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Bishop Vercoe's speech at Waitangi, 1990

The words spoken by Bishop Whakahuihui Vercoe, the Anglican bishop of Aotearoa, at Waitangi on 6 February 1990, have become one of the most famous speeches in New Zealand history. Before Queen Elizabeth, many dignitaries and a large crowd, and on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the first signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, Bishop Vercoe suggested that New Zealand had failed to honour the treaty, and had marginalised Māori, one partner to it. Watch an excerpt from Bishop Vercoe's speech.

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Opening of the 1990 Commonwealth Games

A model of the Sesqui 1990 fair

How to cite this page:

Jock Phillips, 'Anniversaries - Sesquicentennial, 1990', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/43033/bishop-vercoes-speech-at-waitangi-1990 (accessed 5 September 2024)

Story by Jock Phillips, published 20 Jun 2012

Thank you for your comment. I

Harriet (not verified) 30 May 2018

Hi, after hearing Bishop

Paul Arthur (not verified) 07 February 2018

Kia ora Sam, please contact

Kia ora i was just wondering.

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Sir Apirana Ngata’s Speech at the Centennial of the Treaty of Waitangi, 1940

By Sarah Johnston

The original recording of his speech, outlining Māori grievances and calling for greater Pākehā understanding, is held in the radio collection of Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.

Hero image: Apirana Turupa Ngata leading a haka at the 1940 centennial celebrations at Waitangi. Alexander Turnbull Library Wellington, New Zealand (Ref: MNZ-2746-1/2-F)

The Centennial tower in Wellington is lit up at night

Centennial Tower, New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, Wellington, at night. Eileen Deste. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand (Ref: 1/2-004305-F)

The 1940 centenary marked 100 years since the signing of the Treaty and despite taking place in the midst of World War II, it was celebrated by events around the country, including the Centennial Exhibition in Wellington .

The official emphasis of the centennial was on celebrating a century of European progress, and Māori contributions were sidelined, with scant acknowledgement of breaches of the Treaty by the Crown in the intervening years.

On February 6th 1940, an elaborate re-enactment of the Treaty signing ceremony was staged at Waitangi, with the National Commercial Broadcasting Service recording and broadcasting much of the ceremony live to the nation.

Following the re-enactment, there was a further ceremony to mark the opening of a new national wharenui in the Treaty grounds. Known as Te Whare Rūnanga, this building was carved in a variety of styles, designed to reflect all iwi and be a truly national meeting house.

Northern chief Tau Henare and Sir Apirana Ngata had led the project to have the wharenui built, with funding and support from several different iwi.

The Broadcasting Service also covered the opening of the meeting house, and recorded speeches made by the Governor-General Lord Galway, Prime Minister Peter Fraser and leading Māori figures such as MPs Haami Rātana and Eru Tirikatene – and Sir Apirana Ngata.

As organiser of the event, he begins his speech with some housekeeping, asking those guests with blue luncheon tickets to go to the meeting house and those with red tickets to go to the marquee with Paddy Webb. (There is laughter at this as Webb was a well-known left-wing politician.)

Sir Apirana then moves onto a more serious subject matter, leaving the audience in no doubt that Māori were not necessarily in the mood for celebrating, saying they had approached the Centennial year with much misgiving and listing their grievances; lands lost, powers of chiefs humbled, Māori culture scattered and broken.

He was a media-savvy leader and was no doubt well-aware that his speech was being broadcast. He had worked with the Broadcasting Service already, using his friendship with founding director of broadcasting Professor James Shelley, to urge the broadcaster to record important hui such as the investiture of Princess Te Puea Hērangi and the opening of Turongo House at Ngāruawāhia in 1938.

Later, he went on to record commentaries about the many significant haka and waiata recorded at these events, saying it was “to put on record Māori songs and chants before the generation who knows these things passes away.” ¹

But on 6 February 1940, Sir Apirana was concerned more with the future of his people, as you can hear in his speech:

Speech by Sir Apirana Ngata, from Re-enactment of the Treaty Ceremony at Waitangi (06 Feb 1940). Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision Radio Collection, all rights reserved. To enquire about re-use of this item please contact [email protected].

[1.] Sir Apirana Ngata – personal message to Professor James Shelley, from Opening of Tamatekapua Meeting House . Part 1 of 6, 25 Mar 1943. Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision Radio Collection.

The Spinoff

Politics April 5, 2023

The speeches that tell the story of jacinda ardern’s political life.

From the deliberately ‘haunting’ maiden speech, through crisis response, to a shock resignation, these are the speeches that best define Ardern’s time in NZ politics.

Speech-making is a staple of political life. And more than most, the speeches of Jacinda Ardern since she was elected to parliament in 2008 tell a story of their own. As with any leader, the oratory and the career are not the same thing, but for Ardern at least, looking back across the last 15 years, the speeches serve as poles across which a career is strung.

As she prepares to deliver her last speech as an MP, in a valedictory address to parliament, we survey the most important and emblematic examples.

‘The things I wish to haunt me’: Maiden speech, December 16, 2008

Having moved home in 2007 after years abroad which included a stint working in the policy unit of the British cabinet office, Ardern was selected as Labour candidate for the Waikato electorate in the 2008 election. She didn’t win that safe National seat, but came into parliament on the list. Into parliament and into opposition, with John Key succeeding Helen Clark as prime minister.

In her first speech to parliament , four seats to the left of a fellow newcomer, Chris Hipkins, Ardern said: “Maiden statements are a bit like words spoken in a heated argument; like it or not, they will come back to haunt one.”

Ardern, then the youngest member of parliament and assigned the youth affairs portfolio by new leader Phil Goff, paid tribute to Clark as well as other mentors, friends and family. She sketched her own biography, much of which today has been well trodden: born in Murupara, dad the local cop, campaigning for trousers for girls, first job in a fish and chip shop. And, above all, an early imprint of the observed impacts of poverty. “My passion for social justice came from what I saw; my love of politics came when I realised that it was the key to changing what I saw. And there is much to change.”

She described, too, some of her experiences abroad: volunteering in a New York soup kitchen, study, working with unions, and a stint as president of the International Union of Socialist Youth, three years in the UK public service. The perception of Aotearoa from overseas was another theme. “Anyone who has moved abroad will know what it is like to reflect on one’s home from afar,” she said. And: “I fear that our pride in New Zealand’s clean, green reputation is already misplaced.”

A key passage

Some people have asked me whether I am a radical. My answer to that question is very simple: “I am from Morrinsville.” Where I come from a radical is someone who chooses to drive a Toyota rather than a Holden or a Ford. I am, though, a social democrat. I believe in what I believe strongly — the values of human rights, social justice, equality, and democracy, and the role of communities — and I believe we have a role to play in defending these principles abroad …

So there it is: the answer to that golden question. It is the things I have seen, the lessons I have learnt, and the people of New Zealand whom I wish to serve that have brought me to this place. These are the very things that I wish to haunt me for as long as I have the privilege of serving here.

‘Let’s do this’: Campaign launch, August 20, 2017

It’s a leap, no doubt, to fast-forward from that backbencher newbie speech directly to the Auckland Town Hall and the 2017 Labour campaign launch. In between were hundreds of other appearances, largely centering on the political mission that was child poverty, but spanning everything from arts to justice issues, as well as a bid for the Labour deputy leadership on a ticket with Grant Robertson, christened briefly as “Gracinda”. When she eventually was promoted to deputy by Andrew Little in 2017, her profile grew further, but if anything she seemed careful to avoid any barnstorming speeches.

Propelled at the 11th hour to the leadership, Ardern surpassed expectations in her first press conference in the role, then launched into a campaign that would rescue Labour’s fortunes on a wave of what became called “Jacindamania”. Nothing encapsulated that energy quite like the campaign launch . The crowds filled the main hall, with a live feed to the concert chamber and another to a second spillover crowd down Queen Street at Q Theatre. In a sea of giddy party faithful, Helen Clark and Jacinda Ardern embraced – a moment that contained a symbolism as compelling as it was obvious.

Clark was one of the former leaders invoked by Ardern from the stage, all with their own legacies appended, with reference to “Labour governments who have confronted New Zealand’s challenges, who haven’t been afraid of standing up, or of doing things differently”. She said: “For Savage, that meant seeing hardship, and creating the welfare state. For Fraser, it was predicting the challenges of the future and bringing in free education from kindergarten to university. For Kirk, it was seeing a loss of dignity and getting back to basics like full employment. For Lange, it was standing up for peace by standing up to nukes. For Clark, it was about social infrastructure.”

She continued, “And for me it’s simple: I want to build a country where every child grows up free from poverty, and is filled with hope and opportunity.”

She referred back, too, to her own maiden statement, on the “things you want to haunt you again and again, to remind you why you are there. Because sometimes they are not just words; they’re convictions, they are experiences, they are faces and they are stories.” One of the most memorable convictions of her political life – on the priority of climate change – was expressed in that same speech. “This is my generation’s nuclear free moment,” she said, “and I am determined that we will tackle it head on.”

A key passage

I will never stop believing that politics is a place where we can do good. That we can build a confident and caring nation if we include each and every person, in each and every town and region. That is New Zealand at its best. It’s been three weeks now since I was asked to take this job and lead our campaign. In those three weeks, I’ve never once felt alone. Whether it’s been on social media, on the streets, or by your show of support here today, I feel humbled and heartened … Let’s go from here today and run the campaign of our lives. Let’s do this.

‘This will be a government of transformation’: Speech from the throne, November 8, 2017

An inheritance from Westminster, the speech from the throne at once lays out a government’s agenda and its mission. “From the throne” in the New Zealand context means it’s literally spoken by the governor general, but the words are those of the prime minister. So we’re counting it as a Jacinda Ardern speech, ventriloquised in this case by Patsy Reddy.

The opening of parliament followed post-election negotiations in which, at its essence, Winston Peters and the NZ First Party decided whether to form a government with National, which, led by Bill English, collected the highest number of seats, but insufficient to command a majority, and Jacinda Ardern’s resurgent Labour Party. The result: a coalition, with the Greens signing a support agreement.

This address set out what was called an “ambitious” programme, and it was certainly that. “This government is committed to major investments in housing, health, education, police, and infrastructure,” it began. “The government will protect the environment, create more jobs and lift the incomes of families to reduce child poverty, while running surpluses and paying down debt.”

Among the work outlines was a review of the tax system, including a focus on “addressing the capital gain associated with property speculation”. Labour would go on to extend the bright line test and remove tax deductibility for speculators, but the central idea of a capital gains tax came a cropper when NZ First issued a hard no, and Ardern subsequently ruled it out for the rest of her premiership.

