Chhour KarenKAREN CHHOUR (ACT): Thank you Mr Chair. I just want to just make note of once again my Supplementary Order Paper 189; it's inserting clause 118 to make sure the review is commenced no later than 6 months after the delivery to the Minister of the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care and must be completed no later than 12 months after its commencement." It's very similar to what I was speaking to in regards to the last part of this bill. It's just giving assurances to young people and to survivors of abuse in State care that we actually take that seriously and we are going to make sure that the recommendations are taken into consideration.HARETE HIPANGO (National): Thank you Mr Chair. I'm almost certain—in fact I'm quite confident—that those members of the public listening in to this debate who have worked in the specialised area of child welfare sector care and also those members who are part of the current Office of the Children's Commissioner would find that not only has this bill—from the time that it was introduced to the House—a sense of foreboding but an attitude of "Government knows better than anybody else" anybody who has dedicated their professional and their personal lives to this and the submissions that have been made to the Social Services and Community Committee have been disregarded almost in totality.So this part of the bill Part 5 is comprised of clauses 82 to 122. Clause 83 "Purpose of this Part" is "to establish the Children and Young People's Commission". I put a proposal to the House that actually it's to vanquish truth to power with the decommissioning of the current Office of the Children's Commissioner. I say that because the truth to power is that the Office despite its inadequate deficient resourcing for whatever reason despite the pleas for additional resourcing with submissions before this Government in select committee the decision had been made back in 2019 to reroute that funding to the appointment of the Independent Children's Monitor. It had been rerouted in resourcing prioritising and bolstering the function the role and the purpose of the Office of the Ombudsmen all in a staged transition to the decommissioning of the current Office of the Children's Commissioner and the Children's Commissioner and vanquishing that truth to power. By now fleshing out and proposing—and it is a done deal; always was right from the first day that this came before select committee. I knew full well when I heard the advice and the pushback on the proposals and the recommendations from those in the public in this specialised sector of child welfare and advocacy from those of us who have worked in the sector too to be told we don't know much really and frankly the Government knows better. Coming back to the purpose of this part. Clause 83 says "to establish the Children and Young People's Commission to promote and advance the rights interests and participation of children and young people". Well as has been well heard in this debate the voices the views the input of our children and young people through their specialised advocacy groups for example VOYCE - Whakarongo Mai all of whom the select committee and those of us in Opposition have engaged met listened—not just heard; listened to and taken to heart heeding what their life experience is in State welfare care. So the Government has seen fit to disband that very important representative advocate voice and face the Office of the Children's Commissioner by establishing a board. The State—the Government—knows best and is telling again that specialised sector and the children in lived care experience and also those who are still giving evidence before the royal commission of inquiry that the State the Government the Minister know best and they will disestablish truth to power by the appointment of a commission board. I heard the Minister talk about the importance of experience and diversity and actually the experience and diversity is fully representative in the current Commissioner for Children Judge Frances Eivers who is whakapapa Māori and whakapapa tauiwi. Hon Carmel Sepuloni: Yes. We appointed her.HARETE HIPANGO: Yes. It's known that Judge Eivers was appointed by this Government. But it's also known that Judge Eivers put on notice that this bill was coming before the House because—Hon Member: She was.HARETE HIPANGO: —and if that's the case Judge Eivers hasn't had the opportunity to speak and present that publicly because of a compromised position. But it's well known that those persons who have advocated in this sector and given a lifetime's service—former Commissioner for Children Judge Becroft former Commissioner for Children Russell Wills and others and it's going to be very interesting when this gets signed off with Royal assent."