Dyson Ruth: Domestic Violence Amendment Bill Sentencing Amendment Bill (No 2) Bail Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Dyson Ruth: Domestic Violence Amendment Bill Sentencing Amendment Bill (No 2) Bail Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
[Sitting date: 20 October 2009. Volume:658;Page:7368. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills) 
: 
 It is a genuine privilege for me to contribute in the third reading of the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill the Sentencing Amendment Bill (No 2) and the Bail Amendment Bill (No 2) into which the Domestic Violence (Enhancing Safety) Bill has been divided. I look forward to their conclusion and rapid progress into law. I begin by commending my friend and colleague the Hon Annette King who started this process by introducing the Domestic Violence Reform Bill upon which Domestic Violence (Enhancing Safety) Bill was based. I further commend—and it will be for the final time this evening—Chester Borrows for his excellent chairing of the Justice and Electoral Committee. He not only has been very respectful of the other members of the select committee but also was very welcoming to and respectful of the submitters and on this issue I think that is critically important. That is important on every issue but on this issue it is particularly important. 
I acknowledge every member of the select committee and also the officials. They have done a very good job of looking at the submissions making some changes to the legislation and bringing it back to the House. They also gave us a very good report of the select committee proceedings. I also acknowledge the Minister of Justice the Hon Simon Power. The Minister is well regarded for his personal commitment and the respect with which he deals with other members of the House. He has a considered approach to issues and he has demonstrated that again tonight. I thank him and acknowledge his response. 
I am not sure what “active consideration” means under National but I assure the Minister that I will be reminding him of his phrase on a regular basis. I am puzzled that these issues needed further active consideration actually given the rigour with which they were considered previously but obviously the Minister was alerted to some concerns. I give him an absolute assurance that when he introduces those four issues to the House Labour will be supporting their progress and I give him an equally confident assurance that I will be regularly reminding him of his consideration until his consideration is ended. 
Some time ago I gave a maiden speech in this House; it was actually on 24 March 1994. That was quite some time ago. It was probably not long after the time that Simon Bridges was born. 
Hon Member 
: And “Chippy”! 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: And Chris Hipkins. The member is right. In that maiden speech—that speech is one that we all take very seriously—I raised the issues that were of most concern to me. In my maiden speech I said this: “Security in the home is an issue that received deserved attention and prominence this week.” I said that nearly 20 years ago I had been in a violent relationship and I explained to the House that I therefore spoke with understanding of and personal commitment to the issue. I said: “I know the confusion of emotions that are linked with women involved in domestic violence.” I mentioned the United Nations adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and drew the attention of the House to article 4 as having the most relevance. I spoke with pride of New Zealand’s leadership on this issue and reminded the Government that there was still a lot of work to be done. I am very pleased that since that time—tragically 1994 is a long time ago—both main parties have done a lot about this issue. But it remains a blight on our society that we have people particularly women and children who become victims of abuse and violence in their own homes the places where they live and should feel the most secure and the most loved and often end up seriously injured or dead. That is something that members in this House should be ashamed of as leaders in our community. The speeches that members have contributed throughout this debate show that across every single party this House is ashamed of that behaviour and determined to make progress against it. 
The issue of domestic violence still remains one of the most important ones for our country to make progress on 15½ years on from my maiden speech. I remain as committed as I was then to doing everything I can to rid our society and our communities of that scourge so that every single member of our families can go home in the evening and be safe for the entire night. We are taking a step forward now and it is a good step. I commend this legislation to the House.