Among other things the speech pledged a new provincial growth fund, a lift in minimum wage, new measures to address and assess child poverty, an inquiry into mental health, another into historic abuse in state care (which continues today), a net zero emissions target by 2050 and a Climate Change Commission. In words that may make some grimace today, it also declared that “through its Kiwibuild programme, this government pledges to build 100,000 high quality, affordable homes over the next 10 years; half of them in Auckland.”

The address promised a government of inclusion, transformation and aspiration.

This will be a government of inclusion. All who live in this country are entitled to respect and dignity; all are entitled to live meaningful lives; all are entitled to care and compassion. Everyone should have a roof over their head and be warm in winter. Everyone should have food and a table to put it on.

This will be a government of transformation. It will lift up those who have been forgotten or neglected, it will take action on child poverty and homelessness, it will restore funding to education and the health systems to allow access for all, it will protect the environment and take action on climate change, and it will build a truly prosperous nation and a fair society, together.

This will be a government of aspiration. It aspires to make this a nation where all cultures and human rights are valued, where everyone can have decent housing and meaningful work, where education is free and good ideas flourish, where children live surrounded by creativity and love, and are encouraged to reach their full potential, and where we become world leaders on environmental issues and climate change.

‘I want to be able to tell my child I have earned the right to stand here’: Waitangi, February 5, 2018

Ardern spent five days at Waitangi in 2018, and became the first female prime minister to speak on the upper marae. After the political powhiri she made a commitment to be accountable to te ao Māori. Speaking just a few weeks after announcing she was hapū, Ardern said: “I will always maintain that we should not seek perfection on our national day. That speaking frankly and openly is not a sign of failure, but a sign of the health of our nation and a sign that we must keep pushing to be better. I also hope that my child will know that we have the power to change and we must change.”

Now we as a government, we know what we have to do, we know all of the failings that we have as a nation, but we won’t always know exactly how to change it. For that we will come to you, we will ask you to help us, we will form partnerships together because we cannot do it alone …

So when we return, in one year, in three years, I ask you to ask of us what we have done. Ask us how we have given dignity back to your whānau, ask us what we have done to improve poverty for tamariki, ask us what we have done to give rangatahi opportunities and jobs, ask us, hold us to account. Because one day I want to be able to tell my child that I earned the right to stand here and only you can tell me when I have done that. So for now I finish with these wise words I’ve heard from Ngāi Tahu before: Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri, ā muri ake nei – for us and for our children after us.

‘Kindness, in the face of isolationism, protectionism, racism’: United Nations, September 28, 2018

In a US visit that caught the attention of much of the world’s media, the centrepiece address came at the United Nations general assembly , where Ardern’s partner, Clarke Gayford, watched from the floor with baby Neve in his arms. In her speech, Ardern returned to themes of generational change and global warming, while calling for a return to multilateralism. The context, remember: a deep shadow cast by the US president; and the adulation of a young leader dubbed “the anti-Trump”.

Perhaps then it is time to step back from the chaos and ask what we want. It is in that space that we’ll find simplicity. The simplicity of peace, of prosperity, of fairness. If I could distil it down into one concept that we are pursuing in New Zealand it is simple and it is this. Kindness. In the face of isolationism, protectionism, racism – the simple concept of looking outwardly and beyond ourselves, of kindness and collectivism, might just be as good a starting point as any. So let’s start here with the institutions that have served us well in times of need, and will do so again.

‘They are us’: March 15, 2019

Ardern spoke many times in response to the terrorist attack in two Christchurch masjids on March 15, 2019, leading a response that gained acclaim from within the New Zealand Muslim population, across the country and beyond. If there is one speech that sums it up better than any, it is the shortest, delivered from a set of notes scrawled with orange highlighter as the details were still emerging. Ardern was in New Plymouth, and spoke from a hotel before returning to Wellington. Below is the first part of it.

It is clear that this is one of New Zealand’s darkest days. Clearly, what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence. Many of those who will have been directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand, they may even be refugees here. They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home.

They are us. The person who has perpetrated this violence against us is not. They have no place in New Zealand. There is no place in New Zealand for such acts of extreme and unprecedented violence, which it is clear this act was. For now, my thoughts, and I’m sure the thoughts of all New Zealanders, are with those who have been affected, and also with their families.

‘Going hard, and going early’: Covid lockdown plan revealed, March 21, 2020

Just over a year on, a memorial service for the Christchurch victims was cancelled at the 11th hour, amid the growing threat of a pandemic called Covid-19.

In a rare address delivered from the desk of her ninth floor office, Ardern laid out a new alert level system, and with it, the near inevitability of New Zealand joining much of the world in going into lockdown.

“Over the past few weeks, the world has changed,” she said. “And it has changed very quickly.”

New Zealand would , she said, “fight by going hard, and going early.” At this point, the goal was “stopping the spread”. Over the course of the first lockdown – which, believe it or not, lasted only one month and two days – that mission shifted to elimination.

I know this current situation is causing huge disruption and uncertainty. And right now I cannot tell you when that will end. This alert system is designed to help us through that …

For now, I ask that New Zealand does what we do so well. We are a country that is creative, practical, and community minded. We may not have experienced anything like this in our lifetimes, but we know how to rally and we know how to look after one another, and right now what could be more important than that. So thank you for all that you’re about to do. Please be strong, be kind, and unite against Covid-19.

‘A disinformation age: Harvard commencement speech, May 26, 2022

The impacts of two crises, the Christchurch terrorist attacks and the Covid pandemic, dovetailed in a theme Ardern chose to major on in the prestigious Harvard University address : social media, algorithms, extremism and disinformation. That focus continues in Ardern’s post-parliamentary life, with her appointment, confirmed last night , as special envoy for the Christchurch Call.

In the speech, Ardern paid tribute to the former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, who was, before Ardern, the only woman premier to give birth while in office. Bhutto, too, had spoken at Harvard. “The path she carved as a woman feels as relev ant today as it was decades ago, and so too is the message she shared here. In this place,” said Ardern. “She said part way through her speech in 1989 the following: ‘We must realise that democracy… can be fragile.’ … And while the reasons that gave rise for her words then were vastly different, they still ring true.”

Moving to the subject of free speech and disinformation, she said: “We are at a precipice.”

In a speech in which she again appealed to kindness, but instead of identifying as part of a generational change, called herself “old”, Ardern said: I am not here to argue that social media is good, nor bad. It’s a tool. And as with anything, it’s the rules of the game and the way we engage with it that matters. But social media matters a lot. And perhaps, much more than we thought.” She pointed to the atrocity in Christchurch. “The entire brutal act was live-streamed on social media. The royal commission that followed found that the terrorist responsible was radicalised online.”

The time had come, said Ardern, “for social media companies and other online providers to recognise their power and to act on it.”

I accept the picture I am painting may seem overwhelming and insurmountable. But I am an optimist at heart. And while we cannot change everything about the environment we are in – we can change ourselves. To build greater strength and resilience, in spite of the headwinds around us …

In a disinformation age, we need to learn to analyse and critique information. That doesn’t mean teaching ‘mistrust’, but rather as my old history teacher, Mr Fountain extolled: “to understand the limitations of a single piece of information, and that there is always a range of perspectives on events and decisions.”

In final speech, Ardern reflects on leading New Zealand

New Zealand’s Ardern says farewell

Jacinda Ardern makes her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament in Wellington, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, after her five-year tenure as prime minister. A global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, Ardern stepped down as prime minister in January, saying “I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.” (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)

Jacinda Ardern, second left, is hugged by Finance Minister Grant Robertson after Ardern made her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament in Wellington, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, after her five-year tenure as prime minister. A global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, Ardern in January stepped down as prime minister, saying “I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.” (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)

Jacinda Ardern makes her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament in Wellington, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, after her five-year tenure as prime minister. A global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, Ardern in January stepped down as prime minister, saying “I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.” (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)

Jacinda Ardern, right, is hugged by Finance Minister Grant Robertson after Ardern made her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament in Wellington, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, after her five-year tenure as prime minister. A global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, Ardern in January stepped down as prime minister, saying “I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.” (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — In her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament on Wednesday, Jacinda Ardern described in emotional terms how she’d navigated a pandemic and a mass-shooting during her tumultuous five-year tenure as prime minister.

She also told humorous anecdotes like how a European leader so admired the striking hair of Ardern’s chief-of-staff that he fluffed it like a hairdresser — which she joked had helped secure a free-trade deal — and how her mother once sent her a uplifting, if somewhat grandiose, message: “Remember, even Jesus had people who didn’t like him.”

On a more serious note, she urged lawmakers to take the politics out of climate change.

“There will always be policy differences,” Ardern said during her valedictory address, wearing a traditional Māori cloak called a korowai. “But beneath that, we have what we need to make the progress we must.”

When Ardern finished speaking after about 35 minutes, she she was greeted with a standing ovation by lawmakers from across the political spectrum and rousing renditions of several Indigenous Māori songs.

A global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, Ardern in January stepped down as prime minister , saying, “I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.” But she stayed on as a lawmaker until April to avoid triggering a special election ahead of the nation’s general elections in October.

Later this month, Ardern will begin a new, unpaid role combating online extremism as Special Envoy for the Christchurch Call. It’s an initiative she started with French President Emmanuel Macron in May 2019, two months after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.

She has also announced she’s joining the board of trustees for The Earthshot Prize, an environmental charity started by Britain’s Prince William.

Ardern said she entered politics based on her convictions but got used to her tenure being defined by a different list.

“A domestic terror attack. A volcanic eruption. A pandemic. A series of events where I found myself in people’s lives during their most grief-stricken or traumatic moments,” she said. “Their stories and faces remain etched in my mind, and likely will forever.”

She also described how she and fiancé Clarke Gayford thought they couldn’t have children after a failed round of IVF.

“Rather than process that, I campaigned to become prime minister,” she joked. “A rather good distraction as far as they go. Imagine my surprise when a couple of months later, I discovered I was pregnant.”

Ardern became just the second elected world leader to give birth while holding office after she and Gayford had daughter Neve in 2018.

Ardern described how she’d approached the COVID-19 pandemic on a scientific basis and how New Zealand had fared best among developed nations when measuring excess mortality.

She said she once tried to argue with a lone protester about a false conspiracy theory.

“But after many of these same experiences, and seeing the rage that often sat behind these conspiracies, I had to accept I was wrong,” she said. “I could not single-handedly pull someone out of a rabbit hole.”

Ardern said she worried that during the pandemic, the nation had lost a sense of security, and the ability to engage in robust debate in a respectful way.

She also described how she never thought she was meant to have the role of prime minister, and how it came about through a surprising chain of events.

While she couldn’t control how her tenure would be defined by others, Ardern said, she hoped it had demonstrated something else.

