Andersen GinnyGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour—Hutt South): Kia ora Mr Speaker. Thank you very much. Thank you for the opportunity. I think there's a few areas I'd like to outline in terms of acknowledging the work that's gone on to date to bring this bill to the House under urgency. First of all I'd like to acknowledge the work that officials have done. I appreciate that when there are issues that need to be fixed quickly there are a lot of hours that go on late in the night to be able to bring pieces of legislation to the House quickly in order to rectify when there are inconsistencies. I'd like to acknowledge the work that has happened to date. I'd also like to acknowledge the Minister who has undertaken to consult with parties across the House before this bill has reached the House. I'd like to congratulate her. While we've not got complete consensus on passing this bill today it's good to see that there have been discussions going on when there's a matter of urgency that primarily affects New Zealand's public safety and also that of our children. I'd also just quickly like to acknowledge the New Zealand Police. I know they've got a particularly strong policy unit—small but strong—and I know that they have done an incredibly good job as well as the initial work that was undertaken in 2016 to bring this bill to the House in the first place. We have a bill that was passed back on 14 October 2016 when the Act came into force and that established here in New Zealand a child sex offender register for the very first time. I understand it was modelled on one that was in Victoria Australia and there was considerable debate about how that would play out how it would be administered and how that would operate. Sometimes when that legislation is drafted the intent of Parliament is clear at the time but as we have seen in this situation the Supreme Court has made a ruling that has raised an issue and that issue was raised just recently on 9 February this year. The Supreme Court has released a decision and that determined that the registration provisions that were passed back in 2016 do not apply where the qualifying offence was committed before the Act came into force but the individual was not convicted and sentenced until after the Act came into force. That looks specifically at the issue of retrospectivity. So this bill under urgency clarifies the intent of Parliament: that these people should be included on that register. It is important to be able to do that as already mentioned for public safety here in New Zealand.It is important to clarify Parliament's intent back in 2016 that the Act would apply to persons who have committed a qualifying child sex offence irrespective of when that offence occurred. On just that note can I just say that in the Minister's initial speech to the House and from the other members that have spoken to date it's quite refreshing to have no one for a change in the House pointing the finger and saying whose fault this was or saying that there's some sort of detail that someone can be held accountable for. As the Minister has said oversights are sometimes made and it's important that we correct those and put the safety of New Zealanders and our young people at the forefront. It is nice to be able to see that occurring today. I think there is long-term work in New Zealand to be done in the space of making sure that our children are fully safe healthy and protected. There is an ongoing stream of work in a wide range of areas and this is just one of them. The reason why we are bringing this bill to the House and why this is such a critical issue is that it is essential for the wellbeing and the sexual safety of children their social circles their whānau their wider interactions and for ensuring that those who are convicted and sentenced for historical child sex abuse are eligible for registration. I know—as already mentioned by Simeon Brown the previous member—that that will resonate with parents across New Zealand to make sure that we have a system in place that makes sure our kids are as safe as possible.I won't take up any more time. This is a bill that puts right something that needs to be fixed and that is primarily for the safety and the wellbeing of New Zealand. I commend this bill to the House.