That was Clutha-Southland MP Bill English's entertaining introduction on Saturday to his 23-year-old Gore-based electorate successor, Todd Barclay.
The pair were giving addresses at the National Party Mainland Conference in Queenstown over the weekend - Mr English as Clutha-Southland's retiring MP and Mr Barclay as its new candidate for the party.
In his own humorous version of his young replacement's rise to the National Party ranks, Mr English said an email to his office several years earlier stating simply: ''My name's Todd Barclay. I'm from Dipton. Can I have a job?'' marked the beginning of his former intern's political ambitions.
''So I said 'Yes. Come and see me'.''
Mr English, who is also deputy prime minister, assured his Clutha-Southland constituents they had a capable, hard-working replacement in Mr Barclay, who had demonstrated his commitment to the National Party in his time spent working for the MP.
Mr English felt fortunate to have represented the electorate ''right through the swing from its worst times to its best times'', not only in terms of its dairy farming industry but, more importantly, as it changed its attitude ''to a more outward-looking view of the world''.
Mr Barclay - who has also previously worked for Cabinet ministers Hekia Parata and Gerry Brownlee and for the Philip Morris tobacco company - said it was a ''huge privilege and huge responsibility'' to be selected as the new Clutha-Southland candidate.
Mr English's loyalty, commitment and ''unquestionable integrity'' as an MP left ''incredibly huge shoes that I need to work hard to one day fill'', he said.
Mr Barclay was looking forward to working as ''team Southland'' with new Invercargill candidate Sarah Dowie, who also addressed the conference along with her electorate's retiring MP, Eric Roy.
Earlier, Prime Minister John Key received a rousing welcome from delegates. Looking forward to Thursday's Budget announcement, he said health would benefit to the tune of
$15 billion. However, New Zealand's books were heading back into surplus.
''Six years ago, the Treasury never believed this country would get back into surplus again ... debt looked to be $50 billion to $60 billion.
''[We have] $90 billion to $100 billion less debt because of the actions of our Minister of Finance.''
Mr Key said business confidence in New Zealand was ''pretty much'' on a 20-year high, consumer confidence was high and each week 1500 New Zealanders left welfare for paid employment.
