Katene Rahui: Sentencing (Offences Against Children) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Katene Rahui: Sentencing (Offences Against Children) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:651;Page:680] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 When I was a child I knew the meaning of the words “he aroha whaereere he potiki pirihi poho”—“a mother’s love a child clinging to her breast”. When we refer to a mother’s love for her child we mean our nannies our koros our aunties our uncles. We mean whanau. Growing up in Whakatu we knew that our whanau treasured us their children more than anything else in the world. We were their hearts growing outside of their bodies. They would all gladly suffer themselves rather than see any child in any form of misfortune. This is the model that I have drawn on to raise our children and our children are now replicating this same learning with our mokopuna. And that is how it goes generation after generation reminding us that children have a right to our protection they deserve to be heard and they are entitled to be loved. 
We know through the writings of early missionaries and their observations of Maori that this is how it has always been. The diary notes of the Rev. Samuel Marsden back in 1814 encapsulate these views: “I saw no quarrelling while I was there. They are kind to their women and children. I never observed either a mark of violence upon them nor did I ever see a child struck.” I often return to my childhood memories for strength when day after day we are fed tales of horrific abuse and through the eager eye of the camera we witness blow-by-blow accounts of sickening violence against children. 
I have no desire to replicate the horror stories of violence and neglect against children. We must move away from the obsessive-compulsive fascination with retelling tales of torture—the endless roll-call of names and the courtroom evidence that is trumpeted broadcast repeated and replicated through viral networks. Every time a member brings the name of a child into this House that member brings with it the overwhelming shame of the extended family of all who identify with that same name. As a new member I know that every time I rise I bring with me not only the name of my husband and children but the breadth and depth of the Hippolite and Gray whanau throughout Aotearoa and indeed the world. It is an awesome responsibility to live up to our family name in all my actions and utterances. So I ask whether it is right or fair that members recklessly punctuate speeches with the names of innocent children—names that will be for ever associated with criminal violence. We must be able to talk about the vile behaviours and actions that have led to child assault without forever vilifying the family names of the victims. We must start raising our sights above the sordid and the sensational and agree to some common ideals; ideals like children having a right to feel safe to feel good about themselves to be appreciated and to be encouraged. Ka tipu huna ana te tukinotanga. Violence grows in silence. 
This bill then sets a benchmark for our future a future where there is no excuse for child abuse and no place for violence. What this law does is to create a new and specific section in the Sentencing Act that replaces the court’s existing discretion with additional instructions when judges are sentencing offenders convicted of violence against or neglect of a child under 14 years. We have to ask: why settle for 14 years of age? 
We were also somewhat surprised that the Children’s Commissioner had not been approached about this bill so we contacted Dr Cindy Kiro. We were advised that she was supportive of the idea about clarifying the law and providing specificity direction and prescription for judges when considering cases of child abuse. But she also introduced a question around the age-limit in this bill that we in the Maori Party believe is a very interesting idea. Dr Kiro poses the question to the House of what the appropriate legal age for children and young people should be. Within current law section 10B of the Summary Offences Act 1981 makes it an offence for a parent to leave a child under the age of 14 without reasonable care and supervision. Fourteen is also the minimum age for a babysitter. At 15 one can earn a restricted driver’s licence. Young people can be sent to the youth wing of a jail at 16. At 16 one can leave school or leave home without parental consent have sex get a tattoo start full-time work and get married but one still requires parental consent for medical or dental treatment. At 17 one can join the navy the army or the air force. At 18 one can buy firecrackers get a firearms licence join the police force borrow money open a cheque account buy cigarettes drink alcohol and vote. Those are just a few of the diverse definitions of age-limits that complicate our current legislative framework. 
The question that confronts us in respect of this bill is what threshold we are prepared to accept. When can we say that the age of the child makes him or her particularly vulnerable? The crux of the issue of course is that we are actually entitled to protection from violence at any age. This change addresses society’s abhorrence of a fundamental breach of trust. This issue extends outside the scope of this bill but it is an issue that we may need to consider further in other debates. It appears that the younger the age the greater the outrage. But I want us to consider that although the defencelessness of the child is of course a major issue the serious long-term physical or psychological effect on the child as a result of the offence is severe no matter what the age. 
There was never any question that we would do anything but vote in support of this bill. We believe that it is vital that we do everything we can to demonstrate society’s condemnation of all forms of violence and this bill is another step to doing that. But it will not cause violence against children to stop overnight. That is a crisis we must all attend to. It is a crisis we must attend to in our own behaviours our own families and our own workplaces and I include this workplace in that view. We must all be responsible for marking a line in the sand and ensuring we promote peaceful non-violent communication. We must be consistent in our deeds and our words. All of us have the responsibility to demonstrate leadership in this regard. It is inappropriate for anyone in this House to point the finger at others and name and shame the perpetrators of violence if we do not also display our own commitment to model behaviour that is inspirational. All of us—and of course I include the Maori Party in my vision—must work hard at exhibiting conduct that displays respect for one another and that is truly mana-enhancing. 
Offences against children are intolerable. They are not part of anyone’s vision for the future of Aotearoa. We know too that many complex issues underpin the breakdown of families: the devastating effects of poverty; the mind-altering dysfunction created by alcohol and drugs; the pervasive impact of mental health issues including post-natal depression; and the narrow range of options that some families and individuals become trapped in. And we must acknowledge the enormous harm created by generations of violence sexual abuse physical damage and emotional offences which if not attended to will continue to restrict the opportunities for generations to come. 
The Maori Party is proud to support this bill as the first indicator that the forty-ninth Parliament is prepared to stand up and make clear our concerted efforts to eliminate violence from our world. We are proud to support this bill just as we were proud to support the repeal of section 59 of the Crimes Act which was initiated by our colleagues in the Greens. And there is nothing in my mind more worthy of urgency than the goal of eliminating violence from our society. Kia ora.