Fleming Greg; Kuriger BarbaraGREG FLEMING (National—Maungakiekie): Tōku tino pai ki te tū i tēnei Whare anō me te tū me te tautoko i tēnei pire. Ko te tuatahi e mihi ana ki ngā tauwhiro ngā social workers e tautoko e manaaki i ngā tāngata katoa puta noa i te motu nei e pā ai te mate hōhā mate mānukanuka me te mate hinengaro hoki. Ko te ingoa o social worker" i te reo Māori tēnei ingoa ataahua "tauwhiro" e rua ngā wāhi o taua kupu. Mō te "whiro" ko Whiro-te-tipua is a tama a Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku me te kupu "tau" is the verb for "settles". [I am very happy to stand again in this House and to stand in support of this bill. Firstly I'd like to acknowledge the social workers that support and care for all people all across this country with respect to harassment anxiety and mental health also. The name for "social worker" in the Māori language this beautiful name "tauwhiro" there are two parts to this word. For "whiro" Whiro-te-tipua is a child of Ranginui and Papatūānuku and the word "tau" is the verb for "settles".]Therefore a tauwhiro is someone who literally settles the evil the darkness the death that is around. Nō reira kei te mihi ki ngā tāngata katoa e mahi i ēnei momo mahi. [So I acknowledge all of the people that are engaged in this type of work.]Section 13 of the Social Workers Registration Act 2003 and it's been well-covered in the various stages of this debate was a pathway to provide an alternative registration process for those people who hadn't gone through the formal qualifications but who did have extensive experience in this area of work. I had the pleasure in just my second week being a member of Parliament for Maungakiekie of meeting with a social worker who had come into the registration through this pathway. So she was a kuia she was working specifically with Māori communities in the wider Tāmaki-makau-rau area for one of our local hospitals and she had extensive mātauranga Māori. So she was the kind of person the exemplar for why this pathway was established and it was a delight and an encouragement to hear of her ability to be able to stay in this workforce that otherwise could so easily have alienated her. At the same time my conversations with both her and with many friends of mine who both work for and in a couple of cases actually run major social work agencies. One of them is the largest private foster-care agency in the country—a long-term childhood friend of mine from the Wairarapa—right through to the work of the organisation in Māngere Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri. These and others said to me that they supported section 13. They also supported it coming to an end for the very purpose that the registration process was set up in the first place. They and many others believed that certainly a two-year extension was sufficient. So I acknowledge and hear the concerns from the Opposition but I am well-convinced from other people the experts within the sector that two minutes—sorry two years—ironic two minutes is not enough but two years is. Two years is sufficient for extending this piece of legislation.Can I just also take the opportunity though to echo some of the suggestions that have been made in other parts of the House as well for us to look as a Parliament at providing other pathways to entering the social work agency. We have 700 vacancies at the moment and the reality of it is that there are many many people who would love to enter this workforce but the current process—what will be the process in two years' time of between three and four years of full-time qualification—is beyond them. So I wonder if we might consider things such as a postgraduate diploma—that was the pathway through which my own wife entered the counselling profession recently being able to build on her previous work actually in the nutrition sector. Similarly in terms of a number of my friends who are recently looking for a mid-life change and wanting to do something more meaningful in terms of their careers and decided to do no higher calling than to enter the teaching profession and they again were able to do a postgraduate diploma of one year. Can I also add to that a plea that we consider paid placements as well. That's something that could work not only in the social work and the counselling agency but potentially also in the likes of nursing and others.Finally can I acknowledge the evolution of this legislation and this framework over successive Governments. This is something that has been in play now for nearly seven years—seven years where there has been magnificent progress made towards the professionalisation of the social work agency and recognising the incredible role of those tauwhiro who support those individuals those whānau those hapū and those hapori who are most struggling in our country. It is my great pleasure to commend this bill to the House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: It's a five-minute split call—the Rt Hon Adrian Rurawhe."