Upston LouiseHon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō): There are not that many days that I rise in the House and struggle to—this bill is actually about children and this is a bill that hasn't been designed with them at the heart. That is the problem and that is the fatal flaw with this piece of legislation. That is why every single party in this House except Labour vehemently and strongly opposes this piece of legislation: because at the guts of it it will not protect children. They are not at the heart of this bill. This is the submission from VOYCE - Whakarongo Mai and the first thing they say is that their key concern is that tamariki are not at the heart of this bill. So I'm very deliberately bringing their voice today because they are not represented. Their voice was not considered in the design of this bill and this bill risks making it far worse for children in New Zealand.I'll tell you why: this bill creates a system that works for the system; it doesn't work for the children who should be at the heart of this. It's more complicated. It's more difficult for children to access. We now have three organisations instead of one. How does that serve children? It's interesting because in 2021 the new mental health commission was set up. Guess what? They decided they could do advocacy and monitoring and complaints. Why is it not good enough for our children? Why is it not good enough for children who are the most vulnerable in New Zealand to have a simple easy-to-access system and an advocate and a contact and a person in the role of the Children's Commissioner that they all know? But no what have we done? We've made it incredibly complicated—well they have; Labour has. They've made it incredibly complicated and separated out advocacy monitoring and complaints. And they think that's going to solve the problem. But what does it actually do? It creates an even greater risk of children falling through the cracks. When we heard their voices in the select committee it was harrowing—it was absolutely harrowing—and this bill does not serve them. So the Minister thinks well she's made a few changes. But then when we tried to debate the changes in the committee of the whole House stage Oh well they're not really changes. They're not that substantial and we didn't need it to go back to the select committee to pore over it in more detail."—which is what Opposition parties have called for. The Green motion on the floor today was to refer this bill back to the select committee for the sake of our children to get it right. There's a willingness of every party in this House to do that. But no Labour knows best! They know better than the children that have experienced care! They know better than every single person who has fronted up to the royal commission into abuse in State care! They haven't listened to them. They have not listened. I can't believe the timing of it—that the chief executive of Oranga Tamariki was before the commission today and yesterday.Harete Hipango: How ironic.Hon LOUISE UPSTON: Absolutely ironic. Appalling. Revolting. Disgusting. Because this piece of legislation does not do what it should do. When you come to this place you have a responsibility particularly to those who can't speak for themselves and the most vulnerable in New Zealand are our children. The Government's own Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy 2019—one of the six key areas that they prioritised was that tamariki and rangatahi are being involved and empowered meaning that they have their voices perspectives and opinions listened to and taken into account. Well it's a terrible day actually standing in the House knowing that Labour is steamrolling over their interests their voices their concerns.So what else did VOYCE say in their submission? The second part was that they felt as most other submitters have said that separating advocacy from monitoring and complaints risks children falling between the cracks. Now I don't really think there's anyone in this House who wants to see any one baby any one child fall between the cracks. This was a real opportunity to get it right once and for ever. But instead what we are here—whether it's academics public policy experts—talking about is the fact that for example the independent monitor isn't really independent and the risk of it creating a cycle where there can be increased levels of abuse and the potential for that abuse to be swept under the carpet. Isn't that what the whole royal commission into abuse in State care is all about? We heard submitter after submitter say "Why isn't the Government waiting? Why is it that Labour thinks they know better and that they are pre-determining any findings from the commission that sits today?"So this is a fatally flawed bill and that's the guts of it. We want to see a single Children's Commissioner that every child in New Zealand knows can access who is a fierce fierce fierce advocate for every child but who also understands and has visibility of the complaints and the monitoring of the Oranga Tamariki system so they have the view of everything they can see exactly what's going on and that is why it is a layer of protection that means children won't fall through the cracks. But instead Labour has ignored—of the over 400 people who submitted only eight were in support. We heard from children's advocates like Child Matters the Save the Children organisation Social Justice Aotearoa those working at the front line teachers social workers iwi leaders former police officers—even a former leader of the Labour Party wrote a submission opposed to this bill because of his grave concern about it. Lawyers judges academics public policy experts former staff of the Office of the Children's Commissioner—you would have thought with a list like that Labour would listen but have they? No they haven't.So it's not a great day in Parliament today because the Government isn't listening to the very children and young people that this bill is meant to be supporting.Harete Hipango: It's abuse of position.Hon LOUISE UPSTON: It is. It's an abuse of position instead of protecting children and young people.I want to again use the words of VOYCE - Whakarongo Mai—they were set up when the original Ministry for Vulnerable Children which is now Oranga Tamariki was created. They were set up to make sure their voice the voice of care-experienced young New Zealanders was carried through so that we interrupt these years of abuse and mistreatment for those children. This is what they say: "Behold the breath of life. We ask all to listen and pay heed to the words of warning of the youth who strongly oppose the following bill the Oversight of the Oranga Tamariki System and the Children and Young Persons Commission Bill." That is the voice of VOYCE. They haven't been listened to they should have been and this is a sad day for this Parliament."