Kirkpatrick ‘staunchly East Coast’, proud to be part of the Government

East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick and Minister of Finance Nicola Willis. Gisborne Herald file picture

Newly elected MP Dana Kirkpatrick has told Parliament she is “staunchly East Coast” and had a “quintessential rural New Zealand” upbringing.

Delivering her maiden speech in Parliament yesterday, the National Party MP for East Coast said she was “born and raised in Gisborne, Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, in a small village called Patutahi in the valley known as Ngatapa.

“It is a place I proudly call home and always will.

“My parents worked hard on the family farm that had been settled by my great-grandfather David Kirkpatrick in 1891, passed to his son David and then to my father — yes, you guessed it,  David — and my mum Heather.

“On my mum’s side of the family, we are descended from an English immigrant family — the Gaukrodgers — and the distinguished Ruru and Haronga families, who are proudly Te Aitanga a  Māhaki.”

She was proud “to have representatives from my Haronga and Ruru whānau of Te Aitanga a Māhaki here”.

Ms Kirkpatrick expressed her gratefulness to those “who made the journey . . . that brought us all to this place now . . . Mum, my brother Andrew and family, Tracy, Riley and Jake, the Freds, aunts, uncles and cousins, friends and former colleagues from many of my roles”.

“It is humbling that there are people here today who represent all the different parts of my life’s journey.

“It is great to have my children Anna and Sam in the gallery, too. You have supported me through career changes and the journey that became politics 101 and then East Coast MP.”

'Proud' to be in Government

She also thanked volunteers, party faithful, “my incredible campaign team” and National Party figures such as Tony Ryall, Anne Tolley, Ian McKelvie and Judy Kirk.

Ms Kirkpatrick acknowledged the presence of several Te Karaka residents who were impacted by the severe weather events of nearly 12 months ago.

“Claude Ruru was one of the whānau removed from his flooded house by a front-end loader.

“Pimia Wehi, the chairman of the Te Karaka Area School (board), has led the response and I look forward to their ongoing support as we face the many challenges and opportunities that the Gisborne-East Coast region faces.”

The new MP said she found her political voice “quite literally” during the Covid-19 pandemic by shouting at her television.

“During 2020 and 2021 I found myself shouting more and more at the television in frustration,  as government policy and regulation stripped the life out of all of us.

“And in 2022 it dawned on me that shouting at the telly wasn’t working and probably never would and that if I was to make a difference, I would have to get elected.”

Ms Kirkpatrick also spoke about her education and work experience.

East Coast was home to some of the world’s most productive horticultural and agricultural land and New Zealand’s best orchardists and farmers, she said. “We are proudly 50 percent Māori; we have wonderful ethnic groups.

“And yet too often we hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons — for high crime rates, growing unemployment, despite jobs being available, poor education attendance, worsening health statistics, housing deficits.

“There are inequities in access to services for Māori and non-Māori in our electorate, particularly those living in isolated rural communities that have gone backwards in the past six years.”

The two state highways were “barely a goat track” in some places. “They could easily qualify for an episode of that TV programme ‘World’s  Most Dangerous Roads’.”

She was “proud to be part of the Government that provides for all New Zealanders, that uses practical common sense, that looks after taxpayer dollars — a government that understands the benefit of infrastructure over ideology and a government that fixes roads”.