psychosocial perspective, those involved in directing the recovery should create governance structures that understand and actively include community participation, and enhance individual and community resilience. Such approaches will be most likely to be effective in re-establishing coping and functioning communities.

I have to say that when I read this a year down the track, I asked myself why we hadn’t embraced the community in this way.
The good thing is that it’s never too late.

Resilience begins and ends with connected communities.  I have put up the cynical voices from Christchurch and New Orleans.  That’s the response to the well-meant but not well received congratulations we receive for being so resilient when they mean stoic.

I put up the word cloud to remind us that resilience doesn’t mean strong – look at the words – flexibility, adaptation, creativity, diversity, community, respect, change, cooperation. It’s all there. 

The capacity to adapt and to thrive in a co-created new normal.  That requires trust – both ways – and it requires communities to actively seek to take back responsibility for their futures. All the evidence says that’s the case.

I found this on the last page of the September 2010 recovery best-practice seminar – it was adopted by the Canterbury Community Earthquake Recovery Network -CanCERN – as their motto: “The wisdom of the community always exceeds the knowledge of the experts.”

I said at the governance workshop, that on reflection, I would personally say that the wisdom of the community when combined with the knowledge of the experts always exceeds what one can offer without the other.
​
And that’s what this symposium is all about.

May I acknowledge all our special guests here today, Your Excellencies, Minister, Members of Parliament, Councillors Members of the Nurses memorial Trust & friends of the chapel.

May I especially welcome your Excellencies back to Christchurch.

Thank you both for returning so soon after the first South Island Investiture Ceremony to be held here for many years.

And thank you also for the opportunity to show you around Turanga
before coming here to reopen the Nurses’ Memorial Chapel.

These two places have enabled us to showcase the very best of the old and the new to you today - regeneration both as restoration and new growth.

The Nurses’ Memorial Chapel has truly survived against the odds. Proposals by previous hospital boards to demolish it in the 1970s and the 1980s, were successfully opposed, and the damage inflicted by the major earthquakes of 2010-2011 have led to the outstanding restoration we see before us today. 

The project team tell me that restoring the chapel has been a challenging and meticulous process and although time does not allow a detailed summary of the work they have done, consider the fact that the original roof wasn’t tied in to the rest of the building, and bricks were layered on top of each other and not interlocked. 

The original panelling, parquet flooring and other interior fittings were able to be reinstated true to form - the parquet floor was numbered so each block could be put back in its original place. New roof slates were cut to match the existing ones. And the exterior red brick lintels were produced locally to replace the existing damaged ones.

But the outstanding feature of the chapel the beautiful stained glass windows which commemorate pioneering nurses. We are going to look at them and reflect on this memorial chapel’s unique place in the world, as I read to you the names of the people who helped to restore it to its former glory. 
 
• Richard Bullett, Insight Unlimited
​
• Heritage Architect and Consultant Tony Ussher

• George Sinclair and Paul Houthuyzen, Beca

• John Radburn and Brigitte Mackey, also from Insight Unlimited

• Richard Weirsma, Michael Pepper and Cameron O’Keefe, main contractor Max Projects

• Quentin Cassidy, QC Stonemasons

• Graham Stewart – repair and reinstatement of the stained glass windows and completion of the new Hester Maclean stained glass window.

• James Herdman, Slate Roofing

• The Nurses’ Memorial Trust and the Friends of the Chapel

• Fiona Wykes and Brendan Smyth, Council’s Urban Regeneration, Urban Design and Heritage team

• George Schwass, Canterbury District Health Board Senior Operations Manager, for his collaboration between the Council and CDHB

• Richie Moyle, Council Heritage Programme Manager
This was a much loved venue for special events including the Royal NZ Nursing Corps annual ANZAC service, and it will be again, thanks to your efforts.
​
Could I invite you all to join with me and thank each and every one of them and their teams for their commitment to this project, which restores to us an important part of our history as we commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War, and the Influenza pandemic that followed, and the tribute this building represents to the nurses who sacrificed their lives in the service of others. 
 
No reira tena koutou, tena koutou, tena ra tatou katoa 

I remember when I was first asked to officially open a World Buskers Festival when I became Mayor, I accepted with a mixture of delight and trepidation. 
 
