In the final sitting block of the New Zealand parliamentary term this month, legislators have been offering free and frank advice to their colleagues during their valedictory speeches.

There have been calls for greater bipartisanship, for Kiwis to wake up to security threats, for vast population growth, and hard truths served up to their own parties.

Todd Muller, who led a 2020 coup to become National party leader only to resign after 53 days after suffering a breakdown, called for greater compassion around mental health.

“One: that this country is being radicalised by the Māori-fication of our society, and the other is that we are very slowly, but inexorably, moving to a treaty [of Waitangi] centred future which was imagined in 1840,” he said.

Former Pacific peoples minister Aupito William Sio broke new ground by appearing topless for his valedictory, dressed in ceremonial Samoan finery as a way of showing his respect.

Hamilton-based MP David Bennett urged future government to embrace migration to double NZs population, particularly upper North Island cities of Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga.

The original article contains 644 words, the summary contains 177 words. Saved 73%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!