Smith NickHon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson): The chaos the confusion the gap between promise and performance is so well illustrated with what we've seen in the Parliament this afternoon on this important Family and Whānau Violence Legislation Bill. There isn't any disagreement in this Parliament that violence in the home is one of the most important social issues for our country—on that we agree. But there's somehow this view on the Government benches that if you give fluffy speeches saying you care about something that somehow that makes a difference for New Zealanders. It does not. It is good quality action and good quality programmes that will address those issues.Let's firstly begin by reciting what happened in the Parliament this afternoon. We had the Associate Minister of Justice giving the first speech on this bill the biggest reform of our family violence legislation in a generation and the Minister didn't have the foggiest. He had no idea about the bill. It clearly has been a screw-up on the Government benches. The Minister couldn't even get to the House on time. But it's more serious than that. You only need to read the minority view in this bill to see the failings of this just 11-month-old Government. Let's cite the record: Amy Adams a committed competent Minister announced the biggest batch of changes to New Zealand's domestic violence laws in late 2016 and drafted this over - 100 page bill. It took her three months from the announcement to get the bill into the House. It then took four months from when this bill was introduced in the House for the very capable Justice and Electoral Committee in the last Parliament to report it back in August of last year. My question for Government members is: what have you been doing for 11 months?Hon Member: Ha ha!Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Because you cannot I say to the member who is interjecting beat your chest and say that issues of family violence are the most important issues for the Government and then allow this bill to sit on the Order Paper and make absolutely no progress for 11 months. Then to hear three speeches from the Government benches on this bill without anybody having any idea of what it actually does shows how shallow—how shallow—and inadequate the Government is on this important issue.Let me talk about the important reforms that are contained in this bill. Let's firstly start with burying the language that It's just a domestic." It is not just a domestic. It is violence against New Zealand citizens that needs to be treated seriously. The first part of this bill makes a really important change. It says that issues of violence in the home are actually not just about the two adults; it's about the children. The provisions in this bill as they relate to giving children a real voice in dealing with issues of family violence is absolutely critical if we are to change the cycle that we all know of children growing up in family violence and then going on to be violent partners in a relationship. Here is the second really important change in this bill. We all know that when there are instances of family violence so often the victim for whatever psychological reason will not be prepared to take out a protection order. The existing law only allows a protection order to be triggered by that victim. What this bill absolutely appropriately does both for protection orders and for police safety orders is it gives the capacity for the police and others that are involved in domestic violence to be able to trigger that process and to get those orders in place and that will make for safer families.There's also the issue around the harm and the intimidation that goes around family pets. I was surprised to find out that actually more than 60 percent of New Zealand homes have a pet. So often when there is tension in a relationship sometimes that intimidation is taken out on pets and that issue is dealt with within this bill. The process for being able to obtain a police safety order is made far more simple and quicker by the amendments that are provided in this bill. There are changes to our Criminal Procedure Act and also in respect of our Sentencing Act to ensure that where that are perpetrators of family violence they cannot continue that intimidation from inside the prison and that is an important and appropriate change.I also want to point to the very difficult and challenging issues in this bill that make changes to the Evidence Act because in the select committee's consideration you've got this fine balancing of rights—ensuring that we are serious about addressing the issues of family violence but equally ensuring that there are rights of fair process. I was particularly interested in and wanted to hear from a member of the Government about what their view is on this National bill around increasing the penalties and changing the bail laws in respect of improving safety when there is family violence. I've heard lecture after lecture from members on the Government benches that they are opposed to firmer sentences and ensuring we hold people to account where they commit acts of violence.Every single bill that we have on the Order Paper that attempts to hold people to account and imprison them has been proposed to be watered down by members of the Government. And that's where I say there is such a confusing agenda from the Government. I want to know because I didn't hear from either of the Ministers whether they support the provisions in this National bill that tighten up the bail procedures in respect of the perpetrators of domestic violence. If I was to listen to the Minister of Justice Andrew Little he has consistently opposed and rejected National's provisions to make our communities safer by tightening up those bail laws and I would love to know from him as to whether he is going to support this well-constructed bill.This is a complex bill. It has over 100 pages of changes in all of those laws that I have mentioned. It is the most comprehensive rewrite of our family violence laws in 25 years and so I have a question for the next Government speaker. Where have you been for the last 12 months? Why is it that this bill has been such a low priority for the Government? The Government cannot go on pretending that if it just beats its chest and says that issues are somehow important that that somehow is a substitute for actually getting on and addressing the issues.Angie Warren-Clark: Good things take time.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Oh "Good things take time." I hear from the member. Well can I read from the Labour Party's minority report in the report back? It criticised the National Party for taking eight months to draft the bill develop the policy and get it to a select committee—eight months. What has the Government done with this bill in nearly 12 months? Absolutely zip—again showing both the chaos and the confusion within the Government on these important issues: the confused way that this bill has sat on the Order Paper and the disgraceful conduct of a Government in not even bothering to give a second reading speech. That second reading speech on this bill would be the worst that I've ever seen from a Minister and shows that this Government is proving to be all talk about these important issues of family violence rather than getting on with the action. We need to get on and pass this good National bill."