Hipango HareteHARETE HIPANGO (National): Thank you Mr Speaker. I have a brief call this evening of five minutes and I'll maximise the utilisation of that time. It's important that this debate is focused on the welfare and best interests and the paramountcy principle of the children and that New Zealanders and members in this House understand what the law is about. The debate in the House is of course one that is with passion. My colleague Karen Chhour who is the member proposing this member's bill has spoken from lived experience and I acknowledge that Karen. I also acknowledge Angie Warren-Clark the previous member who has spoken in terms of her position as chair for the Government on the Social Services and Community Committee and your lived experience as a mother of Māori children. I stand and address the House as the spokesperson and lead for the National Party for children and Oranga Tamariki and I too speak from lived experience. That experience is as a child advocate for a period of 30 years. I specialised in the law around child welfare care and protection. I have a plethora of notes before me and I will speak in terms of the member's bill which is to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. Now it is so important—this is a very complex area of law—for people to understand that I come from that premised experience of 30 years. I acknowledge the lived experience not only of the member but of all of those children young people and family members that I've represented and advocated for over the period of time. In 2017 the National Government made several amendments to the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 and one of those amendments was the introduction of section 7AA by a former member of the National Party the Hon Anne Tolley who was at the time the Minister for Social Development. Ms Tolley promoted the amendment saying that when a child [must] be removed from their family first … you have to [ensure] that they are safe. If you listen to the young people … the next thing they want is to be with their brothers and sisters. … The next part … is that they want to know who they are and where they belong. So if they are Māori they want to know their iwi their hapū their marae their whakapapa … because it is part of who they are". That is what section 7AA is about. I've heard the member talk about the best interests and welfare of the children and that's what section 4A of the Oranga Tamariki Act is about. I've heard the member and others address in this House the policy and frankly the bad practice the poor practice of Oranga Tamariki social workers and the implementation of the reverse uplifts of children. The reason that was done was because of that bad practice and poor policy—which the Minister has since reversed—because there were social workers who were focused on section 7AA and that a Māori child should not be with a non-Māori family. That was wrong because that is not what the law says. Section 4A is very clear and is very precise and that is the paramountcy provision which is the basis for every other section under the law. It says "In all matters relating to the administration or application of this Act"—which includes section 7AA—"the well-being and best interests of the child or young person are the first and paramount consideration". Members know well in this House that I've spoken on any legislation that deals with our children whom I have advocated for and always will continue to do so. Our children's interests are first and foremost before any policy setting or any poor bad practice social work in practice that's gone on. We have case law in the Moana case a Family Court decision that went to the High Court on appeal. We also have Supreme Court decisions that recognise the importance of Māori values and concepts within the placement of our legislation. Regrettably social work practice has not adhered to the implementation of section 4A. The paramountcy provision of our child's welfare and best interests safety and protection has been foremost to section 7AA. In the short time I've got left I'll say that the National Party's position is we recognise the importance of New Zealanders having a voice. We are a Parliament and we advocate and represent that voice of New Zealand. However it is so important that we also have the process of due diligence and due process of a select committee for New Zealanders to submit and it is at that forum that the National Party stands in support of this bill not for the total repeal—to make that clear—but for this to come to the select committee and for New Zealanders to have their say. If the National Party gets into Government we would not be repealing it but we would look at amending this and making it more precise and tight. Kia ora Mr Speaker."