When I was young I played a lot of sport, and, every time I played, my dad taught me to play to win—and I did. And I loved it. Now we don't even keep the score. If we're going to fulfil our obligation to future generations to leave this country in a better position than we inherited it, if we are going to keep happily spouting the mantra that New Zealand punches above its weight on the world stage, if we as individuals—and a country—are going to reach our potential, we need to take a good, hard look at ourselves. We need to lift our horizons. We need to set clear targets and strategies to get there, and we need to get busy winning. We need mind-sets and policies that are focused on performance and outcomes. We need an education system that is focused on keeping our children in school; ensuring they have a fundamental understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects; and setting them up to compete on the world stage in the 21st century. We need a health system that's able to cope with public demands, that has the staff it needs, that allows someone to go to an emergency department any time of day with confidence they will quickly receive the treatment they need. We need an immigration and workplace system that embraces talent. We need a social welfare system that directly intervenes in the lives that need help, working with them to get them back on their feet and set them up to lead lives of self-sufficiency and self-worth. 