In his maiden speech the newly sworn-in MP for Tauranga warns of a malaise in the country, and urges the nation to 'get busy winning'.
As a new Member of Parliament was sworn in, Parliament heard a national wake-up call about underperformance and settling for second best.
Sam Uffindell recently won the Tauranga by-election for the opposition National Party. Yesterday, his maiden statement in the House was adorned with motivational catch-cries like growth, success, and potential, because - as he explained - that's central to who he is and why he is here at Parliament.
Sam Uffindell
"I didn't come to Wellington to be a career parliamentarian. I came here to fight for the people of Tauranga and to ensure my children grow up in a New Zealand better than the one we returned to in 2020," he said.
"The door is fast closing on our ability to keep pace with the rest of the developed world, and one of my greatest fears is that my children will one day grow up in a New Zealand that has receded from that club, and that is why I'm here."
Maiden speeches by MPs are often informed by the hardships and struggles of their formative years, the school of hard knocks they cut their teeth in. Uffindell came through the investment banking sector.
"I spent the first 12 years of my career in Sydney and Singapore - modern, forward-thinking, successful, advanced economies and societies. I led high-performing teams and high-performing cultures. I worked to reduce inefficiencies, to innovate, to problem-solve. We committed ourselves to utilising our resources to the best of our ability and to achieving set, measurable outcomes."
This may read a little like a CV, but Uffindell explained that he was seeking to open minds to the possibilities that emerge when countries and organisations foster cultures of competition and success.
"Unfortunately, this mind-set is a distant reality to that promoted by this Government," he said, admitting that since returning to New Zealand two years ago he has been astonished at the general malaise he found.
"This Government's complacency, the acceptance of mediocrity, the fear of the outside world, the rejection of personal responsibility, the dumbing down of expectations, the closed-minded absolutism."
Changing mind-sets
With a focus on performance and outcomes, Uffindell encourages self-sufficiency and less reliance on government.
"When I was young I played a lot of sport, and every time I played my dad taught me to play to win-and I did. And I loved it. Now we don't even keep the score. …