Martin TraceyHon TRACEY MARTIN (NZ First): Kia ora Madam Deputy Speaker. Can I first of all just say how brilliant it is to see a woman sitting in the Chair. It's high time—Hon Ruth Dyson: And a competent woman at that.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: And a confident strong articulate intelligent—just a well-rounded well-deserved woman sitting in the Chair. So it's wonderful to have you there. I did actually pitch last time for a woman to get into the Chair because I thought it was high time we had one again. I continued to get the answer that well we had one once. So now we have another opportunity Madam Deputy Speaker through you to show them how it's done. So thank you very much and I welcome you to the Chair.I just want to take this moment also to acknowledge you as the previous Minister not only as the previous Minister for Social Development but the previous Minister for Oranga Tamariki. I've been privileged in the last few days to have been sworn in as the Minister for Children which has responsibility for Oranga Tamariki. As learned colleagues have mentioned we are a new Government—I think 12 days—and there's a lot of absorption going on in my case anyway. There are a lot of briefings and a lot of absorption. But one of the things I can confidently say is that the structure that you set into place the vision that you put into place and the people that you put at the top of that organisation I believe set it in good stead for the work that was intended.Speaking as the Minister for Children I want you to be confident that we will continue that pathway and the vision that you set for that organisation and that was to put children at the heart of all decisions. So I want to acknowledge you in the work done in that area. It's an organisation that's only six months old and there is a large culture shift that needs to take place. I spoke to a gathering of 217 senior managers of Oranga Tamariki yesterday and stayed for an hour or so to actually listen to their conversations. So I know the challenges that they have but I believe that the people that are inside that organisation are up to the challenges. At every level of that organisation there is a desire and a will and if I pick up on the desire and the will and the conversation that the member who just resumed her seat before me the Hon Nikki Kaye talked about I believe there is a desire and a will across this House to actually improve the outcomes for all of our children but particularly probably for the 5600 in State care currently particularly for those that are entering the youth justice system—and there are systems that we need to improve so that they don't end up in the youth justice system—particularly for the 190000-odd children that come to the attention of Oranga Tamariki through notifications that then have to be triaged and managed as to their level of need. So I acknowledge that and I welcome the opportunity to work across the House particularly in that portfolio area.I do have to say however because this is a place of truth that for the Hon Nikki Kaye to reach out and ask and request us to work closely with the Opposition—it's a little interesting to juxtapose that against yesterday and today. It's a little difficult to juxtapose that against the Leader of the Opposition's statements that they will make select committee very difficult.I want to make a request of the Opposition members. Select committee is one of the best things we do in this Parliament. It is one of the things that we do in our democracy that other nations come to have a look at. This system is the Westminster system but the United Kingdom came here to see our select committee process because of the collegiality and the way that politics is put aside more often than not to come up with good legislation for this country. So I put out a plea to the Opposition. You may have 54; I don't know how many members you've got. You may have that many members right? Honestly it's not relevant but anyway you may have that many members but please don't use it as a threat.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Numbers matter.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: Please don't use it as a threat at select committee Mr Woodhouse because that is what was put forward. Select committee is where we are collegial and we work for the betterment of New Zealand. So I understand the National Party are disappointed. I understand that there was an assumption that they would rule by right and go forward and carry on on their pathway and I understand—Matt Doocey: It's only because you purged all your centre-right New Zealand First MPs.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: —that that will take a while for the National Party to get over but the select committee is not the place Mr Doocey. The select committee is not the place. There is a reason why the public of New Zealand has placed you there and has actually asked you. So if we go back to the Speech from the Throne you are quite right. The tone is different than that of the speeches given on behalf of the Rt Hon John Key or on behalf of Bill English and the National Party. They dealt a lot with figures. Those speeches dealt a lot with money. It was disappointing to hear the Hon Amy Adams joke in a way about child poverty and I think she said—what—Child poverty yada yada ya."Chris Penk: Oh come on. Give me a break.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: Go on have a look at the Hansard young man and you might find that that's exactly what she said. So it's really disappointing to have child poverty dismissed in that way. This Speech from the Throne was about people. It wasn't about banks. Alastair Scott: No it wasn't. It was about spending. Hon TRACEY MARTIN: It wasn't about money. It wasn't about—I mean there's a young man sitting up the back there from the Wairarapa who—Alastair Scott: It was about spending—spending other people's money.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: It's interesting. The people we're talking about don't have any money to spend Mr Alastair Scott. These people don't have any money to spend. They are the people that you forgot about. The people that we are now going to bring to the fore and out into the light are the people that your Government forgot about. That was what the Speech from the Throne was about. We are going to turn this conversation to be about New Zealanders—New Zealanders first.New Zealand First the Labour Party and the Green Party have in a mature MMP environment got a strong and collegial working relationship. We understand the direction we are going in. We have a plan and an agreement between all of us to take this country there. What's interesting is that this party who could not get reform through because they couldn't get enough friends together to make it happen is attempting to create a narrative of discord. It will not work. We are committed and connected and collegial on this side of the House. And our conversations will always be about the people and particularly about children—children inside homes that have not been able to afford the appropriate amount of food and children inside homes where the stress of violence and other things have taken place.And I do find it a little rich that the Government members stand up and criticise—let's take for example this Government's commitment to children—by talking about national standards. This was a Government who said that they believed in Māori children but the first thing they did was take away Te Kotahitanga out of our schools and at the same time they convinced the country they were replacing it with something but the budget went away the following year and all plans around supporting Māori children inside mainstream schools were gone.This is this Government. I ask the public of New Zealand to go back and look at this Opposition's or the previous Government's speeches with regard to the changes they made in the first 100 days when they came in three terms ago. Go and have a look at the shock that this country went into the cuts that this country and these people our citizens had to endure. Go back and have a look because there's too many young members over there deciding that they will make some critique of the Speech from the Throne on this side which puts people first without knowing their own history. So go and have a look before you decide that the sky is falling and then once you've gone and looked at your own history some of us on this side might accept a little bit more critique from those on that side. Kia ora."