James Meager, the new National MP and former Simpson Grierson lawyer, made an impression upon Parliament with his maiden speech, challenging the ownership claims of the leftover Māori, the poor, and workers.
The speech impressed many on both sides of the House and heralded a significant career ahead for the new politician.
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Emphasizing that no party or ideology can claim ownership over any group, Meager, who represents the Rangitata electorate, described his background as a part-Māori individual raised by a single parent in a state house, now serving as a National Party MP in a predominantly rural, farming district.
Most recently he has run his own Canterbury-based consultancy company, Oath Consultancy.
Meager said National Party was a “broad church” encompassing various demographics and ideologies.
He stressed the party’s core belief in the primacy of the individual and family unit in decision-making over state intervention.
He articulated his view of the state as a safety net that should assist in times of need but otherwise not interfere excessively in people’s lives.
Illustrating his points with personal anecdotes, Meager recounted his upbringing in a poor but not impoverished family.
He shared the story of his father, a Ngāi Tahu member who left school early and worked most of his life as a freezing worker, and his mother, who worked various jobs and raised Meager and his siblings as a single parent.
He spoke of the challenges and strains in his relationship with his father but emphasized forgiveness and the importance of judging people based on their present actions rather than their past.
Meager praised his mother’s role in ensuring their well-being despite financial struggles and emphasized the importance of community support over state intervention in hard times.
He criticized the current system for creating broken families and lost individuals, advocating for a change towards a social investment scheme proposed by National and which focuses on early intervention and the use of data to identify those most in need of social services.
