As I said in my maiden speech, this parliamentary precinct is part of my old hood. Thorndon is my tūrangawaewae. Dad was an accountant at the railways, and my mother's florist shop was just a few doors up from here on Molesworth Street. Our family home was around the corner on Tinakori Road, and I went to the primary school next to the church on Hill Street where my parents were married and buried from. Growing up, these leafy grounds of Parliament were part of my everyday childhood landscape, and, having now spent the best part of my 50s here as an MP, you might say I haven't come very far. But today it feels a little bit like I've come full circle as this chapter in my life now comes to an end. 