Barry MaggieHon MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore): Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. I rise to talk to this piece of legislation which has been a long time coming. It's a very rare piece of legislation in my view in this House because from the time that National was in Government in the last Parliament and into this Government there has been a level of cooperation and sharing between the parties and also between the ministries which I think has informed a piece of legislation like this which we can trust and have confidence in and which will protect our vulnerable in a way that is more meaningful more efficient and more effective than it ever has been.I will confine my remarks pretty much in the call I'm taking today to the effect that it has on our older and more vulnerable and disabled people in New Zealand. Other colleagues have dealt with a broader range of domestic and family violence all of which are very good points but as a former Minister for Senior Citizens with responsibilities now in that area I feel that one of the silent issues which was emerging in the last Parliament around the formation of this legislation—the discussion papers and the community engagement have meant that those silent voices of particularly elder abuse are more able now to be talked about. Unless they are talked about openly they will continue to proliferate behind the scenes because elder abuse remains one of the more difficult challenges.This bill I think addresses many of the aspects that we've been working on to try and break down the silos between not only the ministries but also the various agencies that are involved with trying to protect people and trying to react and have mechanisms in place that are sensible and commonsensible and will allow them to intervene in a meaningful way and to protect vulnerable people from the risk of being re-offended against. I think that in terms of the measures in this bill the general principle is that New Zealand has a very bad track record in this area. We need to address it and I think this bill really goes a long way to doing that.I would like to commend Amy Adams who began this legislation and brought together something like 16 ministries—in itself I would suggest a miracle. I would also like to commend the Deputy Speaker the Hon Anne Tolley. In her former capacity as the Minister for Social Development she worked in partnership with the Hon Amy Adams to ensure that the various agencies came together. Heads were knocked together where appropriate—never violently of course; I use that term metaphorically. But people were required by a firm hand to ensure that they listened and rid themselves of their desire to keep their own territory safe. So safety co-operation and intelligent reasoned compassionate discussion is what we saw with the 16 portfolios over many many months leading up to this legislation.This is the biggest overhaul of our family violence laws in 20 years so it is utterly appropriate that so many people for so long have laboured so hard on this. The Ministerial Group on Family Violence and Sexual Violence have proposed changes which have then been added to in a very meaningful way by other members in this House who have spoken and others who will come next to discuss the various aspects. Earlier and more effective intervention to change perpetrator behaviour is at the heart of this. Unless we can engage the people who are perpetrating the violence it is going to be very difficult to change the behaviour. Making the property orders more effective and keeping victims in their homes and keeping children and all adult victims safe after separation—these are the kinds of things that will make an enormous difference.It is a particularly shameful secret in New Zealand that so many of our older vulnerable seniors are predated upon—often by members of their own family in three-quarters of the cases. Getting data which is another element of this legislation is a very important part of what we do because it dictates how we operate and where our priorities are when it comes to elder abuse. The financial abuse is as real and as devastating and absolutely it brings people to the point where they don't want to live any longer and I can't say it more firmly than that.I have personally in my capacity as a Minister and now as a spokesperson heard far too many cases where people have not known where to go or who to turn to to help them through the financial abuse. The mechanisms and the changes that have been put in place will I think be significant for them. There also needs to be I think hand in hand with this legislation comprehensive public education to ensure that people know what they can do to avail themselves of it.As legislators we need to know what is happening and this bill does allow for data to be collected. At the level of bail and sentencing to enable police and others to build the case I think it is very important that we have guidelines and that we are able to do as much as possible. I think that in terms of protection orders the mechanisms in this case will enable them to be better tailored towards vulnerable New Zealanders who are often isolated and at home and don't know what their rights are. For people with disabilities and people who are financially constrained we need to be able to intervene earlier and the earlier and more effective interventions that are laid out within this legislation will enable that to happen.Perpetrators need to change their behaviours. The intergenerational cycles also need to change. The tendency to blame point the finger or incarcerate—these are blunt instruments. The nuanced approach that the various measures within this legislation take will I think make meaningful changes and big differences. Intervening earlier is also essential and being more effective in helping perpetrators change those behaviours is all about trying to get them at an age and stage where they are able to do things before they harm people too much. The bill makes property orders more effective. These are the kinds of things that are spelt out in this legislation and all the relevant agencies being able to work together and being held to account puts the focus where it needs to be which is at the heart of where the vulnerable people are.To me this legislation is long overdue. It's now here in its third reading. I won't take up the time of the House any longer to ensure that it has safe and swift passage because it needs to go through to be enacted and to be available to the vulnerable people in New Zealand to stop the scourge of family violence as soon as possible.