Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:661;Page:9596] 
Hon LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN (Labour—Mana) 
: 
 I thank members for their expressions of support for the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Bill. First I would like to respond to the comments of Dr Paul Hutchison Michael Woodhouse and Heather Roy about involving abusive families with their loved ones and the unintended consequences of that—for example breach of privacy. Let me quote directly from the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act. Section 7A(2) of that Act states: “A practitioner must consult the family or whanau of the proposed patient or patient. This subsection is subject to subsection (3).” Subsection (3) states: “Subsection (2) does not apply if the practitioner has reasonable grounds for deciding that consultation—(a) is not reasonably practicable; or (b) is not in the best interests of the proposed patient or patient.” This bill does not change the existing legislation whereby a psychiatrist is not required to consult the family or whanau. It is the responsible clinician or psychiatrist who ultimately decides whether family intervention is appropriate. 
I also mention that this bill is about strengthening and clarifying family inclusion. The Attorney-General gave his legal opinion which was that the bill does not contravene the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The Privacy Commissioner supports the goal of this bill to equip families with the tools that they need in order to look after their loved ones. 
I express deep appreciation to the deputy chairperson of the Health Committee the Hon Ruth Dyson for her wise counsel and support. I thank the Hon Tariana Turia and Hone Harawira for the support of the Maori Party for this bill. I thank Kevin Hague from the Greens in terms of tinana hinengaro and wairua. I say thank you very much to Sir Roger Douglas. I really appreciate his willingness to meet with me and to challenge me and I appreciate his commitment to family inclusion and more important to there being access to information in the health sector across the board. I acknowledge all the organisations including Atareira and Supporting Families in Mental Illness and all the beautiful families who are caring for loved ones with mental illness and watching this debate on television around the country. It is their stories and experiences that have motivated this bill our bill. 
In conclusion I say this is simple legislation with an important purpose which is to strengthen and clarify the current legislation. The 1992 Act made limited provision for the involvement of families. This bill clarifies extends and strengthens the role of the families of patients who are experiencing mental illness by amending section 7A of the Act. The point of these changes is first and foremost to clarify the rights and responsibilities of the family and whanau in relation to their family member who is being cared for under the Act. I would really appreciate the support of the House for this bill to go to the select committee. It is a democratic process. It will enable input from families consumers providers and psychiatrists. It is my hope that this bill will go a long way towards addressing the need for greater family inclusion—forget about the rhetoric—in the caring for and recovery of mental health patients our loved ones by fixing a gap in the current legislation. I commend this bill to the House.