Lee Melissa: Families Commission Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLee Melissa: Families Commission Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 19 March 2014. Volume:697;Page:16811. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MELISSA LEE (National):Ahn nyung ha se yo Mr Assistant Speaker. It is a great pleasure to rise to speak in this third reading of the Families Commission Amendment Bill. But before I actually get on to the bill I would like to address some of the comments that were made by the speaker who just took his seat Dr Rajen Prasad. He did actually say that it was “amazing”. He used that word quite a lot and I have to agree with him. It is amazing that that member could stand there and talk about conflicts of interest. He did actually say that the Families Commission was riddled with political conflicts.Let me put some facts to the House. When that member was with the Families Commission he was in fact the Chief Families Commissioner—not just a commissioner; he was the Chief Families Commissioner—in 2008. When he became a member of the Labour Party—and he was actually on the Labour list; he was elected in November 2008—how many months before that election did he stand down from his position as the Chief Families Commissioner? It was actually only about 2 or 3 months before and he is talking about someone who is not even a candidate in the election that is coming up in September and saying that there is a conflict of interest. I have to say that that is amazing. That is so rich coming from that member.I have to say that I hate talking about friends across the House because I have known Dr Rajen Prasad for many many years. But I really hate the fact that he actually believes—it is very sad—that there is a conflict of interest when he himself as the Chief Families Commissioner did not declare his political interest. He was on the list at No. 12. If he is on the list for Labour at No. 12 how long were the negotiations going on for? How long was he a member of the Labour Party for? How long was he actually campaigning for the Labour Party before he became a member of Parliament? He also travelled to India. That member travelled to India with the then Prime Minister Helen Clark when he was the Chief Families Commissioner. Was that a conflict of interest? It is rich coming from that member talking about another person who is not even a candidate yet in the election.If we are going to make a difference for families who are struggling we need to be able to invest in interventions that will actually work. No one in this House wants to waste time researching issues that are going nowhere. No one in this House wants to research issues that may end up becoming of absolutely no use to anybody. This bill will streamline the Families Commission’s core activities. The commission will continue to work on issues that are important to families within a leaner and more focused structure. I thought “focus” was a good word. We are not altering the commission so that it becomes closer to being a Government ministry as some Labour members like to think. The Families Commission is not going to turn into something that is closer to being a Government department. The bill simply means that the way that the Families Commission works is going to change. It will remain an autonomous Crown entity. In fact the bill extends the commission’s powers and functions in order to make it more relevant.It is strange that Labour members worry that the changes we produced to the bill will bring the Families Commission closer to being a Government department when they would rather dissolve the Families Commission altogether and turn it into a Ministry for Children. What the changes to this bill will mean is that there will be significant change for the Families Commission in terms of its structural arrangements work programme capability and size. The Families Commission will be headed by a single commissioner down from the original seven. The commissioner will take on a new role providing for independent monitoring evaluation and research to measure effectiveness of initiatives across the social sector. The bill requires the Families Commission to develop the annual families status report to see how New Zealand families are getting on and provides for the appointment of a social sciences expert panel to provide academic peer review and guidance. The panel compromises a minimum of four members with the flexibility to appoint additional members if necessary as concern was expressed that a panel of four may not have skills across a broad range. The Government will be redirecting $4 million over 4 years to fund extra parenting programmes and relationship education in secondary schools.The Ministry of Social Development and the Families Commission will work together to make sure that the research of each in fact complements that of the other. The research will not be duplicated and I know that New Zealand First members mentioned that they were quite worried about that happening. But the Ministry of Social Development and the Families Commission have two very different roles so I believe that there will not be duplication. Nobody wants duplication. That would be a complete waste of money. The Families Commission is to actively identify and move forward in areas where research will actually assist. An inter-agency team from the Ministry of Social Development the State Services Commission and the Families Commission is currently overseeing the changes. It is a significant change for the Families Commission in terms of its structural arrangements work programme capability requirements and size. The new unit will build a body of evidence that will allow policy makers NGOs and anyone wanting to invest in social services to make informed decisions about which programmes are effective for New Zealand families.As the Minister mentioned there is a longitudinal survey that we have undertaken called Growing Up in New Zealand that looks at 7000 young children aged between 4 and 5 and tracking them right to the age of 21. It will be an amazing piece of research for all of us to take note of and understand.This is a great bill and I commend it to the House.