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Parliamentary Tributes for Jim Anderton
Parliamentary Tributes for Jim Anderton
MPs paid tribute to Jim Anderton following his death on January 7.
James Patrick (Jim) Anderton CNZM, represented the electorates of Sydenham and Wigram between 1984 and 2011. Anderton was Deputy Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002. During his membership of this House, he held a number of ministerial positions, including Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Industry and Regional Development, Minister of Forestry, and Minister of Agriculture.
After his departure from the Labour Party he led a number of parties including New Labour and the Alliance.
Some excerpts from speeches today:
JACINDA ARDERN
There have been very few people like Jim Anderton in New Zealand politics. Jim spent his life in public service, in the best sense of the word. He was motivated by his profound sense of compassion for people, from his belief that the dignity of people mattered the most…
He was a man before his time, a true progressive. He was at the forefront of anti-nuclear policy and of the anti-racism movement during the Springbok tour in the early 1980s, and was committed to social justice. He will be remembered as a statesman who delivered a number of lasting legacies…
We have Jim to thank for Kiwibank. He was also the person who made sure that the Government didn't ignore the regions, playing a big part in ensuring economic development also happened outside of our main centres…
Jim will be remembered as someone who always stood up for his principles and the people he represented…
I want to finish today by reading a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, whom Jim was fond of, that he read in his final speech in this House. I think it sums up Jim's approach to politics and to life. It reads: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs; who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deeds…".
GERRY BROWNLEE
I first met Jim Anderton as the National Party hopeful standing in the seat of Sydenham in 1993. I have to concede it was not an embracing encounter, but it was one that I did learn a great deal from. Jim was standing for NewLabour at the time, having won the seat as an independent in 1990 after making what must have been a very difficult decision for him. The people of Wigram most certainly appreciated the fact that he stood on his principles and stood very much for the things that mattered to them. It was, I think, that palpable respect for the man and for his principles that saw him so well regarded throughout those 30 years in both Sydenham and Wigram.
On that campaign trail one of the shared campaign events that we had was a school fair. We had the opportunity to put our heads through a board and have $2 punters throw large wet sponges at our faces. I'd have to say, it remains a mystery to me how many of those local punters had simply fantastic accuracy when it was my turn, but completely lost their arm when Jim was in that position. Afterwards, I was totally drenched—soaking wet—and standing there, and Jim just turned to me and said, "You should have stood on the left side"…
I would like, on behalf of the National Party, to acknowledge Carole, his wife, and the family, and to make the comment that I think the tributes that were paid to him at his funeral by his family, despite everything else he achieved in life, were perhaps the greatest mark of the man he was.
WINSTON PETERS
Whatever you thought of his politics, Jim Anderton was a man of principle and that's not common in modern politics in the Western World. He held true to his principles, from the very beginning to the very end. Along the way, he was a fierce critic of the ravages of the neo-liberal agenda and a strong advocate of economic development in Government's involvement, and in particular regional economic development…
He led an alliance of five political parties, and that could not, from a little personal experience, have been easy.
EUGENIE SAGE
He was a great defender of the underdog. He stood up for New Zealanders hurt by the economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, and he devoted his life to public service and to ensuring a fair deal for all.
When he formed, first, the NewLabour Party and then the Alliance, which of course included the Greens for a time, Jim Anderton also played a big part in ensuring greater proportional representation in our Parliament. His success in leading those challenger parties paved the way for more diverse views to be given a voice in the Parliament and in our Government…
So our enduring memory in the
Greens, of him will be the stand that he took on principle,
consistently, passionately, and effectively, to defend and
advocate for a fairer and more egalitarian way of life for
all New Zealanders…
DAVID SEYMOUR
It's no secret that Jim's early career was inextricably linked with the ACT Party's founders and much of the history that went on in that time—albeit, perhaps, in what you might describe as a symmetrical way.
I have to say that due to that symmetrical and inextricable link, we see in Jim a kindred spirit. We have a great admiration for somebody that comes to the House with a sincere and genuine belief that our role here in Parliament is to make New Zealand a better place for all people through better public policy, and we have great admiration for somebody who is able to use their time in Parliament to leave lasting policy legacy—something that the vast majority, sadly, never achieve.
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