New Ōtaki MP Tim Costley gave his maiden speech on Tuesday, paying tribute to friends, family, the armed forces for making him who he is today. He started and finished his speech in te reo, with a few phrases weaved in between the rest of his speech.
“My life is one of perseverance, determination, of character refined through failure and forged through adversity,” he said. “I have been knocked back a few times, but I have never given up. I believe most challenges can be overcome with hard work, perseverance and most fundamentally with character.
“I was shaped by faith, family and the forces. I am here for every person in my community.”
He reflected on his upbringing, his Airforce career, acknowledged a number of former MPs, and all previous MPs for his electorate and the National Party. “I love being part of the National team.”
Tim Costley spent 23 years in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
He fought back tear when he mentioned colleagues who died in Afghanistan. “I will not forget them. They fought to preserve our democracy and I believe one person can make all the difference.
“You know, one person is always enough. I’ve always believed that the ones matter; they add up, they multiply, they have this rippling effect. In the Air Force, it was one tourist on Mount Arthur; it was a hunter in the Ureweras; it was a schoolteacher in the Tararuas; it was a family in rising floodwaters; a soldier whose life was in danger in East Timor; a mother and a baby in the Solomon Islands. People matter.”
He said for him community is most important. “Many look for community online but all they find are echo chambers that reinforce a narrow view. Community means reaching out, crossing divides, having empathy and understanding. We should celebrate our differences, not try to eliminate them.
“I want to work as an MP to break down divisions, such as the ones between rural and urban, young and old and between ethnicities and religions.
“Community is the long game that will heal all divides.”
He said he believed we all hold solutions to problems we encounter. “Many want the Government to provide every solution for every need and want, but I believe in limited Government. We are at our best if community leads the response.
“We do not all have the same start in life, but we all deserve the same chances.”
He said he envisions a community with compassion for those in the extreme while still valuing personal responsibility and reward for hard work.
Federated Farmers Chairman Geoff Kane (from left), Craig Davis, Tim Costley and Alice Bradley gathering hay in 2020 when Costley first ran for the electorate.
“I am motivated by people, inspired by service and passionate about community, but most of all I love this country. I know from serving overseas that we are respected and coveted around the world, and I sometimes wonder whether we have lost the sense of just how lucky we are, how amazing our people, how incredible our backyard, as ‘the great philosopher Fred Dagg’ once said.
“I want us to be united like we are united when at Eden Park, in English pubs or in conflict zones around the world. In those places, we rally around the national identity, not based on geography or ethnicity, but grounded in our shared ideals, the Kiwi way of life, and the belief that everyone deserves an equal opportunity in Godzone. Maybe that can be the starting point for this difficult conversation.
“This is not about geography, or ethnicity, but about being grounded in an emotional identity: the Kiwi.” He wears a button of a kiwi on his jacket, the one that adorns military uniform and aircraft. “That same symbol was painted on artillery and aircraft that my grandparents fought in and on during World War II.”
“The Kiwi way of life says that everyone deserves an equal opportunity in Godzone, but it matters that we acknowledge our past and right any wrongs and celebrate differences.
He called on other parliamentarians to try to be the biggest and best version of ourselves, rather than the best small version of another country.
He said his life emphasises that the past does not define the future. “The chubby 14-year-old who came last in the road race does not define the man I am today.”
Towards the end he paid tribute to his mum, who had her birthday that day, and his wife and daughters.
“As much as I want to build a road to Levin - and I really want to build that road to Levin - as much as I want to see our culture shift from compliance to judgment to focus on effectiveness and efficiency, not just process and publicity; actually, deep down, I really want to see us united as a nation.”
