Webb DuncanDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central): Thank you very much Mr Chairman. It's with great pleasure that I support this Domestic Violence—Victims' Protection Bill. There's a few strange things that have been said that I just want to point out. There seems to be a suggestion that a person who suffers from domestic violence is sick because they need sick leave. That's simply wrong. The idea that sick leave should be used for a person who suffers from domestic violence is quite pernicious. It's an entirely different issue that's being faced. As for the suggestion that they should go on holiday that simply beggars belief—beggars belief.What this bill is about is giving a person who suffers from domestic violence some time a breathing space. If I may say one of the things I've learnt about domestic violence is it's not about dictating to the victim how to sort out the issues that face them but giving them the opportunity to work through that themselves. That may include leaving the home. It may include going to court but it might not. It might include sitting down and working through some really difficult issues with a person they love. It's not for us to judge that. You know the suggestion that there's going to be a wholesale uptake of this is also offensive because it's a huge barrier facing up and owning up in the face of a sense of shame for many people that this has happened to them—they're the victim but nevertheless the sense that it's in some way their fault and they should feel bad about the fact that they're a victim.There's not going to be a flood of people going to their employer looking for a few extra days off. I admire any person who has the courage to say to their employer I am a victim of domestic violence." Look yes there will be costs on employers that they will have to bear. They will have to get cover for people who can't come to work because they're desperately trying to hold on to their life their job and their family all at once. But let's remember this also that there will be benefits—benefits not only for that family and that person benefits for the community and society but benefits for that employer as well. Let's start having a culture where we are a community that hangs together that recognises that if we look after each other we will all flourish. So I absolutely commend this bill.Look one other thing I feel I must point out: the suggestion that this fits within the ACC framework is also entirely misplaced. There may be injury and certainly it is an accident from the victim's point of view that that injury has occurred but there may be many and manifest examples where it simply doesn't fit within that. Domestic violence does not have to be a punch in the face; it can take all kinds of forms which don't manifest themselves in injury at all. So to put it within the accident compensation framework is placing it entirely in the wrong place. It would mischaracterise what's going on and it would entirely undermine what we need to be doing which is addressing domestic violence and abuse in all its forms and not pretending it's this archetype. That again would undermine the very good work that's being undertaken here.So look Ms Logie I absolutely commend you for the hard work you've done here. It's disappointing to see that we don't have broad-based cross-party support and I am a little bit surprised about that. But this is a bill which absolutely must pass because this is an evil a scourge an absolute disease in our society which we need to attack from every—every—angle. Thank you."