Trepidation because this was never an ordinary event - you never quite know what’s going to happen next when there are buskers around. I was worried that it could involve someone with a blindfold throwing knives at me as I held out a ribbon while strapped to a wobbly unicycle. 
 
But it was not to be. 
 
In fact I managed to find a busker joke on the internet and so I tell it every year. So even though this is new I’d like to welcome Strut & Fret to Christchurch, with the only busker gag I know.
 
How do you kill a busker - go for the juggler.
 
And this is why, Ladies & Gentlemen, I’m not in the entertainment business. 
 
I am delighted that Strut & Fret are bringing their 20 years plus experience to breathe new life into our beloved Festival as Bread & Circus, World Buskers Festival, a festival of world-class performances in the heart of the city.
 
The team at Strut & Fret have promised me that Bread & Circus World Buskers Festival will integrate the old and the new, with elements that everyone knows and loves, and will bring a new range of phenomenal features to elevate the festival to a whole new level. 
 
I’ve got my favourites and I’m pretty sure they’re coming back.
 
This time the Festival will run for a whole month and there will be something for everyone - popping up here, there and everywhere. Even the Spiegeltent will be back.
 
This evening we’re seeing the unveiling of a breath-taking programme of entertainment that combines Christchurch’s unique culture, with a programme championing local talent alongside international stars. Expect the unexpected!
 
And on that note, I would now like to declare our first glimpse of Bread & Circus – World Buskers Festival 2019 officially open for view. Take it away!

Today we celebrate 125 years of women’s suffrage, the first country in the world to do so, and it all started here in Christchurch.
 
We honour the courage and tenacity of the women etched into the memorial and the more than 30,000 women who signed the final petition.
 
When I think of the challenges Kate Sheppard and those suffragists faced – no electronic media, no give-a-little page, no means to communicate other than through cycling and pounding the pavements, street by street, collecting signatures and never giving up.  The first two petitions did not succeed, but the third one did and the rest is history.
 
And then for over 80% of the female population to both register and vote in the election just a matter of weeks later is an extraordinary story.
 
Today we ask all women to feel inspired by the courage and tenacity that represented.
 
And to reflect upon the importance those women placed on the right to right once it had been won. We must never ever take it for granted.
 
It took 25 years for women to get the right to stand for Parliament and another 15 years after that for the first woman to be elected to Parliament – and she was from Christchurch too – Elizabeth McCombs representing the set of Lyttleton. And another 14 years for the first woman to be appointed as a Cabinet Minister – also from Christchurch, the Hon Mabel Howard.
 
In my role as Mayor of the city, Kate Sheppard and the suffrage movement is very much a part of the Christchurch story – they are an important part of our identity – of who we are. 
 

Today marks a milestone year in Christchurch’s rich history.  We are celebrating 125 years of women receiving the right to vote here in New Zealand, making us the first self-governing country in the world to do so.  And it all started here in Christchurch.
 
Kate Sheppard, who lived here at this very house, was the leading light of the New Zealand women’s suffrage movement.
 
Thank you Julia for allowing the Foundation to use your home for today’s event, which not only celebrates the special place Christchurch holds in New Zealand and world history, but also allows us to announce that the Christchurch Foundation is today recognising this legacy by launching the Christchurch Foundation Women’s Fund. 
 
We are launching the Fund to support girls and women in our city who are actively leading change in their community -

• Change that is focused on positive outcomes for our city and its residents
• Change that is driven by people coming together to offer grassroots support for our communities

 
This is very much in keeping with the spirit of the suffragists.  I reflected at the Women’s Suffrage National memorial earlier today, what courage and tenacity they represented.
 
They had no electronic media, no give-a-little page, no means to communicate other than through cycling and pounding the pavements, street by street, collecting signatures and never giving up.  The first two petitions did not succeed, but the third one did and the rest is history.
 
And then for over 60% of the female population to both register and vote in the election just a matter of weeks later is an extraordinary story.
 
It took 25 years for women to get the right to stand for Parliament and another 15 years after that for the first woman to be elected to Parliament – and she was from Christchurch too – Elizabeth McCombs representing the set of Lyttleton. And another 14 years for the first woman to be appointed as a Cabinet Minister – also from Christchurch, the Hon Mabel Howard.
 
