Maharey Steve: Families Commission Bill — First Reading 
Maharey Steve: Families Commission Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:608;Page:5611] 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Social Services and Employment) 
: 
 I move  
That the Families Commission Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I will be moving that the bill be referred to the Social Services Committee. 
Families play an important role in the lives of their members. They provide emotional psychological and material support. They nurture and protect children and other vulnerable family members. They pass on culture knowledge and obligations. Supporting families was one of the important elements in the pre-election policies of Labour the Progressive Coalition and United Future. This Government is committed to supporting families and children and this bill is evidence that those commitments will be honoured. 
The bill establishes a new Crown entity to be known as the Families Commission. The bill gives effect to the undertaking in the agreement for confidence and supply between the Government and United Future New Zealand. The bill establishes a commission with a clear purpose. The commission will promote the interests of the full range of families in New Zealand and promote better understanding of family issues and needs amongst Government agencies and in the wider community. A number of Government agencies already play a significant role in the provision of family policy services and research. It is not intended that the Families Commission should replicate those functions. The commission’s main function will be to act as an advocate for the interests of families generally. The commission will not take on any individual family cases or issues. It will have additional functions to assist it to perform effectively its advocacy function and I will list those functions now. 
The commission will encourage and facilitate informed debate on matters relating to the interests of families across sectors and involving the general public. It will increase public awareness and promote better understanding of families in relation to the interests of families including the importance of stable family relationships and the rights and responsibilities of parents. It will encourage and facilitate the development and provision of services and policies designed to promote or serve the interests of families. It will consider and report on any matters relating to families that are referred to it by the Minister of the Crown. It will stimulate and promote research into any matter relating to the interests of families—for example by collecting and disseminating research about families and their interests; by advising on research priorities or gaps in research; by contracting for research on families; and by undertaking any incidental functions relating to its main function or to any additional jobs that will be given to it. 
This bill establishes a commission that will be responsive to the needs interests and priorities of all New Zealand families. Many New Zealand families are couples with children; however families are more diverse than that. They include single-household nuclear families extended families the wider kinship groupings Maori whanau customary structures in our Pacific and Asian communities families that span generations families that disperse across households and families created second and subsequently through other unions. The bill requires the Families Commission to take an inclusive approach to the family in New Zealand and to concern itself with issues faced by all of them whatever shape or form they may take. 
Although it is important that the commission has a degree of independence from Government the bill sets out the guidelines for the commission in terms of both its scope and priorities as a set of matters that the commission will have regard to. Firstly in the exercise and performance of its functions and powers it must have regard to any policies and priorities of the Government that relate to the commission’s functions and that are communicated to the commission in writing by the Minister. Those directions must be discussed with the commission before they are given. That provision is in line with the framework approved by the Government and proposed for application to all Crown entities. It envisages that a responsible Minister may direct an autonomous Crown entity to have regard to a Government policy that relates to the entity’s function. Secondly the commission must have regard to the diversity of all New Zealand families and family groups which have many different forms and structures. Finally the Families Commission must have regard to the needs values and beliefs of particular groups: Maori as tangata whenua Pacific Island peoples of New Zealand and other ethnic and cultural groups in New Zealand. 
I am pleased that the Labour manifesto commitment to establish a parenting council is honoured through the creation of the Families Commission. 
The commission provides the opportunity to draw on expertise from the Government and from community and academic sectors to coordinate a joined-up approach to the issues of parenting to promote the importance of parenting and to give advice on the development and implementation of new programmes supporting parenting. Those objectives are motivated by our manifesto commitment to establish a parenting council. I intend to use the bill’s requirement that the commission have regard to any general policy in relation to families or any statement of the priorities of the Government in relation to families to communicate to the commission that an important immediate priority for it should be to focus on families caring for children or other dependants. Those other caring roles may include caring for aged parents or adult family members with disabilities. 
Successful parenting is crucial to the overall strategy of creating the knowledge society that the Government is aiming for. Sound parenting is vital if children are to grow up to be dependable adults and it is essential if children are to be able to take up the challenges of further education and successful employment. In short sound parenting is crucial to creating a prosperous innovative society in which all can realise their ambitions. The knowledge economy is truly born in the home where it is nurtured by parents and supported by the family. It is therefore important that the commission have a focus on parenting. It is also important that the Families Commission be responsive to the broad range of families that exist in this country and their interests. Therefore the commission will be required to do just that. 
The bill establishes the Families Commission as an autonomous Crown entity for the purposes of the Public Finance Act. That is the best structure to ensure that the commission has the degree of independence from Government necessary for it to promote the interests of the family effectively and with a sense of clear independence. 
The bill provides for up to seven commissioners to be appointed. That will allow the Government to appoint to the commission a variety of people to reflect the diversity that the commission will be dealing with. 
Finally the bill sets out a range of operational and organisational matters. Those matters are generally consistent with the Government’s framework for Crown entities. They include providing the commission with powers of delegation allowing the commission to appoint committees providing for the appointment of a general manager requiring the commission to produce an annual report and providing for ministerial powers of review of the commission’s operation and performance. 
This bill establishes the Families Commission. That will greatly advance the interests of families in New Zealand. The research role of the commission will advance our understanding of the needs and interests of families and will be welcomed I think by the social research community. The commission’s contribution to policy development as a key stakeholder will ensure that the needs and priorities of families are properly considered when the Government is developing new initiatives. 
I will quickly reflect on one aspect before I close my comments on our forming the commission. I am flanked in the House today by on my right Peter Dunne and Judy Turner from the United Future party—and I want to say that we had very productive and useful discussions leading towards the introduction of this legislation today—and on my left Matt Robson from the Progressive Coalition who has been equally as involved in ensuring that the broad policies we are following have the support of all the parties that are involved in the process of government. 
What I hope ensues from this point is an informed debate about how central the family as the core institution of our society needs to be in advancing what we are trying to do in this country. One of the problems over the last few decades has been that we have not maintained a focus on New Zealand as a place that should be proud of raising children in whatever shape the family takes and thus on ensuring the family is at the centre of social policy. I think the Families Commission will help ensure that the family is restored to that central place. I applaud the work that has taken place so far and I look forward to seeing the Families Commission carry out its role. I commend this bill to the House.