Among a long week of debates at Parliament, MPs still found the time for farewell speeches from departing colleagues. Todd Muller's stood out and while uncomfortable for his colleagues, it is worth noting.
After Todd Muller's valedictory in Parliament on Wednesday, the next MP up to the plate was the avuncular National Party MP Ian McKelvie. He listed National Party Leaders he had served under (six of them), and on reaching the short tenure of Muller ad-libbed "we just heard today what might have been".
There was a murmur of concurrence among the many present, and there were quite a few. Even Jim Bolger had popped into the Speaker's gallery briefly for Muller's speech. It had certainly been unusual, and notable. It left folk pondering how a longer tenure might have altered his party, and left me wondering why MPs tend to wait until their very final words to get properly honest. Politic considerations are a too-effective halter.
Like all valedictories he thanked his family, staff and supporters (though unusually he started with the thanks). Like most farewells he threw in a few jokes and self-deprecating stories.
"By my late-teens, I was determined to one day stand in this place-so determined, in fact, that according to Michelle, on our first date, I used that pretty cool pick-up line about how much I wanted to be an MP. Clearly I was a keeper."
But unlike many valedictories there was no long list of accomplishments or aggrandising. He went with "I have done some things well, some less well, but I gave it my best."
Instead, the bulk of his time was spent speaking thoughtfully and powerfully on problems and risks. Each of three issues packed a wallop, and he did not spare his own colleagues.
"I hope political colleagues, the wider House, and media can see these comments for what they are - personal not political, conciliatory not critical, wary but not lacking in hope."
On Climate Change
He began with climate change, about which he spent much time negotiating the Zero Carbon Act with Green co-leader James Shaw. He was bracingly, unusually honest about the climate reality.
"The nations of the world will not keep global warming to below 1.5 degrees, rather they will overshoot 2 degrees by some measure. As the global climate continues to warm, New Zealand will bear significant costs due to the impacts of climate change and attempting to adapt to it over time. These impacts, on our coastal and stretched infrastructure, will dwarf the medium-term challenges and costs of emission reductions."…