Unkovich TanyaTANYA UNKOVICH (NZ First): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to support the Social Workers Registration Legislation Amendment Bill in this third reading. I personally have quite a passion for this area as many know—the area of mental health. It is something that is very close to New Zealand First as well. They have always been very much a supporter of the Mike King I Am Hope Foundation which the coalition Government has now decided to support. There is one thing that I know to be true—and that is not only from personal experience but from also the clients that I have helped in my time in the helping profession—and that is the need for human connection. When someone is having an urgent cry for help they will listen to someone who understands; they're not going to ask the question Hang on before I share anything with you what are your qualifications?" They are desperate—some people are desperate to be heard. This is where lived experience is key. I studied to be a therapist in my mid-30s. I didn't start helping people in my mid-30s; I started helping people a lot sooner in fact as a teenager. But the person who helped me the most as a teenager was someone who had the same problem. They weren't qualified at all; they too became qualified later in life. But it was their lived experience that enabled me to heal from inside and start speaking to someone. And often that is the first step: it is to actually open up and just start speaking to someone because what often stops people from doing that is shame. And if anyone understands what shame is like it is someone else who is going through the same problem.So that's why I'm very quick to stand up and put my hand up to speak on this bill because I know how short the workforce is in this area. I know how many people are on waiting lists. I hear about young teenagers who are on waiting lists to have someone to speak to about their body dysmorphia issues and their eating issues which seems to be accelerating at the moment. This is an area where someone can help who has been through the same issue. That is why I feel that it is so important that we all together in the House support this bill knowing that it is going to help someone we know and someone who we don't know who is suffering right now but who needs to reach out.One of the things that I learnt on my journey was that service to another person was what often made our own life feel fulfilled. If we can support people who have a lived experience who are out there helping others then this will also give them some sense of purpose themselves and maybe ignite something in them to not only be qualified but to do more in their own lives. And by them doing more in their own lives they're going to then lead by example to others maybe their own clients family friends. But it is about really encouraging people to try and thrive as much as they possibly can and step out of their own comfort zone. For many who are workers with lived experience who are not yet qualified this is their own pathway to their form of greatness in some way and it can only help serve others who are suffering right now.So I've spoken a bit about shame and I'd like to talk a little bit more about that. Early intervention is preferable but it's sometimes not available and it isn't available because many do not want to reach out and shame is what is stopping them. So one of the areas for example where shame really affects people from reaching out is addictions. You tend to think that you're the only one suffering. You tend to think you're the only one who doesn't know how to put down the drink. You tend to think you're the only one who doesn't know how to stop overeating or stop gambling. But when you hear another person say "I know what it's like because I've been there too." that is one of the first things that will ignite hope into someone who is suffering because that will then help them to feel "Hey it's not just me." which is why I so want to speak as much as I can on this area in my 10 minutes that I'm allowed; I may run out of time.The other area where this is so prevalent I find is in abusive relationships. People stay in abusive relationships because they are too ashamed to say that their world isn't as they are making it out to be. They do not want to say that they are actually not living in the white picket fence that they are really telling everyone about but inside the relationship it is quite abusive and they stay. But when they hear someone else who has been able to either speak up in an abusive relationship create healthy boundaries or in extreme cases get up and leave then that has to be a good thing if a whole family unit is suffering. So to be able to speak to someone who has been able to move on or to somehow even heal a family unit this has got to be a good thing. And this is why we need more people with lived experience in our community helping.If you look at 12-step programmes that have been around for decades they are just people all coming together who want to get help and they get help within the fellowship there. No one asks "What is your qualification?" before they get up to speak.So I'm speaking about these things which are coming from a bit of a different angle but I just wanted to share because having been in the helping profession myself and particularly seeing and hearing what I've had to hear over the last few years—especially during this time of the pandemic—is the loneliness that is out there.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): Ms Unkovich you've done some very good contexting for the bill so you've probably got about three minutes now to talk about the bill itself.TANYA UNKOVICH: The bill itself. Well to cut it short we really commend this bill to the House. We feel that it is the best way to alleviate the workforce shortage that we've got and to encourage people to get out there and help everyone else in the community. So we commend this bill to the House. Thank you Mr Speaker.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): This is a five-minute split call between Te Pāti Māori and the Greens. Takutai Tarsh Kemp.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Takutai.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): Takutai sorry."