Grigg NicolaNICOLA GRIGG (National—Selwyn): Thank you Madam Speaker. Earlier this year following robust conversations—graphic conversations very detailed conversations—with a lot of my girlfriends along with deeply traumatised fathers I started to draft a member's bill. That member's bill was titled the Accident Compensation Coverage for Third and Fourth Degree Perineal Tear Amendment Bill. But following media coverage and I have to say some pretty gutsy advocacy from Green MP Jan Logie I'm very pleased to say the Government's beaten me to it. So I won't go so far as to say great minds think alike but I must commend the Minister for bringing this in front of the House.We have now in front of us the Accident Compensation (Maternal Birth Injury and Other Matters) Amendment Bill and we in the National Party are happy to support that. While the bill does cover the other matters as our spokesperson for women I want to focus my contributions this evening on those birth injuries. A lot has been said this evening about the 85 percent of women who tend to suffer birth injuries but that actually translates to around 18000 women per year. And it is those 18000 women who have suffered the injuries which are accidents that are not currently covered by ACC. Some of the injuries I'm told are particularly painful and distressing and have a long-term effect on the lives of the women who suffer them.This bill has come in front of the House because in June 2020 ACC actually revised its guidance on its then existing cover for perineal tears that were suffered during childbirth. At the moment the corporation only covers those tears that are the result of a treatment or the failure of a treatment as opposed to those that are caused by the birthing process. And it's the failure to provide that treatment that's no longer covered by ACC. I think we'd all here agree in this House along with those 18000 New Zealand women that that is wrong.As was discovered with much horror by my young male researcher today perineal tears are not uncommon in childbirth but the most severe are known as third and fourth degree tears and they can involve some really debilitating injuries. They do often require surgery under general anaesthetic. They often require ongoing pelvic physiotherapy. There's ongoing medical issues they can be profound. They can be life changing for these new mothers as some can take months and months and even years to heal. The ACC cover for such injuries can be a critical enabling factor in the recovery of those mums.So in its consideration of this bill it asks that the select committee does consider the severe impact and ramification of those third and fourth degree tears and make it clear that they are covered in the new schedule of injuries that is going to be devised. We do have some questions around the particular injuries that are going to be covered as the bill sets out in its list in that Schedule 3A which aren't included. But we will leave it in the hands of the committee to revise those and to consider them. So I think that this bill does make a really good first step in advancing the rights and protections of women and it is a much-needed change for what has been a painful and unfair consequence of a legislation that could be made better in order to enable them and help them. I therefore commend it to the House.