SpeechHon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister for Children): Thank you Mr Speaker. I had a very different speech written for this bill as of Tuesday morning. In my original speech I would have opened by acknowledging that there were a variety of views in our caucus—which is true. I was going to make it very very clear that I was speaking for myself. I was going to speak to my personal reasons about why I would have been voting in favour of this legislation. I was going to speak about Beverley Williams my mother's birth mother. I've talked about Beverley in this House before. We never knew Beverley. My mother doesn't really remember Beverley. Beverley left her two-year-old daughter and five-year-old son in 1943. It took well into the 1980s for us to find out what happened to her. But that story will have to wait because as often happens in this place events have moved on and so this speech must change.Today I rise as the New Zealand First spokesperson for women to speak on the Abortion Legislation Bill. For close to a decade now my New Zealand First colleagues have been happy with my representing them around issues that affect predominantly women or women only things from forced marriage to pay equity. So despite their diversity of views on this issue my colleagues delegated me to work with the Hon Andrew Little to produce a Cabinet paper and the bill that has come into this House. However I also need to make it clear that this topic is not part and was never part of New Zealand First and Labour's coalition agreement. There was no negotiation prior to the formation of Government on this issue.I want to thank the Hon Andrew Little his staff and officials for the respectful and dedicated way they worked with me to do our best to incorporate the instructions I received from the New Zealand First caucus and to remain as close as possible to our often articulated position on this topic that abortion should be safe legal and rare. I also want to thank the New Zealand First leader's office staff who for close to nine months worked with myself and Minister Little's office to get us to this point.In recent days there have been some questions in the public domain around the time frames of New Zealand First's actions and who knew what and when and I would like to provide some clarity around that now. I first met with Minister Little to discuss abortion law reform in December 2018. In the months that followed the Minister and I with our advisers met on several occasions to get to a place of comfort that we had a Cabinet paper and then a bill that reflected a desire by some to shift a woman's voluntary choice to terminate a pregnancy out of the Crimes Act and into the health Act. I did my best to ensure that I removed my personal view and followed the instructions of my caucus.I reported back to the New Zealand First caucus a number of times over those months around progress. At no time during those negotiations did the New Zealand First caucus raise the issue of a referendum clause or instruct me to raise that topic with Minister Little and so at no time over those months did I raise it with him.On the afternoon of Monday 5 August I did a pre-recorded interview with Jo Moir of RNZ. Ms Moir asked several questions around the process followed by myself and the New Zealand First caucus. She posed a question regarding a referendum clause and I answered honestly as I am wont to do. That interview was played the following morning Tuesday 6 August and it included my comments regarding a referendum clause.There are some who believe I work in a dictatorship. They could not be further from the truth. Any New Zealand First MP can raise an issue at our caucus and seek majority support for a position on that issue. At the New Zealand First caucus meeting which began at 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday 6 August a member of the New Zealand First caucus requested that they put forward a Supplementary Order Paper to insert a referendum clause into the legislation in line with the New Zealand First historical position on this issue. He received majority support from the caucus. This is how democracy works: the majority prevails while the minority have the right to their views without persecution.At that meeting the New Zealand First caucus resolved that they would cast nine votes in favour of the Abortion Legislation Bill at both the first reading and the second reading and introduce a Supplementary Order Paper 292 in the name of Darroch Ball for consideration at the committee of the whole House.At the conclusion of the caucus approximately midday on Tuesday the 6th I informed the Prime Minister the Prime Minister's chief of staff and the Minister of Finance of the New Zealand First caucus position. At approximately 1 p.m. on Tuesday 6 August I personally informed Minister Little and his advisers of the New Zealand First caucus decision and apologised to him for the lateness of this development.I want to again acknowledge their respect for the independence of not only another political party but also for the ability of any member of this House to introduce a Supplementary Order Paper in their name to be voted on by the Parliament.I will also be the New Zealand First representative on the specially convened select committee. I encourage the public to look carefully at the existing law and that which is proposed under this bill. We welcome any submissions that will get us to a place that this House will pass legislation that is best for the women of New Zealand.Already today I have heard incredibly constructive suggestions come from members from both sides of this debate that I believe should be considered by that select committee to make sure that if and when we come to a final place on this legislation it is the best we can do for New Zealand women. Many Governments have not been brave enough to take this topic on. This Government is. This Parliament is. The law relating to abortion is over 40 years old. It is time for it to be discussed and to be reviewed.As I finish I repeat: New Zealand First will be casting nine votes in favour of this legislation today and at second reading and there is a Supplementary Order Paper in the name of Darroch Ball for the committee of the whole House.