Macindoe TimHon TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West): Thank you very much Mr Assistant Speaker. Could I commence by saying that while I endorse many of the comments that Mr Clayton Mitchell has just made I do want to take umbrage with his outrageous suggestion that my very fine colleague the member for Northcote was filibustering in his previous call. I'll just point out that Mr Bidois was on the Social Services and Community Committee. This is a very important bill. He was sharing with us in a very articulate and I thought intelligent way his thoughts on the bill and why it should be passed and to suggest that he was in any way treating the issue with less than the seriousness that it requires I think was most disappointing. One of the reasons I feel that way is that I am not currently a member of the Social Services and Community Committee so I didn't have the opportunity to work on it. But I was on the social services select committee in my first term of Parliament and as some speakers have noted already in this debate this is an issue that has been in our minds for many many years and it was quite a complicated issue that took some time to get right. There obviously had to be a lot of consultation with the profession and with affected parties and to have reached the point that we now have where there is broad consensus across the House in the passage of this measure I think is a very healthy thing because for us to be inflicting a registration scheme on a profession that was deeply resistant to it would probably be very counterproductive. Instead I'm very heartened to hear that the wide consultation has resulted in a measure that broadly speaking enjoys strong support. As other members have done I think it is appropriate at this stage in the third reading for us to acknowledge the very fine work that social workers do for us all in this country. We hear sometimes about the odd rotten apple in any profession and there have been some in this profession just as there have been in just about every other profession you can name. We shouldn't forget that the vast majority of social workers are doing fine work often with very challenging people and families dealing with behaviour that most of us wouldn't know how to cope with—often it's influenced by addictions and the consequence of abuse and so on. For the social workers who are doing that work to the very best of their ability and making a real difference in turning lives around we all owe a huge debt of gratitude. Imagine this society without them out there doing that work day in and day out. We would all notice it very quickly and to our considerable detriment. So my acknowledgment of them is fulsome and sincere but of course it is vital that they are all professional. It's vital that they all have the very best training that is possible in order to ensure that the public may have confidence in the work that they are doing and in the professionalism that they bring to it. That is why of course this is quite a historic day in their profession a very important one and one that I'm sure that they would welcome.Those who have followed the bill as it has made its passage through the House and through the Social Services and Community Committee and the submissions process will know that of course the National Party supports it because it was our bill. As others have done I too would like to acknowledge the Hon Anne Tolley who I think did a tremendous job in managing to bring us to the point where a bill came to the House in an area which as I say has been in our minds for many many years. So I want to acknowledge the considerable effort that she brought to it.As those who were listening to the committee stage of this debate will recall we opposed the current Minister's Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) for reasons that were well articulated by the Hon Louise Upston the Hon Alfred Ngaro and others in that debate. I too acknowledge the current Minister Carmel Sepuloni for now reaching this point. I congratulate her because I think to be a Minister who is able to see an important bill enacted into law is a real achievement. So I acknowledge that but it does nevertheless bear saying that her action in dropping that SOP on the House on the hoof in a fairly shambolic manner without having done the hard work behind the scenes to deliver sound public policy and legislation in that particular area was a real disappointment.It reminded me I have to say of the ACC Minister's recent decision to scrap applying the vehicle risk rating measure to the setting of motor vehicle levies. Again it is poor policy poor practice to do things without evidence without the research and to drop things in a very ad hoc fashion. That's shabby that's lazy and it's disappointing because it has detracted from what is otherwise a good bill. The substantive bill of course is nevertheless a good one. It reflects the thoroughness and professionalism of the previous Minister and her officials and I want to thank those officials as well. They do very good work for us. They are not often acknowledged but it is appropriate that we do and of course we all welcome the expected passage of this bill today after the end of this third reading debate.Earlier as the Hon Alfred Ngaro and others in this debate have indicated we have some reservations about some of the Minister's changes such as the requirement for social workers to have to apply to the Social Workers Registration Board for approval for each new scope of practice but the original objectives of the bill remain unchanged around tightening up the industry. The sector we know supports the bill and what it will achieve so that is why of course we are voting for it.The really crucial thing is mandatory registration. This is going to ensure that all social workers are well-equipped to deal with some of our most vulnerable citizens. People would want to know that when they are dealing with a social worker that person is someone who has been vetted by the police. We have that expectation in education and other important social service provisions. Here I think it's particularly important given the vulnerability of many who come into contact with our social workers and we would want to know that they have the highest professional ethics and that they are undertaking regular professional development to ensure that they can keep on top of what is an often-changing dynamic in their field of work.It would be worth just noting in the last couple of minutes why it has actually been necessary to extend the registration regime because it hasn't fully covered the social work profession up until now. It probably would come as a surprise I think to some people who might not have been following this debate for a long period of time to find that currently anyone can call themselves a social worker whether they've got qualifications in that field or not and individual social workers have been able to choose whether they become registered or not. As a consequence those who are not registered haven't been expected to be subject to the same standards and processes set out in the Act. It is our expectation and a major objective of this bill that the changes that the bill is enacting will also promote a positive professional identity that will support the highest-quality social work practice.I note that the bill will amend the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 to ensure that no criminal convictions can be concealed from police vets which are required for the consideration of whether a person is a fit and proper person. Again I imagine that there are many people following this debate who may be concerned to hear that we haven't previously given members of the public that assurance. Given the vulnerability and behavioural challenges that many who require the support of social workers display it's a bit alarming to think that someone who could have been working with them to date might be—in that great euphemism that we're all familiar with—known to the police for very worrying reasons. I really hope that making this change will give the public that sort of assurance that they haven't been able to enjoy up until now.I'm going to conclude by noting that while National members of the committee were concerned that given the restricted time frame the committee was unable to deal fully with all the submitters' concerns nevertheless this is a very positive step forward. The most important aspects of the bill's intentions are now coming into force. I hope that as a result of some of the things that couldn't be dealt with we won't have to see the bill—or rather the Act—return to the House in a year or two for further legislative tweaking. It sometimes happens and it could do but I am delighted to be able to acknowledge the work that has been done the importance of what is being enacted today and as others have noted to offer the National Party's wholehearted support to the passage of this bill.