SpeechHon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Justice): Kia ora Mr Speaker. Thank you very much. Soon we'll vote on the third reading of the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill which will be the final hurdle for what I think is a torch relay. And that torch relay did not start here in this House. It actually started in some very dark places through the experiences of the likes of the 90 people who came to the select committee and submitted and told us of their stories. That baton or that torch has been carried by people who are no longer here and I want to acknowledge the pain and the hurt that it obviously had caused them. But I do want to acknowledge the holding and the passing and the carrying of the torch to this point with this House with near unanimous voting. We will be able to send a very clear message to New Zealand that the New Zealand that we live in today is a place where no sexual orientation or gender identity is broken or needs to be fixed and that this piece of legislation is an extension of the freedoms the rights and the protections of our rainbow community to be who they are to be who they want to be and to love the way that they love.Many acknowledgments need to be made and can I again acknowledge those people who submitted at select committee and told that committee of the harrowing stories that they went through. The bravery that they showed at the select committee to tell those very personal stories I think needs to be commended. Can I also acknowledge all the members of the Justice Committee led by the chair Ginny Andersen. It is well known that 107000 submissions on this piece of legislation were received and I understand that the Justice Committee worked in a way that respectfully acknowledged all the submissions that were made on an individual basis and they worked collectively and collegially to make sure that those who wanted to make an oral submission had their day at select committee. That also needs to be acknowledged because some of these stories and some of the submissions were both harrowing from those perspectives of people who had been through disturbing conversion practices and because of some of the obtuse fundamental beliefs of some of the people who submitted at the select committee too. So I want to acknowledge all the members of the Justice Committee and the staff that enabled that to happen to the point where we have got to today. Can I also acknowledge Ministry of Justice officials in that too. Can I acknowledge how proud I am to be a member of the Labour caucus today. This legislation is a manifesto commitment that we made in 2020 which we are following through with because we understand the harm that has been caused to our rainbow community as a result of conversion practices. By passing this legislation the aim of this bill is to prevent harm and encourage respectful and open discussions between people about their own sexual orientation and their gender identity. I want to acknowledge some of the submissions that have been made to the House tonight by the likes of Joseph Mooney and Brooke van Velden who at the select committee raised concerns that were obviously raised at the select committee process. And I think it is important for those who had concerns that we put those on the record in this House to ensure that if we ever were to get to a court the court understands the intention of this House by passing this piece of legislation. I did feel quite a weight of responsibility when taking this piece of legislation through the House because I knew I had to make sure that we got it right for our rainbow community because of the times and the places that this debate could have gone to. Again I'm thankful that through the second and third readings and the committee stage of this House this House kept things respectful and made sure that any concerns that were raised through the select committee were raised in a respectful and also a thorough manner. So I want to acknowledge the House too. I don't want to prolong the passing of this piece of legislation but again it is with great pride that I stand as a member of the Labour caucus. I know a number of my Labour rainbow caucus colleagues are behind me and I want to say just how proud I am to stand beside them to pass this piece of legislation. I also want to acknowledge Rainbow Labour Young Labour for their continued advocacy for this piece of legislation. This bill has drawn a circle around our caucus; it has not divided it. We've heard many stories of why we fundamentally support this bill and many stories of our own parents. And I want to acknowledge my parents as well because of the way that they brought me up to make sure that our values were very strong in making sure we stood up for and protected the rights of the rainbow community. I want to acknowledge my late father who back in the 1980s 1990s and 2000s was a member of the Pacific Islands AIDS trust and made sure that we were standing up for the gay community within the Pacific Islands community to make sure that they were supported. That kind of advocacy from my parents made sure that when I'm asked about legislation that I'm very proud to have voted for in this House it's the vote in 2013 around marriage equality and this piece of legislation here today. I commend this bill to the House.