“That you can be anxious, sensitive, kind and wear your heart on your sleeve,” she said. “You can be a mother, or not, you can be an ex-Mormon, or not, you can be a nerd, a crier, a hugger, you can be all of these things, and not only can you be here, you can lead, just like me.”

Full speech: Jacinda Ardern addresses UN General Assembly

Watch: Jacinda Ardern addresses the General Assembly. Credits: Video - UNTV; Image - Getty Images

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has delivered her UN General Assembly speech.

Ardern addressed world leaders in New York overnight, where she slammed Russia's war in Ukraine and pushed New Zealand's anti-nuclear stance.

Watch the full speech above or read it below.

E ngā Mana, e ngā Reo, Rau Rangatira mā kua huihui mai nei i tēnei Whare Nui o te Ao.

[To the authorities, leaders and representatives gathered in this Great Assembly of the World].

Ngā mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa, mai i tōku Whenua o Aotearoa.

[Warm greetings to you all from my home country of New Zealand].

Tuia ki runga, Tuia ki raro, ka Rongo to pō ka rongo te ao.

[Unite above, unite below, unite together and listen as we come together].

Nō reira, tēnā koutou kātoa

I acknowledge you all

Mr President,

Mr Secretary-General,

I greet you in te reo Māori, the language of the tangata whenua, or first people, of Aotearoa New Zealand. I acknowledge the leaders who are here, gathered in person after a long and difficult period.

And as is tradition, in my country, I also acknowledge those who have passed.

Loss brings with it a chance for reflection.

And as leaders, between us, we each represent countries and communities who have lost much in these past few years. Through famine, severe weather, natural disasters and a pandemic.

COVID-19 was devastating. It took millions of lives.

It continues to impact on our economies and with that, the well-being of our people. It set us back in our fight against the crisis of climate change and progress on the sustainable development goals while we looked to the health crisis in front of us.

And while we enter a period now where the crisis is subsiding, the lessons cannot.

COVID schooled us.

It forced us to acknowledge how interconnected and therefore how reliant we are on one another.

We move between one another's countries with increasing ease. We trade our goods and services.

And when one link in our supply chain is impacted, we all are.

The lessons of COVID are in many ways the same as the lessons of climate change.

When crisis is upon us, we cannot and will not solve these issues on our own.

The next pandemic will not be prevented by one country's efforts but by all of ours. Climate action will only ever be as successful as the least committed country, as they pull down the ambition of the collective.

I am not suggesting though that we rely on the goodwill of others to make progress.

We need a dual strategy. One where we push for collective effort but we also use our multilateral tools to make progress.

That's why on pandemic preparedness we support efforts to develop a new global health legal instrument, strengthened international health regulations and a strong and empowered World Health Organization.

It's why we are such advocates of the World Trade Organization and its reform to ensure supply chains remain open and critical goods and services are not subjected to protectionism in times of need.

It's why we have worked so hard within the Paris Agreement to see the action we need on climate, while also doing our bit at home including putting a 1.5C warming limit into law, increasing our NDC to 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and quadrupling our climate finance commitment.

Whether it's climate, trade, health crisis or seeking peaceful solutions to war and conflict - New Zealand has always been a believer in multilateral tools.

We were amongst the founding members of the United Nations as governments of the day recognised that the perils of war would only be avoided through a greater sense of shared responsibility.

The basis on which this institution was formed, remains as relevant today as it was then.

But without reform, we risk irrelevancy.

There is perhaps no greater example of this than Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Let us all be clear, Russia's war is illegal. It is immoral.

It is a direct attack on the UN Charter and the international rules-based system and everything that this community should stand for.

Putin's suggestion that it could at any point deploy further weapons that it has at their disposal reveals the false narrative that they have based their invasion on. What country who claims to be a liberator, threatens to annihilate the very civilians they claim to liberate?

This war is based on a lie.

But I recognise, that for the people of Ukraine who have lost loved ones, their sense of peace and security, their livelihoods - these are all just words.

They need us, as a global community to ask one simple question: "What if it was us?"

Our ability to answer that question with any confidence that we have the tools as a global community to act swiftly and collectively has been severely undermined.

In March when we most needed the UN Security Council to act in the defence of international peace and security, it could not. It did not fulfil its mandate because of one permanent member who was willing to abuse its privileged position.

That was wrong.

We will not give up on the ability of our multilateral institutions to stand up against this illegal war or to take on the many challenges we face.

These institutions are the ballast we need but it's a ballast that requires modernisation, fit for the tumultuous waters we all face.

That is why New Zealand was pleased to champion the Veto Initiative. Not only does it provide an opportunity to scrutinise the actions of the permanent member who cast a veto, the Veto Initiative gives the whole UN membership a voice where the Security Council has been unable to act.

But we continue to call for more than that.

For the United Nations to maintain its relevancy, and ensure that it truly is the voice of the breadth of countries it represents, the veto must be abolished and Permanent Members must exercise their responsibility for the benefit of international peace and security, rather than the pursuit of national interest.

There are other battles that we continue to wage as a nation, including our call for a global response to the use of nuclear weapons.

Our history of championing not just non-proliferation, but a prohibition on nuclear weapons is grounded in what we have witnessed, but also what we have experienced.

We are a nation that is both of the Pacific and within it.

It was in our region that these weapons of war were tested. Those tests have left a mark on the people, lands and waters of our home.

The only way to guarantee our people that they will be safe from the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons is for them not to exist.

That's why Aotearoa New Zealand calls on all states that share this conviction to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Some will call such a position naive. Some believe that we are safer as a result of nuclear weapons.

In New Zealand, we have never accepted the wisdom of mutually assured destruction.

It takes one country to believe that their cause is nobler, their might stronger, their people more willing to be sacrificed. None of us can stand on this platform and turn a blind eye to the fact that there are already leaders amongst us who believe this.

Nuclear weapons do not make us safer.

There will be those who agree but believe it is simply too hard to rid ourselves of nuclear weapons at this juncture. There is no question that nuclear disarmament is an enormous challenge.

But if given the choice, and we are being given a choice, surely we would choose the challenge of disarmament than the consequences of a failed strategy of weapons-based deterrence.

And this is why we will continue to advocate for meaningful progress on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Progress and consensus that was recently blocked by Russia - and represented a backward step to the efforts of nearly every country in the world to make some even limited progress on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

None of this will stop New Zealand's advocacy.

We will remain a strong and passionate advocate for efforts to address the weapons of old but, also, the weapons that are new.

The face of war has changed. And with that, the weapons used. The tools used to challenge the statehood of others are hidden and more complex.

Traditional combat, espionage and the threat of nuclear weapons are now accompanied by cyber-attacks, prolific disinformation and manipulation of whole communities and societies.

As leaders, we have never treated the weapons of old in the same way as those that have emerged. And that's understandable.

After all, a bullet takes a life. A bomb takes out a whole village. A lie online or from a podium does not.

But what if that lie, told repeatedly, and across many platforms, prompts, inspires, or motivates others to take up arms? To threaten the security of others. To turn a blind eye to atrocities, or worse, to become complicit in them. What then?

This is no longer a hypothetical. The weapons of war have changed, they are upon us and require the same level of action and activity that we put into the weapons of old.

We recognised the threats that the old weapons created. We came together as communities to minimise these threats. We created international rules, norms and expectations. We never saw that as a threat to our individual liberties - rather, it was a preservation of them.

The same must apply now as we take on these new challenges

In Aotearoa New Zealand, we deeply value our right to protest. Some of our major social progress has been brought about by hikoi or people power - becoming the first country in the world to recognise women's right to vote, movement on major indigenous and human rights issues to name but a few.

Upholding these values in a modern environment translates into protecting a free, secure and open internet. To realise all of the opportunities that it presents in the way we communicate, organise and gather.

But that does not mean the absence of transparency, expectations or even rules. If we correctly identify what it is we are trying to prevent.

And surely we can start with violent extremism and terrorist content online.

On March 15, 2019, New Zealand experienced a horrific terrorist attack on its Muslim community.

More than 50 people were killed as they prayed. The attack was live-streamed on a popular social media platform in an effort to gain notoriety, and to spread hate.

At that time, the ability to thwart those goals was limited. And the chances of Government alone being able to resolve this gap was equally challenging.

That's why, alongside President Emmanuel Macron, we created the Christchurch Call to Action.

The Call community has worked together to address terrorism and violent extremist content online. As this important work progresses, we have demonstrated the impact we can have by working together collaboratively.

We've improved crisis reactions, stymieing the ability to live stream attacks, we have crisis protocols that kick in to prevent proliferation.

We are also focused on prevention - understanding the interactions between online environment and the real world that can lead to radicalisation.

This week we launched an initiative alongside companies and non-profits to help improve research and understanding of how a person's online experiences are curated by automated processes. This will also be important in understanding more about mis and disinformation online. A challenge that we must as leaders address.

Sadly, I think it's easy to dismiss this problem as one in the margins. I can certainly understand the desire to leave it to someone else.

As leaders, we are rightly concerned that even those most light-touch approaches to disinformation could be misinterpreted as being hostile to the values of free speech we value so highly.

But while I cannot tell you today what the answer is to this challenge, I can say with complete certainty that we cannot ignore it. To do so poses an equal threat to the norms we all value.

After all, how do you successfully end a war if people are led to believe the reason for its existence is not only legal but noble? How do you tackle climate change if people do not believe it exists? How do you ensure the human rights of others are upheld, when they are subjected to hateful and dangerous rhetoric and ideology?

The weapons may be different but the goals of those who perpetuate them are often the same. To cause chaos and reduce the ability of others to defend themselves. To disband communities. To collapse the collective strength of countries who work together.

But we have an opportunity here to ensure that these particular weapons of war do not become an established part of warfare.

And so, we once again come back to the primary tool we have. Diplomacy, dialogue, working together on solutions that do not undermine human rights but enhance them.

For those who have not sought out the Christchurch Call to Action, I ask that you consider it. As with so many of the challenges we face, we will only be as strong as those who do the least.

In these times, I am acutely aware of how easy it is to feel disheartened. We are facing many battles on many fronts.

But there is cause for optimism. Because for every new weapon we face, there is a new tool to overcome it.

For every attempt to push the world into chaos, is a collective conviction to bring us back to order.

We have the means; we just need the collective will.

Mai i tōku ukaipo Aotearoa, karahuihui mai tātou, nō reira, tēnā tātou kātoa.

[From my homeland, my source of sustenance, to yours, let us come together, all of us].

Nō reira, tēnā kotou, tēnā kotou tēnā tatou kātoa.

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Antarctic Heritage Trust launch of Scott’s Discovery Hut Virtual Reality Experience

Rau rangatira mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Nau mai haere mai ki Te Whare Kawana o Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Kia ora tātou katoa.

Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care Survivor Event

Ka matika atu ki te kaupapa o te ra,

Ki a koutou, nga morehu o te tūkino;

E kore nei te mamae, te rongo,

e taku ngakau, mōu i kawe i roto i nga tau kua pahure.

Ceremony for the Presentation of Coastwatchers Certificates

Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Nau mai, haere mai ra ki Te Whare Kawana o Te Whanganui-a-Tara

I specifically acknowledge:

Investiture ceremony for Ta Selwyn Parata KNZM

Rau rangatira mā koutou… tātou, i haere mai... ki te whakanui i te kaupapa o te rā, i haere mai… ki te whakamānawa, tēnei o nga mokopuna, a Tahu Pōtiki, a Porourangi. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Visit to Woodford House School

Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

Community reception for Cyclone Gabrielle volunteers and responders

Dr jane goodall's reasons for hope tour.

E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga iwi o te motu e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

Royal A&P Society Centennial Conference

State dinner for the head of state of samoa.

Rau rangatira mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

Richard and I are delighted to host you all this evening.

Whaiora o Ngā Iwi Taketake

E nga iwi o te motu e e huihui mai nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Kia ora mai tātou katoa

Graduation of the 2024 NZOC Wāhine Toa Leadership programme

Anzac day dawn service 2024.

Rere ana nga roimata o Hine tērā te pae o Te Riri. Huihuia mai tātau katoa tēnei te pae o Maumahara. E nga iwi, kei aku rangatira wāhine ma, tāne mā tēnā tātau katoa.

Anzac Day National Service 2024

I specifically acknowledge:

Service of Commemoration for the 30th Anniversary of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda

E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga iwi o te motu e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

School to Seas

Reception for his excellency general the honourable david hurley and mrs linda hurley, state dinner for the governor-general of australia.

Rau rangatira mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

Cambodian New Year Festival

Corps day dinner for the royal new zealand nursing corps.

E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga iwi o te motu e huihui nei, tenei aku mihi

I particularly acknowledge:

Reception for the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts

Rau rangatira mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Nau mai haere mai ki Te Whare Kawana o Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Kia ora tātou katoa.

Royal Forest and Bird Centennial Dinner

I specifically acknowledge

Luncheon with the Christchurch Business Club

Dame kiri te kanawa's 80th birthday celebration, international women's day fair food high tea.

A warm welcome to you all, and I specifically acknowledge

2024 Caring Families Aotearoa Excellence in Foster Care Awards

Mihi whakatau at the waitangi treaty grounds.

Ko ‘te amorangi ki mua’ Ko ‘te hāpai ō ki muri’ Tuatahi ki te Atua, koia te tīmatanga,koia ano te whakamutunga o ngā mea katoa.

Reception for the National Iwi Chairs Forum

Kei aku nui, Kei aku rahi,

Koutou e pikau, e kawe nei i nga wawata, moemoeā mo ā tātou iwi, mo a tātou whakatipuranga.

Nōku te maringa ki te whakatakoto he paku whakaaro ōku I tenei rā.

Tena koutou Tena koutou, Tena tātou katoa

Samaritans Wellington Christmas reception

New zealand officer cadet commissioning course graduation 2023.

Kei aku Mana Whakaruruhau tēnā koutou. Tēnā koutou Ngāti Tūmatauenga. Mihi mai, karanga mai, e te wāhanga taiwhenua, o Te Ope Kātua, o Aotearoa. E koa ana ahau ki te haramai nei i tēnei rangi.

Sir George Elliot Charitable Trust scholarships 2023

Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Nau mai, haere mai ra ki Te Whare Kawana o Tamaki Makaurau.

I particularly acknowledge

25th Anniversary of APEC Voices of the Future

Royal society te apārangi wellington research honours 2023.

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Great Speech of New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at UN

WATCH HERE THE VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImBlLRUSVN4

Madam President, Mr Secretary-General, friends in the global community.

My opening remarks were in te reo Māori, the language of the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. As is tradition, I acknowledged those who are here, why we are here, and the importance of our work.

It seems a fitting place to start.

I'm struck as a leader attending my first United Nations General Assembly by the power and potential that resides here.

But in New Zealand, we have always been acutely aware of that.

We are a remote nation at the bottom of the South Pacific. Our nearest neighbours take 3 hours to reach by plane, and anywhere that takes less than 12 hours is considered close. I have no doubt though, that our geographic isolation has contributed to our values.

We are a self-deprecating people. We're not ones for status. We'll celebrate the local person who volunteers at their sports club as much as we will the successful entrepreneur. Our empathy and strong sense of justice is matched only by our pragmatism. We are, after all, a country made up of two main islands - one simply named North and the other, South.

For all of that, our isolation has not made us insular.

In fact, our engagement with the world has helped shape who we are.

I am a child of the '80s. A period in New Zealand's history where we didn't just observe international events, we challenged them. Whether it was apartheid in South Africa, or nuclear testing in the Pacific, I grew up learning about my country and who we were, by the way that we reacted to international events. Whether it was taking to the streets or changing our laws, we have seen ourselves as members of a community, and one that we have a duty to use our voice within.

I am an incredibly proud New Zealander, but much of that pride has come from being a strong and active member of our international community, not in spite of it.

And at the heart of that international community, has been this place.

Emerging from a catastrophic war, we have collectively established through convention, charters and rules a set of international norms and human rights. All of these are an acknowledgement that we are not isolated, governments do have obligations to their people and each other, and that our actions have a global effect.

In 1945, New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser said that the UN Charter offered perhaps a last opportunity to work in unison to realise the hope in the hearts of all of us, for a peace that would be real, lasting, and worthy of human dignity.

But none of these founding principles should be consigned to the history books. In fact, given the challenges we face today, and how truly global they are in their nature and impact, the need for collective action and multilateralism has never been clearer.

And yet, for all of that, the debate and dialogue we hear globally is not centred on the relevance and importance of our international institutions. Instead, we find ourselves having to defend their very existence.

That surely leaves us all with the question, how did we get here, and how do we get out?

If anything unites us politically in this place right now it is this - globalisation has had a massive impact on our nations and the people we serve.

While that impact has been positive for many, for others it has not. The transitions our economies have made have often been jarring, and the consequences harsh. And so amongst unprecedented global economic growth, we have still seen a growing sense of isolation, dislocation, and a sense of insecurity and the erosion of hope.

As politicians and governments, we all have choices in how we respond to these challenges.

We can use the environment to blame nameless, faceless ‘other', to feed the sense of insecurity, to retreat into greater levels of isolationism. Or we can acknowledge the problems we have and seek to fix them.

Generational change

In New Zealand, going it alone is not an option.

Aside from our history, we are also a trading nation. And proudly so. But even without those founding principles, there are not just questions of nationhood to consider. There are generational demands upon us too.

It should hardly come as a surprise that we have seen a global trend of young people showing dissatisfaction with our political systems, and calling on us to do things differently - why wouldn't they when they themselves have had to adapt so rapidly to a changing world.

Within a few short decades we now have a generation who will grow up more connected than ever before. Digital transformation will determine whether the jobs they are training for will even exist in two decades. In education or the job market, they won't just compete with their neighbour, but their neighbouring country.

This generation is a borderless one - at least in a virtual sense. One that increasingly see themselves as global citizens. And as their reality changes, they expect ours to as well - that we'll see and understand our collective impact, and that we'll change the way we use our power.

And if we're looking for an example of where the next generation is calling on us to make that change, we need look no further than climate change.

Global challenges

Two weeks ago, Pacific Island leaders gathered together at the Pacific Islands Forum.

It was at this meeting, on the small island nation of Nauru, that climate change was declared the single biggest threat to the security of the Pacific. Please, just think about this for a moment.

Of all of the challenges we debate and discuss, rising sea levels present the single biggest threat to our region.

For those who live in the South Pacific, the impacts of climate change are not academic, or even arguable. They are watching the sea levels rise, the extreme weather events increase, and the impact on their water supply and food crops. We can talk all we like about the science and what it means, what temperature rises we need to limit in order to survive, but there is a grinding reality in hearing someone from a Pacific island talk about where the sea was when they were a child, and potential loss of their entire village as an adult.

Our action in the wake of this global challenge remains optional. But the impact of inaction does not. Nations like Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, or Kiribati - small countries who've contributed the least to global climate change - are and will suffer the full force of a warming planet.

If my Pacific neighbours do not have the option of opting out of the effects of climate change, why should we be able to opt out of taking action to stop it?

Any disintegration of multilateralism - any undermining of climate related targets and agreements - aren't interesting footnotes in geopolitical history. They are catastrophic.

In New Zealand we are determined to play our part. We will not issue any further offshore oil and gas exploration permits. We have set a goal of 100 percent renewable energy generation by 2035, established a green infrastructure fund to encourage innovation, and rolled out an initiative to plant one billion trees over the next 10 years.

These plans are unashamedly ambitious. The threat climate change poses demands it.

But we only represent less than 0.2 percent of global emissions.

That's why, as a global community, not since the inception of the United Nations has there been a greater example of the importance of collective action and multilateralism, than climate change. It should be a rallying cry to all of us.

And yet there is a hesitance we can ill afford. A calculation of personal cost, of self-interest. But this is not the only challenge where domestic self-interest is the first response, and where an international or collective approach has been diluted at best, or rejected at worst.

Rebuilding multilateralism

But it would be both unfair and naive to argue that retreating to our own borders and interests has meant turning our backs on a perfect system. The international institutions we have committed ourselves to have not been perfect.

But they can be fixed.

And that is why the challenge I wish to issue today is this - together, we must rebuild and recommit to multilateralism.

We must redouble our efforts to work as a global community.

We must rediscover our shared belief in the value, rather than the harm, of connectedness.

We must demonstrate that collective international action not only works, but that it is in all of our best interests.

We must show the next generation that we are listening, and that we have heard them.

Connectedness

But if we're truly going to take on a reform agenda, we need to acknowledge the failings that led us to this cross road.

International trade for instance, has helped bring millions of people out of poverty around the world. But some have felt their standard of living slide. In New Zealand, we ourselves have seen the hesitancy around trade agreements amongst our own population.

The correct response to this is not to repeat mistakes of the past and be seduced by the false promises of protectionism. Rather, we must all work to ensure that the benefits of trade are distributed fairly across our societies.

We can't rely on international institutions to do this, in the same way as we cannot blame them if they haven't delivered these benefits. It is incumbent on us to build productive, sustainable, inclusive economies, and demonstrate to our peoples that when done right, international economic integration can make us all better off.

And if we want to ensure anyone is better off, surely it should be the most vulnerable.

