Hon Tariana Turia Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector

17 May 2011 6pm
Wellington Community Trust Young
Community Leaders Awards,
Government House

Speech

Your Excellencies, Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand, Governor-General of New Zealand and Lady Susan Satyanand;
The Trustees and staff of Wellington Community Trust; our wonderful community leaders, and their equally remarkable families and friends.

I have the great honour of speaking on behalf of the judging panel.

And before I do so, I want to warmly acknowledge my fellow judges;

* Oskar Alley, Assistant Editor, Dominion Post
* Sue Paterson, Executive Director, NZ International Arts Festival
* Paula Tesoriero, Wellington Sports Person of the Year and Gold Medal Paralympic racing cyclist
* Karen Sagaga, Trustee, Wellington Community Trust and
* Areti Metuamate, past winner from 2007

Without a shadow of a doubt, the judging panel was absolutely united in one respect - and that is, the incredible opportunity afforded to us in coming to know these outstanding 28 young leaders who were nominated for tonight's awards.

Each and every one of these wonderful young people captivated our imagination with their immense enthusiasm and appetite for making the most of life.

I am delighted to congratulate the five winners of the Wellington Community Trust Young Community Leaders Awards:

* Ching Ting Ang

* Eugene Fuimaono

* Heath Hutton

* Natasha Micheletti

* Brittany Packer

Every nomination in this event gave us all that sense of pride and confidence that our future is shaping up to be brimming with potential.

And while these five were simply exceptional, I do want to share with you just how difficult our job was, in choosing between such an incredibly talented group of leaders.

We marvelled at Jackson Coe who has grown from a 12 year old actor, to a front of house manager to being awarded a year's study in New York City.

We were inspired by Rahera Davies, who was in turn motivated by the transformation she sees with many of our youth and the pride they have, once they have learnt what being Maori is all about.

We were moved by Nicole Doriguzzi who told us she loves every minute being able to give back to the Cystic Fibrosis community - living her life by the quote, "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does".

And of course, one of our winners, Eugene Fuimaono - took our breath away, in speaking of the experiences that helped shape him, and I quote:
"Without the stories of abuse I see, I wouldn't be as compassionate. Without the stories of poverty, I wouldn't be so generous. Without the stories of hurt, I wouldn't be a healer. Without the stories of loss I wouldn't be a stand in father. All the young people's lives I've changed have changed me for the better into a man I can be proud of".

Now you might understand why our job was so difficult!

These four stories are but a sample of the amazing stories that we heard on the panel, as we observed leadership in action.

It was a privilege for all of us, to benefit from the wisdom, energy, creativity, new ideas and fresh perspective of our young people.

We can truly be proud of the brilliant leadership being shown across so many spectrums of our society by our young champions - the performing arts, sports, environment, business, education, local government, justice, health, social services and youth support services.

Words such as role model, committed, dedicated, innovative, outstanding leadership, initiative, respect, and trust were a reoccurring theme in the nomination forms.

All of our winners - all of our 28 nominees - clearly dedicate much of your time to helping others and those around you and it is this generosity of spirit that has led us to where we are tonight.

As judges we had a number of criteria to consider - commitment, leadership, innovation, competence and of course the X-Factor.

Much is made about the X-Factor - you only need to look at shows such as New Zealand and American Idol, the X-Factor, Who's Got Talent? - they are all looking for that awesome person that will cause the crowd to go crazy - we might think of it as the Stan Walker Factor!

But you know, X Factor candidates aren't always found with a microphone in their hand, or a camera nearby.

Tonight's awards are absolutely bursting with X Factor stars who get out there everyday and simply go about making change - leading the way and looking after those in our communities that need a helping hand.

These young leaders are demonstrating their desire for a better world by taking action, by walking their talk. They lead with their hearts and focus on people's strengths. They have vision and are generous with their time and always step up to the challenge.

Finally, I leave the last word to another one of these wonderful young people, Brittany Packer:

"To be young and to be aware today, is to feel the urgency, see the potential and create the vision".

Thank you to you all - for inviting us in, to feel the urgency of your potential, and we can't wait to see where you lead us next.

Tena tatou katoa

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