In my role as Mayor of the city, Kate Sheppard and the suffrage movement is very much a part of the Christchurch story – they are an important part of our identity – of who we are. 
 
Which is why I am proud that the first endowment fund the Christchurch Foundation is launching is this women’s fund, so that the spirit of 125 years ago lives on. 
 
And we can ensure that the next generation of women and girls can continue to make a difference.
 
The grants will not come with complicated accountability requirements. 
Those that accept the awards will simply be asked to share their story with The Christchurch Foundation and allow us to publicise their progress.  That way a small contribution can spark a major inspiration.
 
These grants will create stories that we can then share showing women and girls making change happen – stories that we need to hear more of.
 
Our first awards will be issued in 2019 and will occur annually.  Our ability to give will ultimately be determined by the level of donations that we get into the fund.
 
Why Women and Girls? We know that women and girls are only getting between 5 – 10% of the charitable dollar in countries like Australia and America. That proportion is likely to be similar here.
 
Few grant-making organisations have a specific criterion of supporting gender equality and are not even aware of what proportion of their funding supports women. Although we have come a long way, in New Zealand:

• Women are still very much the face of poverty;
• 85% of single parent families are led by women
• Women earn 9% less than men on average, a figure which has improved considerably over the years - but for our Maori women this figure is 24%, and for Pasifika women it is 31%
• There is a gender bias to the domestic violence statistics that remain alarmingly high

 
Who can get involved?  Anyone can join, participate and contribute at a level that suits their budget.  We imagine that there will be many women that want to give. However, sons, fathers and brothers care about the world their mothers, daughters and sisters live in, and will want to contribute too.
 
Organisations can also join the Women’s Fund as part of their drive to create change.
 
A group of donors to the fund will be co-opted to drive the awards process at the beginning, along with one of the Christchurch Foundation’s Trustees, and they will put in place a framework for the future, as well as select the first recipients.
 
We welcome your donations and hope you will help us to spread the word about the Fund.
 
I believe it is truly a wonderful way to honour those courageous women who we recognise on the Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage, as well as our place in the world, where it all began 125 years ago, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Westpac Champion Canterbury Business Awards.
Minister, Members of Parliament, fellow mayors, councillors and distinguished guests

It is an honour and a privilege to be here tonight to announce this year’s recipient of the Special Commendation Award.

Before I do that, I want to reflect on the significance of the 19th September as a milestone in our history as a city and as a nation.  Today is the 125th anniversary of the passing of legislation that gave women the right to vote – the first country in the world to do so.  And it all started here in Christchurch. 

It is not insignificant that the only woman appearing on any of our banknotes, apart from Her Majesty the Queen, is Kate Sheppard.

She was an indomitable force. It took courage and determination to achieve what she did all those years ago.The suffragists won the vote on the 19th September 1893 after a massive petition – the third attempt – was tabled in parliament. No electronic mail, no social media, no give-a-little pages – no means of communication except cycling and pounding the pavements – street by street.

Even more extraordinary is that over 80% of women registered and voted in the General Election on the 28 November just 10 weeks later.
This is our story and we should be proud.

Today, the Christchurch Foundation Women’s Fund has been launched and you are all invited to contribute to the fund that will be used to support girls and women who are actively leading change in their community. Your support will make a real difference.

We know that most charitable dollars do not find their way to the hands of women who seek to be the change they want to see in the world.  And all we will ask in return is that they give us their stories so others can be inspired to reach for the stars.

What a fitting way to recall the courage and tenacity that is our suffrage story - our story as a city and a nation.

And this leads me onto the Special Commendation Award, which on every level, but especially today, is so well deserved.  You’ve already heard me use two words - courage and tenacity - to describe an incredible and inspirational leader. How fitting they are.
​
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my absolute privilege to announce this year’s special commendation award recipient –Dame Adrienne Stewart. 

Kate Sheppard Memorial Trust Suffrage 125 Celebration
 
Thank you for inviting me to share in this special occasion.
 
I am sorry I cannot stay, as I have a special role to perform at the Canterbury Champion Awards Ceremony tonight presenting the Special Commendation Award, which will be, I am told, in keeping with the theme of our suffrage celebrations today.
 