In New Zealand we have set ourselves an ambitious goal. We want to be the best place in the world to be a child. It's hardly the stuff of hard and fast measures - after all, how do you measure play, a feeling of security, happiness?

But we can measure material deprivation, and we can measure poverty, and so we will. And not only that, we are making it law that we report on those numbers every single year alongside our budgets. What better way to hold ourselves to account, and what better group to do that for than children.

But if we are focused on nurturing that next generation, we have to equally worry about what it is we are handing down to them too - including our environment.

In the Māori language there is a word that captures the importance of that role - Kaitiakitanga. It means guardianship. The idea that we have been entrusted with our environment, and we have a duty of care. For us, that has meant taking action to address degradation, like setting standards to make our rivers swimmable, reducing waste and phasing out single-use plastic bags, right through to eradicating predators and protecting our biodiversity.

The race to grow our economies and increase wealth makes us all the poorer if it comes at the cost of our environment. In New Zealand, we are determined to prove that it doesn't have to be this way.

But these are all actions and initiatives that we can take domestically that ease the blame and pressure on our international institutions. That doesn't mean they don't need fixing.

Reforming the UN

As the heart of the multilateral system, the United Nations must lead the way.

We strongly support the Secretary-General's reform efforts to make the UN more responsive and effective, modernised so that it is capable of dealing with today's challenges. We encourage him to be ambitious. And we stand with him in that ambition.

But ultimately it is up to us - the Member States - to drive change at the UN.

This includes reforming the Security Council. If we want the Council to fulfil its purpose of maintaining international peace and security, its practices need to be updated so it is not hamstrung by the use of the veto.

New thinking will also be needed if we are to achieve the vision encapsulated in the Sustainable Development Goals. In New Zealand, we have sought to embed the principles behind the SDGs in a new living standards framework that is guiding policy making, and the management of our resources. And we remain committed to supporting the roll out of the SDGs alongside international partners through a significant increase in our Official Development Assistance budget.

Universal values

But revitalising our international rules-based system isn't just about the mechanics of how we work together. It also means renewing our commitment to our values.

The UN Charter recalls that the Organisation was formed to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which through two World Wars had brought untold sorrow to humanity. If we forget this history and the principles which drove the creation of the UN we will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.

In an increasingly uncertain world it is more important than ever that we remember the core values on which the UN was built.

That all people are equal.

That everyone is entitled to have their dignity and human rights respected.

That we must strive to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.

And we must consistently hold ourselves to account on each.

Amongst renewing this commitment though, we have to acknowledge where accountability must continue - and that is especially the case when it comes to equality.

So many gains have been made, each worthy of celebration. In New Zealand we have just marked the 125th year since women were granted the right to vote. We were the first in the world to do so. As a girl I never ever grew up believing that my gender would stand in the way of me achieving whatever I wanted to in life. I am, after all, not the first, but the third female Prime Minister of New Zealand.

But for all of that, we still have a gender pay gap, an over representation of women in low paid work, and domestic violence. And we are not alone.

It seems surprising that in this modern age we have to recommit ourselves to gender equality, but we do. And I for one will never celebrate the gains we have made for women domestically, while internationally other women and girls experience a lack of the most basic of opportunity and dignity.

Me Too must become We Too.

We are all in this together.

Conclusion

I accept that the list of demands on all of us is long. Be it domestic, or international, we are operating in challenging times. We face what we call in New Zealand ‘wicked problems'. Ones that are intertwined and interrelated.

Perhaps then it is time to step back from the chaos and ask what we want. It is in that space that we'll find simplicity. The simplicity of peace, of prosperity, of fairness. If I could distil it down into one concept that we are pursuing in New Zealand it is simple and it is this. Kindness.

In the face of isolationism, protectionism, racism - the simple concept of looking outwardly and beyond ourselves, of kindness and collectivism, might just be as good a starting point as any. So let's start here with the institutions that have served us well in times of need, and will do so again.

In the meantime, I can assure all of you, New Zealand remains committed to continue to do our part to building and sustaining international peace and security. To promoting and defending an open, inclusive, and rules-based international order based on universal values.

To being pragmatic, empathetic, strong and kind.

The next generation after all, deserves no less.

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa.

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Joint Statement between the Republic of Korea and New Zealand 4 September 2024, Seoul

On the occasion of the official visit by the Right Honourable Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of New Zealand to the Republic of Korea from 4 to 5 September 2024, a summit meeting was held between His Excellency President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea (hereinafter referred to as the “ROK”) and the Right Honourable Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of New Zealand.

Recognising the ROK and New Zealand’s long and warm partnership, shared values and aligned strategic vision for a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, both sides decided to advance discussions on elevating the current “Partnership for the 21st Century” agreed in 2006, to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” with the aim of adopting a relevant framework in 2025.

Both sides noted their common interests, including upholding democracy, the rule of law and human rights, support for strong multilateral and regional organisations and frameworks, and a commitment to peace and prosperity, free and open trade, and sustainable growth. Recognising the close ties stemming from more than sixty years of diplomatic relations, vibrant people to people exchanges, strong trade and economic links and long-standing defence and security connections, both sides decided to further strengthen cooperation and exchanges in the following areas:

Trade and Economic Cooperation

Both sides emphasised the importance of enhancing mutual prosperity and strengthening trade and economic connections, noting that in the last 10 years, two-way trade has approximately doubled between the two countries with scope for further opportunities to be explored in the future.

Reflecting the increasingly important nexus between economic prosperity and security, both sides are committed to working together on issues relating to economic security. Accordingly, both sides decided to launch a regular bilateral Economic Security Dialogue to discuss challenges and opportunities in this area.

Given the importance of multilateral rules and institutions in promoting free and open international trade, both sides shared a common interest to work for even closer alignment in multilateral institutions including the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). New Zealand committed to supporting the ROK’s successful hosting of the APEC in 2025.

Both sides are committed to the effective implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA).

In light of the 10th anniversary of the ROK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement in 2025, both sides committed to continue cooperation under the Agreement to enhance two-way trade and investment. Both sides also agreed to explore the possibility of an upgrade of the Agreement, with a view to achieving mutually beneficial outcomes.

Both sides noted with satisfaction that the ROK-New Zealand Double Taxation Agreement of 1981 has delivered tax benefits to Koreans and New Zealanders who live and work in each other’s countries. Both sides are committed to continuing negotiations to update this long-standing agreement.

Science, Education and People to People Cooperation

Noting the continued collaboration through five rounds of the ROK-New Zealand Science and Technology Joint Committee Meeting, both sides noted the opportunity for cooperation in high-tech fields in science and technology with officials shortly to discuss arrangements for the sixth Science and Technology Joint Committee Meeting. Both sides appreciated having held ten rounds of ICT Consultations among the ROK, New Zealand and Australia (KANZ) and will continue to explore opportunities for cooperation in this field.

Recognising the importance of the economic value of space, both sides are committed to fostering a private sector-led space industry.

Recognising the knowledge and experience that both countries have in responding to natural hazards, both sides agreed to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between their national emergency management agencies to share information and foster cooperation, including the possibility of negotiating a Memorandum of Cooperation.

Both sides acknowledged that education is an integral part of the bilateral relationship with a shared commitment to continue two-way student mobility between the ROK and New Zealand. Both sides decided to continue to promote student programmes with the aim to expand the number of grantees through various scholarship initiatives.

Both sides also noted that the ROK and New Zealand Working Holiday scheme provides an ongoing platform for the regular exchange of young people in both directions.

The New Zealand side announced that the Prime Minister’s Fellowship with Korea would be restarted with a new Fellow to be announced for 2024-25.

Defence and Security Cooperation

Both sides acknowledged their long-standing defence and security relationship, stemming from the Korean War, when New Zealanders fought for the freedom of the Korean people.

Both sides commended their cooperation to further enhance peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, including their work together to monitor and report on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s evasion of UN sanctions, and New Zealand’s contribution to the United Nations Command (UNC).

Both sides expressed satisfaction on having recently completed the bilateral military activity ROKKIWI in June 2024 as well as the Passage Exercise during HMNZS AOTEAROA’s recent visit to Busan, Korea. Both sides noted that the Korean Armed Forces and the New Zealand Defence Force have an ongoing commitment to conducting bilateral military exercises.

Regional and International Cooperation

In recognition of shared interests and close strategic alignment, both sides are committed to reinvigorating high-level dialogues to exchange information and views on issues of international and regional importance, including through Foreign Ministry Consultations and Joint Economic Consultations.

Both sides welcomed mutual participation at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting that was held in Nuku’alofa on 26 to 30 August, which ROK participated in as a dialogue partner of the Forum. New Zealand also acknowledged ROK’s recent hosting of the inaugural Korea-Pacific Islands Summit in May 2023. As members of the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP), both sides expressed willingness to continue their close cooperation to support the vision outlined in the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, including through their respective contributions towards the construction of a Pacific Community ocean research vessel.

Recognising their unique history of Antarctic cooperation, both sides are committed to protecting Antarctica as a place for peace, science and cooperation, through the Antarctic Treaty System.

Both sides recognised the need to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. To this end, both sides decided to seek opportunities to explore areas for possible cooperation in their respective transitions to net zero emissions, including the use of carbon markets.

Both sides affirmed that they are also strong advocates for a multistakeholder approach to the safe, secure, trustworthy and responsible design, development, deployment, and use of Artificial intelligence (AI). New Zealand welcomed the ROK’s leadership on strengthening global AI governance including the upcoming REAIM (Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain) Summit from 9 to 10 September, and the AI Seoul Summit held from 21 to 22 May 2024 where New Zealand was pleased to support the Seoul Ministerial Statement for advancing AI safety, innovation and inclusivity.

As natural partners in the Indo-Pacific region, both sides expressed support for freedom, peace, stability, openness, and prosperity of the region, and a rules-based order that protects the rights and sovereignty of states and upholds the principles of the United Nations Charter. Both sides reiterated their strong support for ASEAN centrality and full support for the “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)’’.

Both sides also welcomed the opportunity to work together to progress the “Indo-Pacific 4 (IP4)” format including through regular high-level engagements, as a forum to exchange views on pressing regional issues.

Both sides condemned in the most serious of terms the DPRK’s ongoing illegal ballistic missile and nuclear development programmes. Both sides called for the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation of the DPRK, and urged the DPRK to take up offers of international dialogue. Both sides condemned in the strongest possible terms the increasing military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, including the DPRK’s export and Russia’s procurement of ballistic missiles in violation of UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

Both sides further expressed concern over what the DPRK may gain in exchange for its provision of weapons to Russia. Both sides committed to continue strengthening cooperation to promote human rights in the DPRK and called for the immediate resolution of the issues of abductees, detainees, and unrepatriated prisoners of war. New Zealand expressed support for the goals of the ROK’s Audacious Initiative as well as the “August 15 Unification Doctrine” to achieve a unified Korean Peninsula that is denuclearised, free, peaceful, and prosperous.

