10. Question No. 10—ChildrenHon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour) to the Minister for ChildrenQuestion No. 10—ChildrenSPEAKER: Question No. 10 is going to also be heard—both the question and answer—in silence. 10. Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour) to the Minister for Children: Does she stand by her statement about cuts to Oranga Tamariki that there will be no financial impact and no impact on front-line services and that this is a guarantee?Hon KAREN CHHOUR (Minister for Children): Yes in the context in which I said it which was in relation to the proposed Oranga Tamariki organisational restructure. From the beginning the safety of children has been at the forefront of all decision making about the proposed restructure and front-line managers and staff who report to them have been out of scope of this process.Hon Willow-Jean Prime: How is it not a broken promise when that restructure was part of the Budget savings exercise that also saw $30 million a year being cut from community providers whose services are at the very front line of protecting children and whānau?Hon KAREN CHHOUR: I just want to make it very clear Oranga Tamariki was reviewing its costs and efficiencies long before this Government directed the Public Service to make any savings. The proposed organisational restructure has not just been about making cuts or finding savings. This is part of Oranga Tamariki's journey to become an effective statutory care and protection agency that's focused on its core responsibilities when decision making is made as close to the front line as possible including with iwi Māori and community where it makes sense to do so.Hon Willow-Jean Prime: Is she saying that her restructure and budget cuts are not impacting on front-line services like social workers in schools youth workers in schools wraparound whānau support family and sexual violence counselling teen parenting prevention programmes tākai and if not why not?Hon KAREN CHHOUR: We've made it clear that front-line services were not to be involved in the restructure process and I am sure that Oranga Tamariki followed my expectations.Hon Willow-Jean Prime: How is it not a broken promise when as a result of Oranga Tamariki staff and community providers' funding cuts agencies have said that the result of this will be more babies uplifted and more kids in boot camps?Hon KAREN CHHOUR: I'll say again: that member is conflating two issues. My statement was in relation to the Oranga Tamariki restructure.Hon Willow-Jean Prime: How can people believe her the Minister responsible for the welfare of our children when she claims that there is nothing more important than the safety and wellbeing of our children and then makes empty promises?Hon KAREN CHHOUR: What I would say is stakeholder groups Opposition parties Governments and Māori have all called for Oranga Tamariki to change. This is what change looks like. It's not an option to keep the status quo. To do so would say we're happy with how the organisation is running now and delivering for children and we know it's not. So I would urge the Opposition to get on board and make sure that we can enable change that's going to be enduring.SPEAKER: Question No. 11 I call on Dr Vanessa Weenink.Dr Vanessa Weenink: Thank you Mr Speaker. My question is to the Minister—Ricardo Menéndez March: Point of order. I'd like to seek some clarification on the ruling you just made in relationship to the questions of the Minister for Children because while members of the Opposition actually respected—SPEAKER: Could you just speak into your microphone? Sorry.Ricardo Menéndez March: Of course—I can. So while members of the Opposition respected your request for the answers to be heard in silence members of the Government definitely were cheering on particularly at the end of that last supplementary. So I would like to seek some clarification as to whether this is a ruling that's going to be applied for the future specifically to that Minister or as a broader kind of way that we conduct ourselves in the House when one side of the House doesn't seem to be abiding by it.SPEAKER: Yeah I think that's a fair question and they should have. I think probably the Minister might like to think in future whether or not it's worth having at the end of a question an engagement with the Opposition which I thought left my ruling a little bit floundering quite frankly. So it's not a permanent thing; it's for now because I think there does need to be a slight cultural reset in the place and from time to time this is what I will be requesting of the House.Hon Chris Bishop: Speaking to the point of order Mr Speaker the Government will cease to provide that sort of support for the Minister answering a question when the Opposition cease sotto voce offensive remarks about her. [Interruption]SPEAKER: OK well I think we were in a settled position—let's get back to it. Dr Vanessa Weenink.Dr Vanessa Weenink: Thank you Mr Speaker.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Point of order.SPEAKER: Hang on—away we go. The Hon Kieran McAnulty a point of order.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Thank you Mr Speaker. I am very reluctant to get involved in this and do so only because I feel I should. But this is a sensitive issue and you've made a ruling which we've respected—we did not challenge it and we complied. It is very hard for us to continue to do so when points of orders are used in a way to make accusations which I believe given that there are three parties in the Opposition were unfounded and unwarranted. Without that being challenged by you I feel I've got no option but to stand up and make a point of order.SPEAKER: OK and I agree with your point of order 100 percent and I appreciate that Opposition parties have complied with those two requests today particularly. It is disappointing that there was a flick at the end of the Minister's question that was not necessary and I think the Hon Chris Bishop should reflect on the point that he was trying to make given that I had just made comments to the House about the need to reset the culture in here. We won't go into any apologies or withdrawals or other such but we are going to get a little tougher on each other I think in the future as we try and tidy the place up a bit.