Pugh MaureenMAUREEN PUGH (National): Thank you Madam Chair. I stand to speak to the Families Commission Act Repeal Bill in its committee stage here today and I assure you that my contribution will be far less entertaining than that of Judith Collins the member who just resumed her seat. Entertaining and valuable as that was mine will refer back to the bill—and this bill actually does take another step further towards the move towards the greater efficiencies and the effectiveness within the social investment system. As we've heard already from our great contributors on this side of the Chamber the Social Investment Agency and the work that they will be doing are transformational for New Zealand and families within New Zealand.The repeal of the Families Commission Act of 2003 is what we are here to talk about today. The bill is a very small one as the Minister for Social Development has referred to; it is a matter of process. It will in effect be repealing the Families Commission Act of 2003 which disestablishes the Families Commission and that has operated as the social policy evaluation and research unit (SuPERU) which is an autonomous Crown agency. So with the establishment of the Social Investment Board and the Social Investment Agency last year they have made the Families Commission and SuPERU obsolete hence the need for this small piece of legislation to make its way through the House. Part 2 is the part of the bill that I'd like to focus on in my small contribution today. It is the most substantive part of the bill and it contains clauses 7 through to 12. I'd like to focus on clause 10. Unlike the other matters which are contained within the schedule connected to Part 1 this clause does not relate to assets or to research but does in fact relate to staff. I take the opportunity to thank the SuPERU staff and the contractors involved with SuPERU and the board: Len Cook the Families Commissioner; Professor Sir Peter Gluckman a board member; Dame Tariana Turia a board member; Jo-anne Wilkinson a board member; and Haami Piripi also a board member. I acknowledge the wealth of expertise they have individually and collectively brought to their role and all of the hard work that they have contributed over the years of the existence of that board and the work that they have done on behalf of New Zealand families. They have laid a foundation—a solid foundation—of data and evidence. We know that In God we trust all others must bring data." These people have worked across the whole of the sector. Simeon Brown: That was entertaining. MAUREEN PUGH: Oh was it? Thank you very much—thank you very much. They have promoted informed debate on the key social issues here in New Zealand for its families and the whānau and they've increased the awareness of what works in New Zealand. They've grown the quality the relevance and the quantity of evidence in some of our most key priority areas and they've also facilitated the use of evidence by sharing it and using it. Now we know that what can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence so the importance of having that research behind us is very critical to the decisions that we make and the Government makes going forward. There was a part of the submission process that I'd like to refer to which was from the Children's Commissioner. He raised the point that he felt that there would be a gap that would appear with the disestablishment of the Families Commission and the gap that he mentioned was the allocation of one of its two roles—its two main statutory functions—specifically advocacy. He suggested during his verbal submission that the Children's Commissioner's role could be expanded to include advocacy. So my question for the Minister is: could she provide feedback on whether this advocacy role is intended to be reallocated or say how she will ensure that the necessary dialogues take place with those various agencies so that the advocacy for our most vulnerable families is not lost? I think that would satisfy the Children's Commissioner but would also give us assurance that there was not going to be a gap. Thank you."