Radhakrishnan PriyancaPRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour): Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. I rise to take a call on the Family and Whānau Violence Legislation Bill which is a step that the previous Government took towards strengthening the legislative fabric that exists around family violence or to address family violence here in New Zealand and I commend them for that. In fact I'll begin my speech by commending the former justice Minister the Hon Amy Adams for the work that she did to get the bill to where it's at today. I will also acknowledge and commend the current justice Minister the Hon Andrew Little and also the under-secretary to the Minister Jan Logie for the work that they've done and continue to do to address this issue as well.Now previous speakers have talked about what an issue family violence is and quoted some of the stats around why it's such an issue for us here in New Zealand. I won't relitigate some of those points but I will make this point: the Social Services and Community Committee recently over the last recess visited Australia. Now the focus of that trip was to look at Australian initiatives that addressed poverty—poverty reduction—and also homelessness. The one point that I want to make is that in every single meeting we had over there whether it was with Ministers and members of Parliament Government departments or indeed NGOs working at the front line to address either of those two issues the issue of family violence was brought up as a driver of all of those issues as well. So it is a complex issue. Family violence is not just a justice issue; it's a human rights health and social issue that we must indeed eliminate here in New Zealand.This bill is an omnibus bill which overhauls the Domestic Violence Act and that's a good thing. I'll just quickly go through in the time that I have some of the main points or main changes that this piece of legislation once passed will enact. The member Jan Logie talked about the fact that when a police safety order is issued the ability to obtain a risk and needs assessment—which is what this piece of legislation will allow—is incredibly important so that both the victim and the perpetrator get the types of support that they need for the victim to stay safe and for the perpetrator to actually be supported to stop perpetrating violence. We have to get to a point where the perpetration of violence stops for us to be able to eliminate this scourge.The second change that this bill makes is that it changes society's understanding of what family violence is. Previous speakers have touched upon this as well so I will keep it brief but it acknowledges the fact that family violence can be one incident of physical sexual or psychological violence that is significant but it is also a pattern of power and control of coercion and control. I'm excited that this bill makes that point because it's not one that many have acknowledged previously including those who work in the sector as well.The introduction of a new offence of non-fatal strangulation is critical is crucial. I remember reading somewhere that victim survivors who have been strangled are seven times more likely to be killed—to be a victim of family violence homicide. It's a major risk indicator for homicide and I'm pleased that it's included in this bill.At the end of the day this bill presents us with an option for a more coordinated response to address family violence and a whole host of changes that I won't go into in more detail but it is a good bill and that's why there is cross-party support for it.The one point that I will make is that the member Jan Logie touched upon the fact that this bill does include an element on or criminalises coerced marriage or forced marriage and therefore touches on some of the issues that relate specifically to women from ethnic communities. Submissions have been made during the select committee process that indicate that this needs to go further—that there are other issues like dowry abuse that exist in New Zealand that must be addressed as well.Finally I will say that this bill sits alongside the work that this Government is doing to eliminate family violence in New Zealand which includes the position of the under-secretary to the justice Minister that focuses on domestic and sexual violence—because it's the first ever internationally to focus on the elimination of these forms of violence—funding for front-line services that was in Budget 2018; and indeed prioritisation for a central agent that will implement the coordinated response to eliminate family violence. It is indeed my pleasure to commend this bill to the House. Thank you.Bill read a second time.