Candidate for Manurewa
(List Rank 1)
Richard was born in South Auckland and is of Maori (Ngati Awa and Ngati Kahungunu) and English descent. A proud husband and father, Richard is married to Mandy and together they have two children.
With a background in policing, Richard served as an investigator in the CIB and later as a Sergeant in charge of a frontline squad at Manukau’s Emergency Response Group. With over a decade of policing experience, Richard was an accomplished investigator with proficiency in serious crime investigation and a proud achievement of ranking 1st in the intensive NZ Police CIB selection and induction course.
Richard’s policing experience in South Auckland involved dealing with homicides, suicides, home invasions, gang violence, family violence and all manner of criminal activity. One such experience, which involved the suicide of a young boy who hanged himself in a South Auckland schoolyard, was the catalyst for Richard’s decision to step into politics to make a difference for young people and New Zealand families.
In 2001 Richard pioneered a social service organisation servicing at-risk families in South Auckland, dealing with all manner of family dysfunction.
In 2003 Richard established and led the Destiny New Zealand political party, which became a nationwide organisation with significant profile and capacity. While the party did not achieve representation in its first election, it was the highest polling party outside of Parliament and established itself as a credible vehicle on New Zealand’s political landscape. Richard stood in the Manukau East electorate and placed 3rd behind Labour and National. However, in September 2007, Destiny NZ was de-registered to make way for a broader Christian political vehicle. In October 2007, together with former MP Paul Adams, Richard launched THE FAMILY PARTY.
Richard’s sporting accomplishments include representative honours for the New Zealand Police and Combined Services Rugby League teams.
He is the first to admit that a political vocation was not on his list of aspirations. But his passion for politics is fuelled by a passion to make a meaningful difference for New Zealand families and children.
Speech to Family Party Conference, September 08
Talofa, Malo e lelei, Kia orana, Bula vinaka, Kia ora and warm Pacific greetings,
Ladies and gentlemen, I am sincerely grateful and excited to bring the Family Party message to you this morning.
The Family Party has an all-consuming vision.
Our vision for New Zealand is inextricably linked to our vision for New Zealand families.
That we would be a nation where families are safe and grow from strength to strength from generation to generation.
New Zealand families have awesome potential.
And in that potential are the dreams and aspirations of our children and grandchildren.
If we are genuine in our desire for their success - then we must also be genuine in our desire for the success of New Zealand families.
(Read the Speech in full here...)
THE POWER OF FAMILY
The family is a potent economy. It is the ultimate health and welfare unit.
It is police and justice wrapped up into one.
Home is the classroom of the next generation. Where values are caught without being taught. Home anchors their educational pathway through life.
Family drives our economy. After all, where do the innovators of business, commerce and industry come from? Family is also home to the workforce that makes their dreams a reality.
In good times and bad times, highs and lows, economic booms and recessions... if families are strong our nation endures.
What I'm trying to say is, in the end it all comes back to the family.
NEW ZEALAND TODAY
It is my sincere belief that society is a reflection of our homes: and that the social and economic health of our nation is effectively, the sum total of the families in it.
And if that is so, based on today's realities, New Zealand families aren't faring as well as they should be.
The rise in social dysfunction characterised by violence and crime, ill health, dependency, drug and alcohol abuse, the gang culture and abject poverty, correlates with the breakdown of families and the demise of traditional values. And when families get weaker, Government gets bigger.
It is no coincidence ladies and gentlemen that the public sector has boomed during Labours nine years in office.
In monetary terms, since taking office in 1999 Labour has spent $85 billion more than if core government spending had remained at 1999 levels. I ask you, do you believe we've got any value for our money? Because whether you like it or not, it's your money they've been spending.
The past season of strong economy has been squandered through an unrestrained spending binge whilst squeezing every last cent out of ordinary families.
During this time, government selfishly refused to adjust income tax thresholds to keep families abreast of inflation, which increased 25.7% under their watch.
And while families have suffered, politicians have treated themselves to regular pay rises and perks. They've created mountains of bureaucracy with only themselves in mind.
Now only weeks out from the Election, long awaited tax cuts are about to be delivered, enough to purchase that block of cheese. Believe me: they're not giving tax cuts because they want to. It's because they have to. Well I say it's too little, too late.
Turning now to the issues. We all know what they are. I don't need to bombard you with facts and figures. Although shortly we'll be steering one fact right in the face as the procession for the murdered policeman passes by this hall.
OUR GOAL
But what I want to tell you today is this. The Family Party solution to the root issues doesn't involve money. It involves a profound change of attitude by government towards the issues and our people. An attitude that understands families hold the key to our success, and that traditional family values will guide the way.
So our goal is to bring the cause of New Zealand families smack-bang into the centre of Parliament again.
With the time I have this morning, I don't want to waste it bagging other parties and politicians for what they have or have not done.
Personally, I've had a guts-full of the rubbish coming out of Parliament, which actually has very little to do with the important issues facing our nation.
Somewhere down the line politics has switched from being about the people to being about the politicians. God forbid the Family Party becomes part of that equation.
Speech to Family Party Conference, May 08
Talofa, Malo e lelei, Kia orana, Talofa lava, Bula vinaka, Kia ora and warm Pacific greetings.
On behalf of the Family Party, I sincerely thank each and every one of you for being here today. I’m the first to admit that there are more appealing things to do on a Saturday morning. I’m also mindful how important 'time' is when it comes to things that really matter, such as our families, our children and for many here today, our grandchildren.
But I, like many of you, have come to understand just how much power Government has over our lives through politicians who at the end of the day are ordinary people just like you and I. Yet while politicians are ordinary people, they possess an 'extraordinary power'. That is the power to govern our lives.
(Read the Speech in full here...)