So I’m thrilled to be here, as I really didn’t want to miss the awarding of the Kate Sheppard Memorial Trust Award.  It is one that is near and dear to my heart.  When the call went out for additional financial support for the Trust Fund earlier this year, I put my hand up, as I’m sure many of you did too.
 
A fund that supports educational opportunities for a woman to develop her potential by undertaking further education, study, research or training in areas which are of value in Aotearoa/New Zealand is in keeping with Kate Sheppard’s mission.  The vote for women was good for women but it was also good for the country.
 
I was reminded today of the history of the fund, dating back to the 1993 Suffrage centennial, where the surplus from the fundraising efforts to build the Kate Sheppard National Memorial were made available for this purpose.
 
There has always been a strong link between the Council and the Kate Sheppard Memorial Trust. The original fundraising campaign’s financial chair was the late Councillor Mollie Clark. And Judith Lady Hay was the patron and convened the fund-raising committee.  We remember these women and their hard work.  They have left us a legacy to uphold. And I thank Cr Sara Templeton for keeping the connection alive today.
 
So onto this year’s recipient of the Kate Sheppard Memorial Trust Suffrage 125 Award. She is completing a PhD at the University of Canterbury, Health Sciences and the Ngai Tahu Research Centre. Her topic is ‘Raro Timu Raro Tae – Ngai Tahu Birthing Traditions’.
 
The Awardee’s fascination with indigenous birthing practices and the ongoing public interest in her Master’s thesis and film on traditional Māori birthing practices encouraged her to extend this research with a doctorate at the University of Canterbury.  She is currently in her fourth year of study specifically exploring Ngāi Tahu birthing traditions and practices pertaining to conception, pregnancy and birth. 
 
She was fortunate to have her research supported by the NZ Health Research Council, the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre, the Health Science Department, her whānau, her rōpu kaumatua, the Canterbury Māori Midwifery Rōpu and now the Kate Sheppard Memorial Trust Award.
 
Her hope is that her research will aid the implementation of Ngāi Tahu birthing knowledge and practices within New Zealand’s maternity services and Southern midwifery education. Plans have already been drawn up to produce resources post her doctorate in order to return the research to the hands of midwives and whānau.
 
The Awardee is quick to declare that she herself is not a midwife although she has the upmost respect for her colleagues in this field.  She is an experienced Registered Nurse currently working for the Canterbury District Health Board in Children and Youth Mental Health.  She has completed the Huarahi Whakatū PDRP Programme to expertise level through Te Rau Matatini and has worked for Māori Health Providers and in a variety of clinical areas under the Auckland, Wellington, Otago and Canterbury District Health Boards over a 20-year period.
 
In 2008, the Awardee decided to expand her nursing into the field of health research and commenced work as a research assistant for the Donald Beasley Institute (a research institute that promotes research and education in the field of disability).  She has worked on a number of short and long term national and international research projects as their Māori Researcher and continues to work with the Institute as a Research Associate. 
 
Alongside her health and academic research she thrives off the many creative opportunities that have been presented to her over the years in: radio, film and dance. 
 
She has produced a number of radio documentaries, created short films for exhibitions, danced in Puaka/Matariki (Māori New Year) Performances and generally enjoys viewing or being part of Māori arts in its many expressive forms.
 
The Awardee is dedicated to her doctoral thesis and describes it like a pregnancy that is both stunning and harrowing, and like her whānau, she is keen for this baby to be born so she can see her research grow and provide a resource for others to grow from too. 
 
The winner of this year’s Kate Sheppard Memorial Award on this 125th anniversary of suffrage is: Kelly Waiana Tikao of Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe and Ngāi Tahu.
 
Congratulations Kelly

Thank you Suzanne and the local branch of the TEU for inviting me today, and thank you to Lana Shields and the Ara Institute of Canterbury for your generous hospitality today.
 
What a great way to mark the 125th anniversary of NZ women being granted the right to vote. 
 
Christchurch has a proud history as the birthplace of the suffrage movement, home to Kate Sheppard, the only woman to appear on a New Zealand banknote apart from the Queen. 
 
Betty Cuthbert (Sheppard’s great-niece and a former President of the National Council of Women) said “Kate fought for what she thought was right all the way through.  She was concerned by poverty among women and children, at men spending all the money on alcohol, but realised they were powerless until women had the chance to vote."
 
