Russell DeborahDr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Labour—New Lynn): Thank you Madam Chair. This is the first time I've spoken on this bill. Listening to the speeches this evening has raised a number of questions in my mind. Partly it raises questions because I have 17-year-old daughters myself twins. They're very precious to me. One of the things I know about them is that they do take notice of what I say they do take notice of what I want and I know that as their mother I am in a position to influence them deeply. Again of course partly too because as the adults in the household my husband—their father—and I the two of us we have—and there's no other way to put this—enormous power over them as most parents do over their children. We can influence them deeply. I really understand the need for this particular bill. I congratulate Jo Hayes on the work she has done in getting this bill to this stage. I'm delighted to see that members of this committee are supporting this unanimously.What I'm interested in is the cultural report. The New Zealand I grew up in was pretty homogenous. We I guess didn't even really see the difference with respect to Māori to the tangata whenua. We've learned a lot better thank goodness. But the New Zealand we live in now has many different cultures and ethnicities. Of course those different cultures bring different understandings of what families are and the obligations of families. I'm finding this is worrying me in a sense in this particular bill. We come from—I do—a very individualistic culture where we do expect people to make decisions for themselves. But I do know that in some other cultures in actual fact family ties are very important—that what the family wants really does override what the individual wants. I suppose I'm faintly worried that in obtaining this cultural report we might be imposing western individualist values on cultures which do hold family values more dear.That's not to say that I think that those adults in those cultures should override the rights of 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds. I certainly don't think that. But I am worried about the understandings which will be brought to the cultural report. In particular if I look at I think it's replacement section 20 of the Marriage Act which is inserted by clause 8 in the bill where subsection (1) says the Judge may obtain a written cultural report by … requesting a person whom the Judge considers qualified for [that] purpose …". That's the question that's being raised in my mind.Look I know our judges work hard. I know they are people of great probity. I know that judges who work in the Family Court necessarily consider a whole range of difficult issues. But I also know that for the most part those judges in the Family Court do come from the same westernised individualist culture that I come from. So when we're talking about how the judge considers the person to be appropriately qualified I guess I'm interested in how we will ensure that judges are in a good position to make a good decision about that. It's one of those things you could keep on going back and back and back but I'm interested in hearing how a judge might go about assessing whether or not a person is qualified—assessing I guess their own competence to make that judgment and what sort of resources a judge might think of calling on with respect to finding someone who is in a position to write that cultural report. And I guess in terms of that cultural report I wonder if—I suppose a judge could request this but maybe other advice if needed.So I think there's a whole set of issues to be explored there none of which should stop this going through. I support the whole concept of this bill and the concept of a cultural report but I am interested in some of the issues around that report and what could be done to address them. I would hope that the honourable member whose bill this is who's worked so hard on it will perhaps be able to enlighten me and to give me a little bit of reassurance around some of those areas to make sure that all the cultures all the ethnicities in what I hope is our increasingly tolerant society will continue to coexist peacefully together in this country."