FAMILY PARTY VISION
If families are functioning well, the whole of society benefits.
Strong families are the natural antidote for the vast majority of today’s social ills.
Here in South Auckland, crime is the number one issue. As a former South Auckland police sergeant who has dealt with my share of serious crime, I say that crime is NOT first a police issue – it is FIRST a FAMILY issue. Because respect for self, other people and property, doesn’t begin in the community - it begins in the home.
Many people are concerned about our economy and rightly so. They say if we have a healthy economy we can do more for families. But I say if we have healthy families we can do more for our economy.
GST OFF BASIC FOOD GROUPS
Here in the heart of Mangere and South Auckland, we know first hand that families are struggling to make ends meet. This financial hardship is being felt across the board.
Taxes, interest rates and the costs of living have shot up while the take-home pay packet has shrunk.
The debate as to why and who is to blame for such hardship is being fought between the two parties most responsible. Whatever political points there are to be won or lost, the losers in real terms are everyday New Zealand families.
I tell you who the losers haven’t been. Those in Government who’ve enjoyed healthy pay rises, staff and resources to burn, a flash new fleet of BMWs and world trips. No, the Beehive is full of honey.
Unfortunately however, the 'blame game' will make no difference on the dinner table, or the power bill, or the mortgage or the cost of running the family car.
The Family Party believes that the fairest and most meaningful approach Government could take towards families, and particularly children and our elderly, is to axe GST on some basic living necessities.
To that end, the Family Party proposes axing GST on:
- Basic (primary staple) food groups
- Infant and elderly necessities
- Household energy
- Rates
- And off the excise duty on fuel
CARBON TAX & KYOTO LIABILITY
I would now like to turn your attention towards the pending Emissions Trading Scheme currently advancing through Parliament. This scheme is intended to reduce New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions by forcing businesses to pay for every tonne of carbon they emit. It is more severe than any other scheme in the world, including Europe.
As I have already stated, the Family Party favours tax cuts and believes the sooner they come, the better. However, we are greatly concerned that the benefit of any tax cuts will soon be lost through new additional costs being imposed on New Zealand families and businesses based on global warming.
For the record, The Family Party cares deeply about our environment. We are particularly passionate about ensuring that the environment our children stand to inherit is safe, healthy and productive.
But as I’ve said, the Family Party is very concerned at the cost of taxing New Zealand families and businesses through schemes aimed to combat global warming. I am not saying that climate change is not real or important, but I am saying that New Zealand families and businesses are the ones who will foot the bill. So if we are going to foot the bill, we need to know exactly what it is we are paying for, why we are paying for it, and what we will get for it.
The Government, I believe, has NOT satisfactorily answered these questions.
In terms of real cost, the Institute of Economic Research has estimated the carbon-emissions trading scheme will result in extra costs to households of $600 a year by 2012, rising to between $3,000 and $5,000 a year by 2025 (depending on the international carbon price).
Who in this room can afford to fork out somewhere between $600 and $5,000 a year to pay for that?
GANGS AND DRUG DEALING
I now want to change the topic completely to an issue that is a very real and pressing problem in our communities.
It is the drug dealing epidemic and the corresponding gang culture in New Zealand.
I want to be clear on this. The Family Party will spare no expense to eradicate the presence and distribution of P and other controlled drugs in our communities. The victims of drug abuse are not only our most vulnerable, innocent and young. They are also the privileged and educated. P is no respecter of persons or social status.
It will devour whoever is foolish or naive enough to indulge in it.
What New Zealanders need to understand is that those responsible for dealing drugs in our communities are very well organised, well structured and from their perspective - here to stay.
In fact, many are so well organised and entrepreneurial you could be forgiven for thinking they are a product of Auckland’s successful business incubator, aptly named the 'Icehouse'!
The police call it 'organised crime'. The community call them 'gangs'.
There’s no question that gangs offer their members a sense of identity, belonging and purpose. These are basic intrinsic needs that for many gang members were desperately sought but rarely met in the family home. And so the gang culture is oftentimes, the next best thing.
This is why the Family Party stands first for policies that will strengthen the core family unit to meet the inherent needs of every child. The benefits of strong, enduring, functional families cannot be underestimated and are something of an insurance policy against children seeking kinship through the gang culture.
REPEAL PROSTITUTION LAW REFORM ACT
Drug abuse and organised crime invariably go hand in hand with one other community vice, which is prostitution.
This leads to the final policy I will touch on today.
The Family Party proposes a total repeal of the Prostitution Law Reform Act that was passed into law by a single vote.
In South Auckland, we have seen firsthand the damaging effects of this law. Earlier this year teenage girls were caught in a South Auckland underage prostitution operation. These girls were being pimped out by gang members who offered them accommodation and drugs in return for sex.
The two-week operation saw 25 arrests on charges including engaging in sexual activity with teenage girls. It also saw 16 young people, including a 15-year-old boy and girls as young as 13, being removed from the streets.
The officer in charge said that police had known anecdotally that underage prostitution was alive and well through some historic sexual abuse investigations. One of those cases involved the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old prostitute.
VOTING THIS ELECTION
In concluding, I want to tell you HOW you can help the Family Party get into Parliament.
Did you know right here in Mangere, this Election, you can have two MPs in Parliament?
That’s right, if you vote wisely, you can have two local MPs. Two is better than one! Who doesn’t want double for their money?
Labour’s man, Mr Sio ranks highly on his Party List so he doesn’t need your vote. In fact, he’s in Parliament right now and he didn’t need your vote to get there. In other words, a vote for Mr Sio is a wasted vote.
But if you are smart, you will vote for Galumalemana Jerry FILIPAINA to get yourself a second MP in Parliament. That’s right; you will have two MPs at your beck and call day and night right here in Mangere.
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