Both sides strongly condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and each pledged to continue to support the sovereignty of Ukraine and its efforts to secure a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace. Both sides stressed that they will continue to call on Russia to abide by its international obligations and immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw from the internationally recognised territory of Ukraine.

Both sides reaffirmed the right of freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful use of the seas accorded by international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Both sides reiterated that UNCLOS sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out. Both sides expressed serious concerns over recent developments in the South China Sea. Both sides reaffirmed the need to pursue peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS. Both sides also stressed the importance of preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Both sides expressed concern over the recent regional escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, which makes a ceasefire in Gaza even more urgent. Both sides shared the long-standing view that a negotiated political solution is the only way to achieve lasting peace and security, and that there is no military solution to this crisis. Both sides urged all parties to exercise maximum constraint and de-escalate tensions.

Both sides condemned ongoing Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea as illegal, unacceptable and profoundly destabilising. Both sides are committed to supporting maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Middle East. /End/

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Home » News » Did Trump have a free speech right to make video at Arlington Cemetery?

Did Trump have a free speech right to make video at Arlington Cemetery?

By John R. Vile, published on August 30, 2024

Video from Donald Trump's visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 26, 2024, was posted by Trump on TikTok in a message about what Trump considers Joe Biden's failures as a president. While Trump was invited to the cemetery by family of a fallen soldier, the U.S. Army has said the cemetery's rules prohibit using the cemetery for partisan purposes and taking photos and video in this part of the cemetery. (Screenshot from Trump's TikTok video)

Although there is some dispute about the facts, one of the latest brouhahas on the presidential campaign trail concerns former President Donald Trump’s appearance at the Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 26, 2024. There was an apparent scuffle between a member of the military and a photographer whose access she sought to impede as Trump marked the third anniversary of the suicide attack that killed 13 U.S. troops as U.S. soldiers were leaving Afghanistan.

The officer was seeking to enforce a federal regulation, about which cemetery authorities had informed Trump, that barred partisan activities at the cemetery. The fact that Trump was using the occasion to highlight what he considered to be a policy failure on President Joe Biden’s part certainly gave the event a partisan flavor, heightened by an audio of him during the visit criticizing Biden’s action and by subsequent posts on TikTok .

Some have suggested that Hatch Act regulations prohibiting federal employees from participating some partisan activities might also come into play, but as an ex-president, Trump certainly is not such an employee nor were his cameramen.

Expressing political viewpoints in cemeteries

Those who hope to save the lives of soldiers from the ravages of war are certainly as entitled as anyone to express their views in opposition to military policies that have or might put them there prematurely. Given the hallowed nature of cemeteries and the solemnity that accompanies the burial and care of the dead — and the peace the sites are designed to offer to grieving friends and relatives — it seems reasonable to shield visitors from the commotion that accompanies the expression of political viewpoints.

A strong case can be made that prohibiting partisan events at cemeteries, which are governmental properties, are reasonable “time, place, and manner” restrictions that do not violate the free speech clause of the First Amendment. Moreover, there is no history of opening cemeteries as a public forum for protests.

Supreme Court upheld pickets outside a military funeral

In Snyder v. Phelps (2011), the U.S. Supreme Court did rule that individuals from the Westboro Baptist Church who believed that American tolerance of homosexuality had led to U.S. casualties had the right to picket outside a military funeral because the issue they were highlighting was a matter of public concern. However, it based its decision in part on the fact that the picketers had not disrupted the funeral itself.

The Trump case is complicated by the fact that one or more of the parents whose children were buried had invited Trump to attend. It is also unclear whether family members would have the right to allow the president to be photographed at a part of the cemetery that includes recent grave sites of individuals whose families did not give consent.

Abraham Lincoln gave a famous speech at Gettysburg cemetery

Cemeteries, especially those honoring military heroes, have long been considered hallowed ground. One of the most famous speeches of Greek history, as recorded by Thucydides in his account of the Peloponnesian War, was Pericles’ oration over the annual public funeral of Athenian war dead.

Few if any speeches in U.S. history are better known that President Abraham Lincoln’s speech at the cemetery at the Gettysburg battlefield. One of President Biden’s first acts as president was that of laying a wreath at Arlington’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

If such sites became partisan platforms, they could easily become political battlegrounds rather than places to bury and commemorate war dead. To paraphrase a statement that President Barack Obama made famous, those who give their lives in service to the country do not do so on behalf of Red States or Blue States but on behalf of the United States.

Let the dead rest in peace

Presidential candidates have long wrapped themselves in flags and spoken from rostrums with key American symbols as backdrops, but one might hope that, as long as other venues remain open for protests, families, especially those who have given sons and daughters on behalf of their country, can visit the site of their loved ones free from the sounds and sights of partisan controversy.

Justice Roberts observed in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) that “Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard.”

By distinguishing cemeteries from public sidewalks, we do not violate free speech, but merely allow the silent voices of the dead to rest in peace.

John R. Vile is a political science professor and the dean of the Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University.

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ronald reagan pointing as he stands at a podium with a california flag behind him

How Ronald Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” Speech Launched His Political Career

Reagan was primarily known as an actor until 1964 when a televised address for presidential candidate Barry Goldwater changed his life.

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Ronald Reagan is now considered one of the best public speakers in U.S. political history. Holding an impressive distinction as the “Great Communicator,” he delivered a number of pivotal speeches in office—most notably his 1987 address telling Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin Wall.

Reagan’s comfort behind a microphone became one of the defining aspects of his presidency, which is examined in the new biopic Reagan in theaters Friday. Starring Dennis Quaid in the titular role and Penelope Ann Miller as his wife, Nancy Reagan , the movie spans Reagan’s life from his childhood in Illinois to his ascension to the White House and his eventual diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease.

However, there was a time very few knew of Reagan’s oratory ability or potential within the Republican party. In the early 1960s, he was a political nobody just starting his transition out of Hollywood. That is, until one important address in October 1964 informed Americans of “A Time for Choosing” and changed everything.

Reagan’s movie career had fizzled out by the 1960s

Long before he was U.S president or even governor of California, most Americans knew Reagan from the big screen during his decades-long film career. Starting in 1937, Reagan appeared in more than 50 movies—highlighted by his early performances as George Gipp in the 1940 sports drama Knute Rockne, All American and amputee Drake McHugh in 1942’s Kings Row . Later nominated for the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest movie stars , Reagan was known as an onscreen charmer who had what The Dissolve editor Scott Tobias called “bland, uncomplicated affability.”

ronald reagan pulling money out of a safe in a movie still on a poster card

But his roles eventually dwindled. Reagan appeared in only two feature-length films from 1957 through 1963, and his last movie, The Killers , became memorable for unfavorable reasons. Reagan played gangster Jack Browning in the 1964 crime drama based on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway . The movie was controversial from the outset; it was originally supposed to air on NBC, but the network felt its subject matter was too violent. Instead, Universal Pictures released the movie theatrically on July 7 of that year.

In one particularly infamous scene, Browning slaps character Sheila Farr, played by Angie Dickinson , hard across the face in a stark contrast from Reagan’s good guy persona. According to Tobias , Reagan reportedly hated his lone villainous role and regretted joining the project.

With his professional life ripe for transition, Reagan had already begun to explore other career opportunities.

He became increasingly involved in politics

According to the Reagan Presidential Library , Reagan had started a side career as a public speaker by this time. He regularly delivered speeches to Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs, Chambers of Commerce, and many other civic groups.

At the same time, Reagan became much more outspoken politically. A longtime Democrat, he felt the party had become too liberal on economic issues. He campaigned for Republican presidential nominee Richard Nixon in 1960 before officially switching parties two years later.

“My views haven’t changed an awful lot since I was a Democrat,” Reagan said in 1966. “I believed then that anything—whether it came from labor, management, or government—that anything imposed unfairly on the individual, the freedom of the individual, was tyranny and should be opposed.”

Seeing an opportunity to help struggling presidential nominee Barry Goldwater who was facing Democratic incumbent Lyndon Johnson in the 1964 election, California Republicans asked Reagan to use his speaking ability to assist Goldwater with a televised speech. He accepted with one stipulation: that he give the address in front of a live audience, as he had grown accustomed to doing.

Reagan worried he “let down” Goldwater with his speech

Reagan spent weeks tweaking and practicing the speech. It was scheduled to air on October 17, 1964, from an NBC studio as part of a pre-taped TV program called Rendezvous with Destiny .

Employing elements of the speech in prior speaking engagements, Reagan was confident listeners would be receptive. However, Goldwater wasn’t as sure and even called Reagan days before the air date. “He sounded uneasy and a little uncomfortable,” Reagan later wrote in his 1990 autobiography An American Life , explaining that Goldwater proposed airing a pre-recorded talk he had with former President Dwight D. Eisenhower instead. “I’d seen the film showing Barry’s meeting with Eisenhower at Gettysburg and didn’t think it was all that impressive.” Despite Goldwater’s hesitance, they stuck with the original plan.

Known as “A Time for Choosing,” Reagan’s speech avoided the most inflammatory rhetoric and policy ideas Goldwater previously touted. The far-right-leaning candidate had advocated for the use of tactical nuclear weapons during the Vietnam War and argued Social Security should become voluntary. Instead, Reagan took a more straightforward tone as he criticized big government and pitched a better future to Republican voters.

“We will keep in mind and remember that Barry Goldwater has faith in us. He has faith that you and I have the ability and the dignity and the right to make our own decisions and determine our own destiny,” Reagan concluded .

According to National Review , the Reagans watched the speech at the home of friends. Despite their positive reaction, Ronald was in no mood for celebrating as he went to bed later that night. “I was hoping I hadn’t let Barry down,” he later wrote in his autobiography.

In reality, the speech launched Reagan’s political career

ronald reagan smiling and holding his hands in the air as he stands behind a podium speaking

According to The Washington Post , the speech quickly raised more than $1 million for Goldwater’s campaign, then a “staggering” sum equivalent to more than $10 million today. Unfortunately, it did nothing to help him at the ballot box. Goldwater carried only six states and lost to LBJ in one of the biggest electoral college landslides ever.

Reagan, meanwhile, became an overnight political sensation. Journalist David Broder lauded the address as “the most successful political debut since William Jennings Bryan” and his 1896 “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic Convention.

For Republicans—who, according to former journalist and biographer Louis Cannon, had a dismal performance in the election beyond Goldwater’s rout—Reagan’s emergence was a chance for the party to start over. “We are now in 1965, and there aren’t any Republican leaders left in office,” Cannon said during a 2014 panel discussion . “If there had been a lot of Republicans in office still, I don’t know that everybody would have turned to Reagan. But they did.”

