Shanks Katrina: Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
Shanks Katrina: Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
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KATRINA SHANKS (National) 
: 
 I will never forget the story that came over the Christmas break of the 9-year-old girl found hiding in a cupboard starving dehydrated and anaemic from internal bleeding. Hers was just one of more than 125000 reports made to authorities from people concerned about the safety or well-being of a child last year. The United Nations is concerned about children’s rights in New Zealand and about our staggering child and infant mortality rate. It is about time something was done. The National-led Government is fast tracking proposals to further protect children from assault neglect and ill-treatment. We are committed to closing the worrying gaps in the law around the protection of children. 
The Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) is not only tackling violent crime and making communities safer it is saving lives—children’s lives. Last year the Minister for Social Development and Employment Paula Bennett described a neglected child as a silent time bomb left alone unwashed and unloved. These children may not be physically bruised or injured but they will be deeply affected. Doctors see this every day. Parents bring in their severely malnourished children. They are listless and glassy-eyed. Their brains have not developed properly because they have not been fed. They have not been nurtured and they have not been loved. These children fall behind at school. They find it difficult to get a job or to fit into society. This is their lives. To me it is inexcusable. We live in New Zealand. We have an extensive social welfare system benefits accommodation supplements food grants temporary additional support and the list goes on. We have fantastic non-governmental organisations like the Salvation Army and the Red Cross which are always willing to help out. We have food banks. We have communities. We have neighbours. 
The neglect of a child is identified in legislation as serious but it is not actually defined by New Zealand law. The Law Commission’s 2009 review of the Crimes Act proposes that the term “neglect” is replaced by a gross negligence test. In effect this will provide a definition of neglect. This bill creates a new offence of the failure to protect a child or vulnerable adult from the risk of death grievous bodily harm or sexual assault as a consequence of an unlawful act by a third party or failure of a third party to perform a legal duty. Failure to take reasonable steps to protect a child or vulnerable adult while knowing they were at risk will also be a crime. It will no longer be an excuse for people to say they were not involved in the abuse. People who stand by and do nothing about abuse will be held accountable for their lack of action where our most vulnerable are involved. 
Our Government has been working on solutions such as the Never Ever Shake a Baby campaign and the First Response pilot. We have been introducing social workers into hospitals to help identify children at risk of abuse. We are improving monitoring systems Home for Life supported housing and help for teenage mums and dads. This bill is about ensuring that people are held accountable for their actions or lack thereof. 
I look forward to this bill being discussed in the Social Services Committee. I look forward to New Zealand having the debate. We know that children are some of the most vulnerable in our society so tonight I appeal to all New Zealanders to look around. We must not turn a blind eye to child abuse. We must look out for neglect in our communities and in our schools. We must place protection and safety of the child first. 
I have a vision of a New Zealand where all Kiwi kids have the best opportunities in life—education food the freedom to go to the beach or play backyard cricket and love. I have a vision where Kiwi kids have a right to life and they also have a right to live. Thank you.