Tremain Chris: General Debate 
Tremain Chris: General Debate 
[Volume:639;Page:9062] 
CHRIS TREMAIN (National—Napier) 
: 
 One of the privileges of being an MP is the opportunity to represent one’s constituency of constituents from across the political spectrum. One gets involved with great things as a constituent MP and one gets involved with some really tough things. 
Last week I had to get involved with one of those tough things. Let me paint a picture. A woman lives in a Napier neighbourhood—although this could happen in any neighbourhood around the country. The woman is a solo mum with a young 5-year-old daughter who is her life. She knows that the home behind her is a Child Youth and Family property and that for the entire time the woman has lived there the property has housed foster kids. Balls have come over the back fence and she has helped out like a good neighbour normally would. 
One day after a working bee where the woman has talked with the neighbours and saw a new young man living there a tennis ball comes over the fence followed by the young man she met earlier. She is pleasant and provides him with the tennis ball—as a nice neighbour normally would. 
These events go on. The young man comes over the fence a number of times chasing balls and is seemingly harmless. He is a bit simple but the woman assumes he is OK. She hears a few bangs against the fence in the early evening and up to 10 p.m. On one occasion she sees a flannel resting on the fence but she does not see anything else. 
One day the woman sees the young man’s face pressed against her window at 9.45 p.m. and she confronts him. He jumps back over the fence. Scared now she confronts the caregivers who have just driven home and who are carrying takeaways into their house. They apologise and tell her that he should not be doing that but she is damned concerned. 
The woman starts to make inquires and the next day both the local police and Child Youth and Family are on her doorstep. They tell her they were not aware the young man was there that he is dangerous and that she is right to be frightened. She finds out that the person who has been jumping the fence is a juvenile sex offender with a record of four sex offences against children. She finds out that the caregivers are being paid $3000 a week and that the young man is supposed to have 24/7 cover and needs two minders when he goes for a walk. She is so frightened that she packs her bags and leaves her house. 
This is a story that no one should have to go through. This poor woman thanks her lucky stars that nothing happened to her little girl. She challenges herself as to whether she made the right decisions—whether she was too friendly and whether she was a good mum. I tell her that she did make the right decisions and that she is a fantastic mother. As an aside I thank the local police and local Child Youth and Family for their outstanding work in dealing with a difficult situation that landed in their laps from nowhere. But that still leaves a lot of unanswered questions. 
Some of those questions were put to the Minister Ruth Dyson yesterday. How did this young man get transferred to Napier without notification to the local police? How did this young man get transferred to Napier without notification to the local Child Youth and Family branch? How was this young man allowed to roam free around the neighbourhood while caregivers went out to get takeaways? How was this offender able to get over the fence into a neighbour’s property up to 14 times when he was supposed to have 24/7 supervision? What were the supervisors who were being paid $3000 per week doing when they allowed young children in the neighbourhood to be put at risk? Was the vetting process for the selection of caregivers adequate when it is alleged that one of the supervisors left under a cloud from a similar organisation in Auckland? Why is this young man still with the same supervisor who has already proven that he has failed in this job? 
What did the Minister say to the questions asked in this House? She did acknowledge that the supervisor had not done the job. But then she went on to blame the mother for not acting quickly enough. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: No I did not. 
CHRIS TREMAIN 
: That is what the Minister said yesterday. She blamed the mother for not acting quickly enough. She also said: “I have confidence in Child Youth and Family’s approval process and selection procedure for the caregivers of the young people …”. Well frankly that is not good enough. There are many questions the Minister failed to answer. In fact she chose to attack the mother at the centre of this debacle and that is not good enough. That mother is a good mother— 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: Chris tell the truth! 
CHRIS TREMAIN 
: I am telling the truth. The Minister has not listened to that mother. The mother has not come to talk to her so the Minister cannot tell me across this House that I am not telling the truth because I am. I tell the Minister that her answers are not good enough. Napier people and New Zealand people want to live in communities where their children are safe. Putting our kids at risk from predators like that is simply unacceptable and this Parliament should not stand for it. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.