He came to Parliament with a more varied experience in life than many of us. He has a distinguished and exceptional record of service to New Zealand as a member of the New Zealand Police, rising to the rank of senior sergeant. His police service included a lengthy period being deployed deep undercover. He described in his maiden speech the effect of, and I quote, "[being] armed with a new identity—a black leather jacket, a beard, long hair, and earrings", and he was responsible for putting some of New Zealand's most serious offenders behind bars. But he also developed an understanding of why they had adopted a life outside the law in the first place. In his maiden speech, he said, and I quote, "You can't get back on to the straight and narrow if you never knew what straight and narrow looked like in the first place." Hold that thought, Mr Speaker! He served for 21 years as the President of the New Zealand Police Association, a role for which he was a highly effective advocate for our police. 