Tolley AnneCHILDREN YOUNG PERSONS AND THEIR FAMILIES (ORANGA TAMARIKI) LEGISLATION BILLSecond ReadingHon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Children): I move That the Children Young Persons and Their Families (Oranga Tamariki) Legislation Bill be now read a second time. I want to begin by acknowledging the Social Services Committee for its thorough consideration of the bill. I also want to acknowledge the many individuals organisations and iwi who made submissions and particularly the iwi leaders group who of course now support the bill. The committee received over 440 written submissions and nearly 100 submitters were heard in oral hearings. It is very encouraging to see such strong public engagement and it demonstrates our country's commitment to securing better outcomes for its children.Making sure that every child is in a safe stable and loving home requires all of us in every community to protect and support our children. It also requires all of us to listen. As I have said many times in this House this Government is committed to ensuring that our most vulnerable children and young people are at the centre of every decision made about them. They deserve to have a voice and they absolutely deserve to be listened to.This bill seeks to provide the foundations for a child-centred care and protection and youth justice system and will support the core services of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki through a series of wide-ranging reforms. These changes signal a significant shift from a focus on crisis response and as we embark on this transformation over the next 4 to 5 years we will see a much greater emphasis on prevention early intervention and transition support to independence. This shift towards prevention and early intervention is a key tenet of the child-centred approach and this Government expects that investing earlier in whānau and families and supporting them to stay together will mean that fewer children end up in State care. I would hope that all members in this House share this ambition.The bill also provides a framework for young people to transition to independence. As any parent knows young people often need a bit of extra help as they start to make their way in the world. It does not matter whether they are starting university a new course or their first job—the role of any parent is to be there and support them while they begin to stand on their own two feet. That is why new provisions in this bill will allow young people to remain with or return to a caregiver up to the age of 21 with the ability to grant additional advice and assistance up to age 25.I want to take this opportunity today to address the noise that has been swirling around this bill. Before it was even introduced people were discussing what these changes would mean and how they would affect families. Some of this discussion raised legitimate issues and concerns; some of it was little more than mischievous misinformation. The amount that has been written and debated on this topic has been quite eye-opening. It has shown me two things. First this is a topic that New Zealanders rightly care about with great passion and that is encouraging. Less encouraging however is that in a number of cases adult agendas appear to have been placed above the best interests and needs of the child. This has been very frustrating for me as I have always said to my Youth Advisory Panel who have fed into this work that my primary focus for this bill was to ensure that children and young people have a voice and a say in what is happening to them. I made a promise to them to cement that into legislation.Over the last 3 months I have travelled the country meeting a large number of iwi Māori organisations and community groups to discuss this bill. As I have said it is an issue that many New Zealanders care about so I wanted to talk with as many groups as I could face to face to explain what we are trying to achieve and how this bill is an important step along that path. I have to say these meetings were really enlightening. In every meeting I met dedicated passionate people who want the best for their families whānau communities and iwi. They are people with an unwavering focus on ensuring children have the best possible opportunities and the best support should the State need to get involved and these are people who overwhelmingly support making sure we work together sooner so we can prevent children needing to leave their families.We had a number of incredibly valuable discussions about the role of whānau and family in a child's life. I strongly believe that as long as a child's or young person's wishes and best interests are respected and they are safe the best place for any child is with their family or whānau. My profound hope is that effective prevention and early intervention will see fewer children needing State care and more children living in safe stable and loving homes with families that are their own.I accept that in the initial draft of this bill this intention was not as clear as it could have been and I am heartened to see the select committee agreed with the recommendation to clarify the wording around this to align with the original intent. These changes now better set up the bill's original intention—that where it is safe and in their best interests children who are removed from their usual caregiver are returned home whenever possible and that where they cannot be returned home and it is consistent with their best interests there is a preference for a placement within their wider family whānau hapū or iwi. We know no child exists in isolation which is why there is an increase in prominence to the concepts of mana tamaiti whakapapa and whanaungatanga. This recognises that all children have their own intrinsic worth and that they sit as part of a wider group. It acknowledges that they are part of their own immediate family unit as well as their wider family group community culture and genealogy. These layers give the young person an identity a place and a sense of belonging.The State must unequivocally and unapologetically have high aspirations for any child who comes into its care which is why a number of changes to care support provisions have been made. These changes will ensure that children get the special protection and assistance they so rightly deserve whether physical or emotional. They will also address children's healthcare education and other day-to-day needs and will support them to fulfil their aspirations and developmental potential. It is not enough to protect our most vulnerable. We must give them what they need to live happy healthy and successful lives. The committee has also recommended some changes to youth justice provisions one of which is to allow 17-year-olds who have been transferred to adult courts to be transferred back to the Youth Court when the charges against them are reduced.This Government is committed to honouring the voices of the many children and young people who have told us what they want to see in the future care and protection and youth justice system. These legislative changes are just one part of the Government's response. Through strategic partnering a trauma-informed practice framework wider engagement with communities and better support for families whānau and caregivers we will build on these changes so we can establish a truly child-centred system. Ultimately this is what is needed to help ensure vulnerable children and young people have the best chance to have happy childhoods be resilient develop a sense of belonging and identity and grow into flourishing adults.I want to finish with what I consider an important signal. Earlier this year I wrote to the committee and asked them to consider changing the name of the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act. I am very happy to confirm that the committee has proposed renaming it the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. This change represents the aspirations we hold for New Zealand's vulnerable children—that their well-being and voice are at the centre of all we do. We must listen to our children and young people which is why I hereby commend the Children Young Persons and Their Families (Oranga Tamariki) Legislation Bill to the House.