Garcia Paulo; O'Connor GregPAULO GARCIA (National—New Lynn): It's a pleasure to be able to stand in support of a non-contentious piece of legislation and something that is clearly needed and necessary. I just want to walk through the Social Workers Registration Act of 2003 at the start which was set up to make sure that social workers—who were dealing with their very vulnerable clientele the people of the public that they needed to serve—were fit to practise and accountable. The Social Workers Registration Act 2003 was established for that main purpose: for the protection of the public that they needed to serve. The corollary to that was the enhancement of the integrity and professionalism of the social work profession. Along with the establishment of the Social Workers Registration Act what was also established was the Social Workers Registration Board which oversaw the process of registration for social workers. Registration then had two pathways: the first was through gaining recognised qualifications and the second which was provided by section 13 of the Act was the opportunity to become registered using significant experience in lieu of recognised qualifications. So there are very many practitioners of social work who are out there spending a big amount of their time and their lives extending the kind of work that they do for so many.In February 2021 the requirement to be registered became mandatory so everybody needed to be registered. It is important to point out that the Social Workers Registration Legislation Act 2019 provided for the repeal of section 13 of the Social Workers Registration Act which allowed for experience in lieu of recognised qualifications as a pathway for registration. So the repeal was to take place this year on 28 February and that would have completely removed the opportunity for registration other than recognised qualifications.It is worthy to note that from 2019 over 4000 social workers who registered were registered under the recognised qualification pathway and less than 100 registered under the experience in lieu pathway. I think that there is still work to be done in the space of understanding why that is and why there is a need for that. I can't imagine why this hasn't been taken up on a much larger scale because I personally know so many social workers who are out there doing work and I know that some are still not registered. So there is some work that needs to be put into understanding what the barriers are for becoming registered even when there are already recognised qualifications for some who have finished social work qualifications but do not become registered. Then there are those who've been working in social work jobs but who also do not become registered.Now the extension that this legislation the Social Workers Registration Legislation Amendment Bill makes which is an extension of four years is an encouragement. It's a call for people to take on the path which is something that I would probably be shouting from the rooftops and getting the word out that people should take advantage of. There is the flip side of a delay of four years casting the possibility of doubts on the service of social workers. Hence I do support Minister Upston's idea to shorten the extension from four years to two. It is still giving people the opportunity to get on and become registered. I absolutely support this bill.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): This debate is interrupted and is set down for resumption the next sitting day. This House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. tomorrow. Have a good evening.Debate interrupted.The House adjourned at 9.56 p.m.