SpeechHARETE HIPANGO (National): Thank you Mr Chair. This evening in speaking to the committee in this committee of the whole House stage again just an acknowledgment to Sir Wira Gardiner. There were a few members in this House this afternoon who were at his commemoration service I was one of those. I knew Sir Wira or Wira both personally and professionally over the course of my younger days when I worked with Wira in the Department of Māori Affairs and then latterly although not directly—indirectly—here as a member of Parliament with Sir Wira being the chief executive of Oranga Tamariki. So my mihi to his whānau my acknowledgment to Wira this evening.I now turn to business before the committee of the whole House. Minister thank you for your contribution and openings this evening. As is known the National Party is opposed to this Oranga Tamariki Amendment Bill. The more controversial provision is the partial repeal of section 18B. My Parliamentary colleague Karen Chhour has talked to the Supplementary Order Paper that has been submitted and there will be further debate in relation to that. I will touch on that briefly before getting into the detail Minister around the section 18B partial repeal and the associated concerns with that.In the Supplementary Order Paper that's been tabled—quite appropriately and correctly—my colleague has identified that the person described in section 18B is a person who is qualified as being under the spotlight the magnification of concern of Oranga Tamariki of a parent who has had a child previously in care and then with a subsequent child who has come to notice. This partial repeal should go further than the person described as one who has been convicted under the Crimes Act 1961 of the murder manslaughter or infanticide of a child or young person who was in the person's care or custody at the time of the child's or young person's death." We have the most horrendous record of child abuse in this country. How many more children need to die as a result of the lack of scrutiny and the lack of intense supervision and assessment from our State welfare care and protection agency Oranga Tamariki?So I acknowledge my colleague because the purpose of the Supplementary Order paper is identifying that there are sadly parents who have abused their children and who have been convicted of this horrendous abuse. There are parents who have abused their spouses who are victims of the most horrendous domestic violence. And Minister when I practised as a child welfare advocate as a court appointed lawyer Family Court judges repeatedly stated that the past is an indicator of the future and past behaviours of parents' treatment of their children was regrettably and sadly an indicator of more to come. That was the experience that many of us working in that space had and judges as well.So the purpose of the Supplementary Order Paper of my colleague is recognising the importance that those persons who are parents and who do have a conviction for a serious offence—either domestic violence aggravated assaults or violence of a serious form—where a sentence of imprisonment has been imposed that that really must be factored in under this child welfare care and protection law. Oranga Tamariki has an obligation a duty and a responsibility to ensure that the law and the social work practice puts in place implements and adheres to the necessity to have processes procedures and laws that will protect our children.So Minister I invite comment to the Supplementary Order Paper about consideration of previous convictions of parents who have had a child taken out of their care into permanent placement in custody elsewhere and that with any subsequent child where there is a conviction it be factored in. Thank you Mr Chair."