5. Children and Young People Care and Protection—Ministry for Vulnerable Children and Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Register) BillALFRED NGARO (National) to the Minister for Social DevelopmentChildren and Young People Care and Protection—Ministry for Vulnerable Children and Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Register) Bill5. ALFRED NGARO (National) to the Minister for Social Development: What recent announcements has she made regarding the care and protection of children and young people?Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Social Development): Last Thursday at the Vulnerable Children's Hub in Grey Lynn I announced the establishment of a new dedicated child-centred ministry. The Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki will be in place from April 2017 to focus on the safety and long-term well-being of our most at-risk children and young people. It will focus on five core services: prevention intensive intervention care support services transition support and a youth justice service aimed at preventing offending and reoffending. It will have the ability to directly purchase vital services such as trauma counselling as soon as they are needed. There will be more high-quality caregivers and better support for those families who open their homes to our most vulnerable children. As I have said before the long-term outcomes for young people in the current Child Youth and Family system are simply atrocious. The new Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki demonstrates this Government's commitment to properly care for and protect our most vulnerable children and young people and ensure they can lead the lives they deserve.Alfred Ngaro: How will the new ministry ensure that the best interests of the child are addressed?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: The Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki will be a child-centred system. Legislation has already been introduced in the House that will establish an independent youth advocacy service and require that children's voices be heard in decisions affecting them. I was also delighted to announce that I have appointed a new youth advisory panel made up of young people who are in or who have experience of State care to advise me and the transformation team in the months ahead as we design the new system. I had my first meeting with the new panel this morning and we had a very constructive conversation about how the new ministry will operate and best look after the needs of children in care. The advisory panel the independent youth advocacy service and new legislation will mean that the ministry will be truly child-centred.Alfred Ngaro: What reports has the Minister seen regarding her announcement of the new Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: I have seen many reports welcoming the Government's bold decision to radically overhaul the care and protection system and to establish the Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki. The Children's Commissioner called it a great day for New Zealand children today" and said that "The new agency has the potential to be a world-leading organisation." Social Service Providers Aotearoa Inc welcomed the certainty provided by the announcement and the path ahead. The Press called it "a welcome change for NZ children" and the Otago Daily Times said it was "refreshing … to finally find an instance where someone is prepared to call a spade a spade."Darroch Ball: Will she put the care and protection of children and young people first by supporting New Zealand First's Supplementary Order Paper that makes the child sex offender register public or will she continue to back the ideology that the rights and privacy of the offender come first?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: The answer is no because the premise on which that member has put his Supplementary Order Paper is incorrect. In fact the reason you do not make the register public is so that you can have all the names of those offenders in the one place so that that has the better chance of keeping the community safe.Darroch Ball: In that case what does she say to each of the victims of child sex abuse who made submissions to the select committee all wanting the register to be made public?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: I say exactly that. What we need—and the purpose of the register—is to keep track of those offenders who disappear into our communities and we need those names and the details of where those people are to be all in the one place. Many of them have name suppression. If they are not on the list then of course you end up with two lists and you have every chance of losing track of some of those."