Andersen GinnyGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour—Hutt South): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. This bill the Family Court (Family Court Associates) Legislation Bill is evidence in itself that Labour is committed to improving access to justice. The bill establishes a new role in our courts and specific to the Family Court in particular to help free up judge time and reduce delays enabling judges to focus on the more substantive work and to enable a more fluid flow of material through our Family Court. This is a particular recommendation that was made in Te Korowai Ture ā-Whānau which has identified this one particular area.It's really heartening that National are going to support this bill because it rebuilds some of the damage that was done by that party when they were in Government. National's Family Court reforms back in 2014 resulted in lengthy delays for children and their families. Those reforms saw a significant increase in the number of without notice applications. They rose from 30 percent of applications in 2014 to a whopping 70 percent and this is why the independent panel was appointed to find some solutions to the problems that had amounted. It's important to note that at the sharp end of those delays are children are families are families who are trying to grapple with the breakdown of the family unit and the longer and the more protracted those judicial pathways are the more damage is done to our children and that can be lasting emotional damage. So delays in the Family Court can be prevented and delay in the Family Court in particular. It can really reduce the stress on families it can reduce parental conflict and it can also reduce those long-term impacts that we can have on the mental health of children. The Ministry of Justice has noted that they estimate the Family Court Associate role will potentially save up to 25 percent of judicial time and that's got to be a good thing.So what does this new role do? The new role will take on some of the Family Court judges' workload and that will enable judges to progress more substantive matters far more quickly than we've seen before. They'll also take on the work in the early stages of proceedings and administrative work and that will be things like appointing a lawyer for child or a lawyer to assist in the court in various interlocutory matters and keep those things moving in the early stages. They will also have the power to deal with a range of areas including directing parties to undertake dispute resolution non-violence services presiding over pre-hearing conferences convening settlement conferences and also making orders by consent under specified legislation. However it is important to note that this role is distinct from a Family Court judge and that there are some very important matters that will always remain in the hands of a judge due to their impact on people and also due to the complexity of those issues. Those types of matters include the final decisions around guardianship and also those that materially affect children.I'd like to wrap up by saying that I'm really proud of the bill which goes some way to undo damage that has been done in the past and that it sits really well with the wider work that this Government is doing to reinstate legal representation in the early stages of court particularly in relation to children and the wellbeing of children by also alongside of this establishing the Kaiārahi Family Court Navigator role to help parents and whānau navigate the family justice system; also increasing lawyer for child remuneration to support the retention of skilled practitioners; and also giving young people and our courts the opportunity to participate in decision making which directly affects them. All these things go towards looking after our families when they enter through what can be a really hard time for a mum a dad and the kids. So I commend this bill to the House and I look forward to receiving the submissions at the Justice Committee.