Within months of the speech, Reagan performed an exploratory speaking tour throughout California while eyeing a possible gubernatorial campaign. In 1966, he ran and easily defeated Democratic incumbent Pat Brown, whose crude comparison of Reagan to assassin John Wilkes Booth (both actors) during the campaign greatly backfired.

Reagan held the office until January 1975, which put him on a path to the presidency with his 1980 victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter . However, none of that might have happened without the successful appeal of “A Time for Choosing.”

“I didn’t know it then, but that speech was one of the most important milestones of my life,” Reagan later wrote .

See Reagan in Theaters August 30

Dennis Quaid—who has now played a U.S. president three times, including Bill Clinton in the made-for-TV movie The Special Relationship and the fictional Joseph Staton in the 2006 satire American Dreamz —said he was initially hesitant to portray Reagan because the role took him out of his comfort zone.

“I had a tinge of fear grow up my spine,” the 70-year-old actor told The Hollywood Reporter . “Fear is really very valuable. But I didn’t say yes right away because I wanted to make sure I could feel him as a person instead of doing an impersonation. I went to the Reagan ranch and I could feel him up there. It was really quite something.”

See how well Quaid emulates the former president’s oratory skills when Reagan reaches theaters on Friday. The movie also stars Penelope Ann Miller, Nick Searcy, and Jon Voight .

Get Tickets

Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.

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Charlie Vickers had no idea his The Rings of Power audition was for Tolkien's most famous villain, Sauron

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A handsome man looks out wistfully, wearing armour.

Charlie Vickers plays Sauron in The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, best known as a red eye towering over Mordor in Peter Jackson's film trilogy. ( Supplied/Amazon Prime Video )

How does an Australian actor with a handful of credits land a gig playing one of the most famous villains of the 20th century on the most expensive TV show of all-time?

According to Charlie Vickers — who plays dark lord Sauron on Amazon Prime's series Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — it helps to not know what you're auditioning for. That way, you can't freak out.

"When you audition for a big [show] like this, you get a dummy script to audition with," he tells ABC RN's The Screen Show. "So I did seven auditions, [and] they never tell you the character you audition for."

Vickers, 32, had already moved to New Zealand from London in 2019 to shoot the series when he learned he'd play Halbrand, a supposed exiled King of Southlands.

While the series is based upon Lord of the Rings creator J.R.R. Tolkien's various writings on Middle-Earth's Second Age (ie. thousands of years before Peter Jackson's film trilogy), the character was an original creation by showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

At the time, Vickers had starred in only two released productions: Netflix series Medici, and the Australian comedy film Palm Beach. Vickers' relative obscurity meant both he and the audience wouldn't expect Halbrand to be so important.

A man with a long red plaited beard stands with armoured soldiers behind him.

The Rings of Power mixes together new characters such as Halbrand alongside those created by Tolkien, such as dwarven prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur). ( Supplied/Amazon Prime Video )

"Right before we started the third episode, they took me aside and said, 'OK, we've been meaning to tell you this. Halbrand is actually Sauron in disguise. He's the dark lord.' And that was a bit of a 'whoa' moment," he says.

"There was a mixture of overwhelming excitement and the trepidation of 'I've got to do this'. But it was also a relief because there were a few hints in the script."

Audiences learned Halbrand's identity at the end of season one in 2022: Now, the series is back, with a season focused on Sauron's devilish plans for Middle Earth, centred on the titular rings of power. That pushes Vickers centre stage, which was nerve-wracking for the young actor.

A man in rags sits and cuts on his face sits in front of a sea, with an inquisitive look.

Vickers, here playing Halbrand, has been labelled "Hot Sauron" online. ( Supplied/Amazon Prime )

"I've gathered a toolbox of ways to deal with my anxiety," he says. "I've gotten better at it, but the impostor syndrome never goes away as an actor, right? You get a job, and then you think, 'How am I going to do this?' And then you rock up, and you're surrounded by amazing actors. You [wonder], 'Am I the weak link in this?'

"And perhaps it's that [fear] that drives you to try and do your best … it's a dark way of looking at it, but it fuels the fire at times for me."

That inner doubt and turmoil is a strong contrast to his character, Sauron, who Vickers portrays with a sense of stillness, even as his schemes require quick shifts.

This season, the Evil Lord assumes a new disguise as Annatar, the elven Lord of the Gifts, with Vickers eager to see how audiences react.

"You're with him on his journey," he says. "Although he is a villain, I like to think of him as a bit of an anti-hero. You're watching someone manipulate people, but you're almost rooting for him at the same time, in a really sadistic way."

There are no hobbits in The Rings of Power, but there are harfoots such as Nori (Markella Kavenagh), a precursor to our furry-footed friends. ( Supplied/Prime Video Australia )

The long road from Victoria to Mordor

Growing up in Geelong, Vickers says the first time he considered acting as a career was after watching Ewan Leslie in his Helpmann-Award-winning performance of Richard III.

"I saw him when I was in Year 12," he says, of the 2010 performance put on by Melbourne Theatre Company. "I was playing Richard III at school and we had an excursion to go and watch him. He was incredible, [it] inspired me to be like, 'Man, I would love to do that one day'."

Still, Vickers put it aside, studying a Bachelor of Arts at RMIT University before auditioning, in secret, for the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

"[Central] came to Sydney to hold auditions and I flew up for the weekend," he says.

"I didn't tell anyone because I was always afraid of auditioning. It's the fear of failure, right? Auditioning, not getting in, and then having to go home and tell everyone."

Getting accepted meant a move to London, where Vickers immersed himself in long hours of acting classes, paired with last-minute, five-pound tickets for West End shows. Shortly after graduating in 2018, he landed a role in the final season of Medici, playing nephew to Sean Bean.

But it's his experiences on set in Australia that have shaped the type of actor Vickers wants to be. He was blown away by the generosity of his Palm Beach co-stars, Bryan Brown and Sam Neill, as well as Sigourney Weaver, who he starred alongside in the 2023 Australian miniseries The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.

"[Brown and Neill] were incredibly encouraging and generous with their time; Sam would offer to do audition tapes with me," he says.

"Sigourney was very similar in giving time and space to every actor in the room and made sure that everyone's thoughts about a scene of how to interpret [it] were always heard.

"I think you absorb what these amazing people do as craftspeople and as human beings. The thing that really shines through is their humanity, both on screen and on stage, and as people that you sit in a room with and work with every day."

A man stands in a kitchen with sweat on his collarbone, peeking through a tropical button up with several buttons undone.

In The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Vickers played the titular character's abusive father. ( Hugh Stewart/Amazon Prime Video )

Vickers is conscious of being a pleasant co-worker in the long term: He's eager to stay on for The Rings of Power's five planned seasons, which, at the show's current production schedule, could take 10 years.

It's also expected to be the most expensive television show of all time, estimated to reach US$1 billion in production costs by the end of its run. Amazon acquired the rights for the show for approximately US$250 million, with each season estimated to cost US$100-150 million to make.

The scale and intricacies of the show — where Sauron-as-Annatar's elf ears take 45 minutes each day to attach, or 30-second underwater scenes take months of preparation — are immense. But Vickers says he's mostly excited to spend so long with one character.

"[As] I grow as a performer, I would hope the character will start to grow, and everything just deepens the longer you're involved," he says. "As it lives within you, it just gets deeper and deeper.

An elf does some silver smithing in a fantasy bakcdrop. A woman with blonde hair carefully watches over his shoulder.

Elven-smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) is key to Sauron's plans, as he forges the Rings of Power. ( Supplied/Amazon Prime Video )

"I just sort of pinch myself, to be honest. It's cliché, but I feel so incredibly lucky to be doing this, and have the resources that being on this show affords me to tell this story.'

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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12 misleading or lacking-in-context claims from Harris’ DNC speech

Domenico Montanaro

Vice President Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, made 12 misleading or lacking-in-context statements during her speech at the Democratic National Convention last week. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

There were about a dozen statements that Vice President Kamala Harris made during her roughly 40-minute acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that were either misleading or lacking in context.

They range from characterizations of former President Trump’s stances on abortion rights and Social Security to her plans to address housing and grocery prices.

It’s the role of the press to try and hold politicians to account for the accuracy of their statements in a good-faith way. The dozen Harris statements lacking in context are far less in comparison to 162 misstatements, exaggerations and outright lies that NPR found from Trump’s hour-long news conference Aug. 8.

Nonetheless, here’s what we found from Harris’ convention speech:

1. “His explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents, and anyone he sees as the enemy.”

Trump has promised retribution against his political enemies, has called reporters “the enemy of the people,” and has made vague threats of jail time for reporters.

“They’ll never find out, & it’s important that they do,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform after the leak of a draft of the Dobbs decision was published. “So, go to the reporter & ask him/her who it was. If not given the answer, put whoever in jail until the answer is given. You might add the editor and publisher to the list.”

He’s made other such comments, but there’s no explicit and specific policy from Trump on this because, as with many things involving Trump, he has been vague about his specific intentions.

2. “[W]e know and we know what a second Trump term would look like. It's all laid out in Project 2025, written by his closest advisers. And its sum total is to pull our country back to the past.”

Project 2025 is the work of people with close ties to Trump through the Heritage Foundation. Trump has disavowed parts of Project 2025, and a campaign official called it a “ pain in the ass .” There’s good political reason for that. Many of the detailed proposals are highly controversial and unpopular. The website for Project 2025 lays out some of the connections to the Trump administration in black and white, as well as the group’s belief that a Trump administration will use it as a blueprint:“The 2025 Presidential Transition Project is being organized by the Heritage Foundation and builds off Heritage’s longstanding ‘Mandate for Leadership,’ which has been highly influential for presidential administrations since the Reagan era. Most recently, the Trump administration relied heavily on Heritage’s “Mandate” for policy guidance, embracing nearly two-thirds of Heritage’s proposals within just one year in office.

“ Paul Dans , former chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) during the Trump administration, serves as the director of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. Spencer Chretien , former special assistant to the president and associate director of Presidential Personnel, serves as associate director of the project.”

In fact, CNN reported that “at least 140 people who worked in the Trump administration had a hand in Project 2025,” including his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and adviser Stephen Miller.

What’s more, CBS News found at least 270 policy proposals that intersect with the about 700 laid out in Project 2025.

3. “We're not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare.”

Former President Trump has pledged not to cut Social Security, the popular retirement program. While he was in office, Trump did try, unsuccessfully, to cut benefits for people who receive disability payments from Social Security.

