Roberts AngelaANGELA ROBERTS (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. I'm really humbled to take this call. You know we've heard so much about the years of work and energy that have gone into getting us to this moment. I do want us to take a moment to think about some of the numbers that have been given to us in the House today. One in four women—that doesn't mean one in four women experiences this grief once; some of them experience it time and time again. Twenty-thousand pregnancies in a year—again it may not just be one for one woman—that end in miscarriage or stillbirth. That number does surprise us because we grieve these losses so privately. With those odds I know that each and every one of us in this House can think of someone we know that has been impacted by such a loss. You can think of them—your sister your partner your mum your daughter and possibly even yourself. The impact of this legislation is intensely personal to so many of us in this House a loss that we are usually too polite to mention feel too awkward to talk about. So again I use the word humbled" to be able to stand here and acknowledge Clare and Ginny and Kathryn for your bravery and your anger not just to enable us to talk about this but to do something about it to effect some real change for people's lives. This legislation—it does so much. Firstly the clarity which was made even clearer in select committee actually gives support and reassurance to all those employers who are trying to—and really really want to—do the right thing to act with compassion and integrity and it's really complicated and it can make it really hard for them to do.We've heard about the advice from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment that it's up to the bereaved to convince their employer that this pregnancy is worth grieving. That is a really distressing place for an employer and a parent-to-be to be. The changes made in select committee to help with that clarity were carefully and thoughtfully brought back to this House and I thank them for that. To remove that word "confirmed" from clause 4(2)(c)—to remove that need for knowledge or proof—is really important at a time when things are so hard. They can be so hard. To have those hurdles of proof and knowledge unnecessarily there can make things even harder. As for the changes in clause 4(3) as has already been talked about recognising a miscarriage at any point is a miscarriage and can leave a parent-to-be bereft—we don't have to convince anybody that our pregnancy is worth grieving.I really appreciate the broadening and the acknowledgment of those parents-to-be and the impact and actually the permission it gives to so many in our communities and our families to also grieve alongside their partners or their mothers or sisters or daughters. It's OK for them to be sad too.We've really valued the opportunity that this process has given us to shed a light and make it possible to talk about something. You know we've heard the words "taboo" and "shame" and "politeness" and all of those things that are really hard and it makes it hard for those who are grieving but also employers. We've heard employers in good faith want to do the right thing and to have them to navigate this and you know not wanting to cause any more harm by going "Well actually I have to ask you for this." or "You have to prove that." is a really horrible position to put everybody into. So we really appreciate those changes that have been made.So hopefully we won't have to grieve quite so silently any more. It isn't that every time a woman goes through this experience they are going to need to take some time away from work but the opportunity is there if they need it. The fact that we will no longer have to think about let alone convince somebody else whether our pregnancy is worth grieving—this pregnancy may have been years in the making or it may have been your sixth and you don't have to justify it any more and that's really really important. You can just be sad and you can take that time if you need it. At this point I'm going to commend the bill to the House."