This victory for gender equality, the first country in the world to grant women the vote, was an inspiration for other women worldwide who were also campaigning for the right to vote. 
 
The extraordinary thing though was that first election held just 10 weeks later. Despite the short timeframe for voter registration, 109,461 women – about 84% of the adult female population – enrolled to vote. On polling day 90,290 of them cast their votes, a turnout of 82% (far higher than the 70% turnout among registered male voters). There were then no electoral rolls for the Māori seats, but women cast perhaps 4000 of the 11,269 Māori votes that year.
 
That is an extraordinary commitment and we owe it to the suffragists for making this happen.  I think of them when I vote. Voting honours their courage, commitment and tenacity.
 
2017 General Election overall turnout as a percentage of enrolled electors was 79.8%. And in local government here, for the election in 2016 the voter return was 38.34% despite voting forms being posted to all registered voters.
 
The suffragists knew the vote was vital step in their struggle for equal rights.  It would give them the political power to hasten social reform.  We may wish to ask ourselves are we fully using our political power to achieve the social reform we want to see. 
 
We cannot be complacent.  There is gendered face to poverty and domestic violence that we cannot ignore.  Hard won rights and privileges can unfortunately be taken away all too swiftly and therefore we need to take our responsibility to vote seriously and that includes standing for public office too.
 
When Kate Sheppard died in Christchurch on 13 July 1934, the Christchurch Times said: ‘A great woman has gone, whose name will remain an inspiration to the daughters of New Zealand while our history endures.  We can all continue to be inspired by Kate Sheppard and her fellow campaigners.  Our city and country benefits when we all claim our rights as citizens and accept the responsibility these rights bestow.’
 

​Mihi
 
Prime Minister, Ministers, Members of Parliament, Councillors and all our guests who have joined us today.
 
Can I make special mention of Dame Ann Hercus, who was New Zealand’s first Minister of Women’s Affairs, who persuaded our PM to be here today. Thank you.  I remember Dame Ann saying at the launch of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs now the Ministry for Women:  "We are the only government department working for our own demise."
 
Unfortunately demolishing the structure of inequality has not happened yet and nearly 35 years on we still need our Ministry.
 
It seems fitting that we celebrate 125 years of Women’s Suffrage in the Isaac Theatre Royal.  This theatre has over 100 years of history of its own.  This is its third incarnation. Like the three petitions it took for the Women’s Suffrage campaign to be successful, this place stands testament to the spirit of tenacity and determination.
 
Can I on that note acknowledge the large number of young people from the 22 local schools represented here today.
 
I remember coming to the Theatre Royal for the first time.  The Mayor came out on the stage to welcome all the school children.  I can’t remember anything he said, and I don’t expect any of you to remember anything I say either, except for one thing.
 
Be proud of your city.  Your city is part of who you are.  And it’s history is part of who you are too.
 
Today we are beginning the celebration of 125 years of women’s suffrage, the first country in the world to do so, and it all started here in Christchurch. Today we ask you to feel inspired by the tenacity and determination of the suffragists – and never let go.
 
It took 25 years for women to get the right to stand for Parliament and another 15 years after that for the first woman to be elected to Parliament – and that was here in Christchurch too – Elizabeth McCombs representing the set of Lyttleton.
 
I should make the point that Kate Sheppard campaigned on behalf of women on many issues; contraception, the right to divorce, the importance of physical exercise, and even doing away with corsets.  I mention the corsets because they represent being constrained – and women cannot and must not be constrained if they are to achieve equality.
 
Sadly there are women in NZ and throughout our world who continue to have their rights, and therefore none of us can afford to be complacent.
 
Kate Sheppard knew she couldn’t be complacent. Three years after the first vote, Kate helped establish the National Council of Women (NCW) with the first meeting here in Christchurch. In three years time we will celebrate 125 years of that organisation which continues to be a powerful voice for women.
 
So what better way to start our city’s celebration of what we have contributed as a city to our nation’s story, than to have our Prime Minister address us today. 
 
The Rt Hon Jacinda Adern is the third woman to become New Zealand’s Prime Minister.
 
She has quickly established herself as an outstanding leader and a role model for generations of leaders to come.
 
I am really looking forward to hearing her speak to today, and I know you are too. 
Please join me in welcoming Jacinda.