Social Security benefits could be cut within a decade anyway, unless Congress takes steps to shore up the program. With tens of millions of baby boomers retiring and starting to draw benefits, and fewer people in the workforce paying taxes for each retiree, Social Security is expected to run short of cash in 2033. If that happens, almost 60 million retirees and their families would automatically see their benefits cut by 21%.

The problem could be solved by raising taxes, reducing benefits or some combination of the two. – Scott Horsley, NPR chief economics correspondent

4. “We are not going to let him end programs like Head Start that provide preschool and childcare for our children in America.”

This is again tied to Project 2025, but not something Trump has specifically talked about. Trump has talked about shutting down the Department of Education, but Head Start is funded through the Department of Health and Human Services.

5. “[A]s president, I will bring together labor and workers and small-business owners and entrepreneurs and American companies to create jobs to grow our economy and to lower the cost of everyday needs like healthcare and housing and groceries.”

High supermarket prices are a common complaint. Although grocery prices have largely leveled off, rising just 1.1% in the 12 months ending in July, they jumped 3.6% the previous year and a whopping 13.1% the year before that. Vice President Harris has proposed combating high grocery prices with a federal ban on “price gouging,” but her campaign has offered no specifics on how that would work or what would constitute excessive prices. The Biden-Harris administration has previously blamed some highly concentrated parts of the food chain – such as meat-packers – for driving up prices. The administration has tried to promote more competition in the industry by bankrolling new players. – Scott Horsley

6. “And we will end America's housing shortage.”

The U.S. faces a serious shortage of housing, which has led to high costs. The average home sold last month for $422,600. Last week, Harris proposed several steps to encourage construction of additional housing, including tax breaks intended to promote 3 million new units in four years. (For context, the U.S. is currently building about 1.5 million homes per year, including just over a million single family homes.) Harris has also proposed $25,000 in downpayment assistance for first-time homebuyers and a $40 billion fund to help communities develop affordable housing. She has not said where the money for these programs would come from. – Scott Horsley

7. “He doesn't actually fight for the middle class. Instead, he fights for himself and his billionaire friends. And he will give them another round of tax breaks that will add up to $5 trillion to the national debt.”

While the 2017 tax cuts were skewed to the wealthy , it did cut taxes across the board.

Large parts of that tax cut are due to expire next year. Trump has proposed extending all of them, and while also calling for additional, unspecified tax cuts. Harris has proposed extending the tax cuts for everyone making less than $400,000 a year (97% of the population) while raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the IRS has also beefed up tax enforcement to ensure that wealthier people and businesses pay what they owe. GOP lawmakers have criticized that effort, and it would likely be reversed in a second Trump administration. Both Harris and Trump have proposed exempting tips from taxation. While popular with workers in the swing state of Nevada, where many people work in tip-heavy industries like casinos, the idea has serious problems. Unless the lost tax revenue were replaced somehow, it would create an even bigger budget deficit. It would treat one class of workers (tipped employees) differently from all other workers. And it would invite gamesmanship as other workers tried to have part of their own income reclassified as tax-free tips. Depending on how the exemptions were structured, it could also result in lower retirement benefits for tipped workers. – Scott Horsley

8. “And all the while he intends to enact what, in effect, is a national sales tax? Call it a Trump tax that would raise prices on middle class families by almost $4,000 a year.”

This appears to be a reference to tariffs. Donald Trump raised tariffs sharply while he was in office, and he’s pledged to go further if he returns to the White House. During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, washing machines, solar panels and numerous products from China. Many trading partners retaliated, slapping tariffs of their own on U.S. exports. Farmers and manufacturers suffered.

Despite the fallout, the Biden/Harris administration has left most of the Trump tariffs in place, while adding its own, additional levies on targeted goods from China such as electric vehicles. In a second term, Trump has proposed adding a 10% tariff on all imports, with a much higher levy on all Chinese goods. Researchers at the Peterson Institute for International Economics estimate such import taxes would cost the average family $1,700 a year. – Scott Horsley

9. “This is what's happening in our country because of Donald Trump. And understand he is not done as a part of his agenda. He and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress. And get this, get this – he plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator and force states to report on women's miscarriages and abortions.”

It is accurate to point out that the lack of abortion access across the country for millions of women particularly in the South is directly because of Trump and his decision to appoint three conservative justices to the Supreme Court who voted to overturn Roe . As president, he sided with employers , who for religious or moral reasons, didn’t want to pay for contraception, as he tried to change the mandate that contraception be paid for under the Affordable Care Act.

But it’s unclear what Trump will do again as president. He has made conflicting comments about access to contraception. Harris’s charges about an “agenda” again seem to be based on the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 . It would be accurate to warn that it’s possible, if not likely, Trump would take up the recommendations given that people close to Trump were instrumental in writing it and given that in his first term as president, he adopted many of the Heritage Foundation’s recommendations. But it’s not entirely accurate to say “he plans to create” these things when Trump himself and his campaign have not advocated for this. Trump himself has said that abortion should be left up to the states – and insisted that he doesn’t support a national ban.

10. “With this election, we finally have the opportunity to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.”

This is another one of those traps politicians fall into – overpromising when it’s not something they can control. Harris needs Congress to do this, and her winning the presidency does not guarantee that any of what she wants done legislatively will get done, even if Democrats take control of both chambers.

11. “Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades.”

While Donald Trump stood in the way of this bill passing, and it had been written with conservative Republicans, it’s not accurate to say this was the “strongest border bill in decades” unless you count 11 years as decades. The 2013 comprehensive immigration overhaul that got 68 votes in the Senate and was killed by the GOP House, did far more than this bill did.

12. “He encouraged Putin to invade our allies, said Russia could quote, do whatever the hell they want.”

While an alarming thing for an American president to say about a NATO ally, this is lacking in some context. Trump said he would say Russia could “do whatever the hell it wanted” – and Trump would not defend an ally – if that country didn’t “pay.” Trump continues to get wrong, however, that no countries in the alliance “pay” anything to anyone except themselves. What Trump is talking about is NATO countries’ goals of funding their own defense to 2% of their gross domestic product. But not defending a country from a hostile invasion would violate Article 5 of the 1949 treaty that binds the countries in battle and was created as a way to thwart any potential efforts by the former Soviet Union to expand beyond its borders.

It reads : “[I]f a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked.”

It has been invoked once: After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S.

Vice President Kamala Harris

The debating chamber during question time.

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First words: The parliamentary maiden speech

When an MP enters Parliament for the first time, there is a lot of interest in how they start their parliamentary career.

Rows of seats in the Parliament Debating Chamber.

Source: Office of the Clerk

The maiden speech is an opportunity for new MPs to make a strong start and set the tone for their time in Parliament. It’s an important speech, and many MPs refer back to them when they make their valedictory speech at the end of their parliamentary term.

What do they talk about?

New MPs get 15 minutes for their maiden speech. This gives them time to cover a range of topics.

Typically, MPs talk about their hopes and aspirations for their time in Parliament and what they hope to achieve. Maiden speeches usually have a deeply personal element, with MPs mentioning their upbringing, the beliefs and values that prompted them to enter Parliament, and the character of the community they represent.

You’ll see some MPs wear cultural dress or other items of personal significance to reflect their background.

When do new MPs give their maiden speech?

New MPs elected to Parliament after a general election deliver their maiden speech in the Address in Reply debate at the start of the new Parliament. This debate is a reply to the Governor-General’s Speech from the Throne, and is the first major debate of the new Parliament.

New MPs entering Parliament at other times, for example when a list seat becomes vacant or after a by-election, deliver their maiden speech soon after entering Parliament.

The maiden speech is the first speech a new MP delivers in the House.

A blast from the past

Each maiden speech is special in its own right. We’ve picked some quotes from a selection of historical maiden speeches from years gone by.

Elizabeth McCombs, 28 September 1933 (first female MP)

It seems to me that a very good working basis has been established, and I trust that nothing will happen during my term of office that will disturb the harmony of the relations so created. I would like to warn honourable members, however, that women are never satisfied unless they have their own way. It happens in this case that the woman’s way is the right way.

Iriaka Ratana, 12 July 1950 (first female Māori MP)

With humble sincerity I pray that what little I, their servant, may contribute to this debate and this House may have some substance and some food for thought, and which may culminate and consolidate assured progress for the coming generations of my Māori people in this ever-changing world of today.

Taito Phillip Field, 10 March 1994 (first Pasifika MP)

I have been attributed as being the first Pacific Island member of Parliament in New Zealand. I take pride in that status but feel humbled by the responsibility that it carries. As a passing thought, I have wondered about the accuracy of this tribute. The islands of Aotearoa are islands in the Pacific Ocean, notwithstanding those parts in the Tasman Sea. So in a sense, all New Zealanders are Pacific Islanders.

Helen Clark, 27 April 1982 (former Labour Prime Minister)

It is my hope while in this House to promote constructive solutions based on equity and social justice for the great problems that challenge us today. In so doing, I share my perspective as a woman, as a member of a farming family, as one who was fortunate to have educational opportunities, and as one now privileged to represent one of the finest electorates in New Zealand for the Labour Party. My greatest wish is that at the end of my time in this House I shall have contributed towards making New Zealand a better place than it is today for its people to live in.

John Key, 2 September 2002 (former National Prime Minister)

I am proud to be a New Zealander. I am proud to be a member of this House. And to those who ask why I am here, I say it is because I want to rekindle the sense of adventure and pioneering spirit of our forebears, those courageous men and women who came to this new place carrying little more than their hopes and determination to build a better life. I have as a goal my ambition to build on their efforts and those of others who have preceded me, so that I may play my part in creating something even greater for those who have yet to arrive.

Where available, you can find a video recording of an MP's maiden speech attached to their biography page on this website.

How to watch maiden speeches

You’re invited to witness new MPs make their first speech in the debating chamber. Just tune in on Parliament TV or radio.

You may also be able to watch a maiden speech from the public gallery, though please note that space is limited and could be reserved for members’ guests. Click here to book a space in the public gallery.

Stay tuned to this website or our social media pages for updates on any upcoming maiden speeches.

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The Spinoff

Politics April 5, 2023

‘The things I wish to haunt me’: Maiden speech, December 16, 2008

‘Let’s do this’: Campaign launch, August 20, 2017

‘This will be a government of transformation’: Speech from the throne, November 8, 2017

‘I want to be able to tell my child I have earned the right to stand here’: Waitangi, February 5, 2018

‘Kindness, in the face of isolationism, protectionism, racism’: United Nations, September 28, 2018

‘They are us’: March 15, 2019

‘Going hard, and going early’: Covid lockdown plan revealed, March 21, 2020

‘A disinformation age: Harvard commencement speech, May 26, 2022

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