Salesa JennyNEW ZEALAND PUBLIC HEALTH AND DISABILITY AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon JENNY SALESA (Associate Minister of Health): I move That the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Health Committee to consider the bill. This bill amends the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000. The bill repeals Part 4A of the Act which provides the legitimate policy framework for funded family care policies. By repealing Part 4A we will be removing the discriminatory elements of the current legislation. This will result in our disabled people and their family carers being treated fairly their human rights being upheld and—alongside a full package of funded family care—much improved family and whānau wellbeing. I would also like to thank the Minister of Health the Hon David Clark as well as the Hon Julie Anne Genter who assisted with this legislation before it was handed over to me. Part 4A provides for the Crown and district health boards to have family care policies to pay resident family members to provide personal care and household management support for their eligible ill or disabled family members. However when Part 4A was introduced in 2013 the then Attorney-General found that the limitation to rights and freedoms in Part 4A could not be justified under section 5 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. This is because Part 4A of this Act allows the exclusion of certain resident family members from being paid for providing support and prohibited claims to the Human Rights Commission for family care policies; that was wrong. That's why the parties of our Government have been so committed to repealing Part 4A and undoing a shameful legacy of the last Government. It is the right thing to do and our coalition Government is delivering on this commitment. In July of 2019 the Prime Minister announced changes to the funded family care including repeal of Part 4A. This repeal will allow the Crown and district health boards to continue to implement lawful family care policies. Resident spouses and whānau of eligible ill or disabled people under 18 will no longer be excluded from being paid under these policies. The repeal alongside fairer pay rates and greater choice in employment models will help support better standards of living and agency for disabled New Zealanders. This repeal of Part 4A will also enable future complaints about the policies to be made to the Human Rights Commission on the basis of human rights discrimination. The Human Rights Review Tribunal and courts will be able to hear complaints. This legislative change will ensure consistency with human rights law and uphold New Zealand's commitments under the United Nations convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to treat disabled people equally and to uphold human rights. This bill will address a petition presented to the Health Committee in 2018 asking the Government to repeal Part 4A and stop discriminating against family carers. The select committee process will enable people with care needs affected families and other stakeholders to make submissions and have their voices heard by the committee and I encourage the public to do so. There was no opportunity for submissions to be heard by people when Part 4A was introduced. We acknowledge that that was wrong. The prohibition by the previous Government on fairness and others challenging what families and carers see as discriminatory legislation was an act that has brought national and international concern by the disability and carer communities. The introduction of this bill to repeal Part 4A is how we begin to right that wrong. Our Government is committed to making Aotearoa New Zealand a place where disabled people their families and carers are treated with respect fairness and dignity. This is a short bill that will make a very large difference in so many people's lives. As such I don't need to take up any more of the House's time. I am pleased to be able to present this bill here today. I strongly commend this bill to the House.