Radhakrishnan PriyancaPRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour): Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker. I rise to take a call on the Families Commission Act Repeal Bill at its second reading. I thought what I would do in the course of my call today is obviously to outline a little bit the purpose of this bill—what it intends to do—and also talk a little bit about the submissions that the Social Services and Community Committee considered as well. It was an honour to be part of the select committee to be the deputy chair of the select committee that considered this bill. We worked very well together as a team to consider what the submitters said which as has been mentioned previously was actually more about the policy intent of this as was started by the previous Government rather than this piece of legislation per se. I also then want to go a little bit into the work of the Families Commission. It's always I think a little bit bitter-sweet when something has been disestablished and it's quite good to look at some of the work that this commission has undertaken over the years and also to look at what happens to these pieces of work. I do also want to thank and acknowledge those who have been part of the Families Commission over the years in my closing. But to go back to the purpose of the bill it's actually quite straightforward this one. It consists of two parts. The first is to repeal the Families Commission Act 2003 that established the Families Commission back in 2004. The second part of this bill is to look at how the process will be managed—so the process of disestablishing the commission and ensuring that specific functions of the commission continue to exist although it will do so in different parts or different arms of the Government.This is a piece of legislation that has been inherited by the current Government. It's been mentioned before that the process actually started some time back and in fact a number of staff members of the Families Commission have actually moved on. The conversation has started about moving pieces of work out of the commission and into different arms or different public services as well.So there were six submissions that were received by the select committee and they did centre around primarily three themes. One was around the continuation of the advocacy role of the Families Commission and it was noted by submitters that this was quite a strong role that the Families Commission played over the years. Some submitters were concerned that this wouldn't be transferred anywhere and that the advocacy function would be lost. However there were other submitters who felt that actually the landscape has changed quite dramatically since 2004. The Families Commission undertook a good piece of work to ensure that the way that we look at the make up of families and whānau has changed considerably and that society has moved on with that as well.A little further on I want to actually read a quote from one of the submitters that lays out that particular piece of work quite nicely. However some of the other submitters felt that given this Government's increased focus on child and family well-being there was actually a place for this advocacy function. So the submissions were quite mixed when it came to this particular point. But overall the overarching sense was that we've moved on somewhat—somewhat considerably actually—and that perhaps there wasn't that much of a need for one particular entity to take on the role of advocacy. It could be farmed out across a number of agencies both in Government and in the NGO sector as well.There was also some concern that there may be a loss of independent policy advice that this commission had provided to Government and whether the Social Investment Agency would in fact be an adequate replacement. Some submitters thought that it would be and others didn't. There was a fair bit of concern also outlined that there needs to be a continued strengthening of connections of coordination and collaboration both within the Public Service but also between the Public Service and the NGO sector as well.Just very briefly going back to the advocacy role the Children's Commissioner's submission was interesting; the Office of the Children's Commissioner has come out basically and said that they could take on the advocacy function of families that have children. So that's a subset of the work that was being done but it would need a little bit more support for that to happen.The ongoing availability of information—so submitters highlighted the fact that the research that's been undertaken over the years by the Families Commission has been incredibly useful very valuable and meaningful. Actually over the years when I was a social policy researcher myself and a social worker in the NGO sector I'm someone who has found their research reports incredibly useful. So I really identified with that. The Ministry of Social Development did reassure the select committee however that that would continue that the availability of the information would continue and that there's been a fair bit of work that the ministry has undertaken to ensure the maintenance of that information and the continuation of that as well.So there were a few pieces of work specifically that I wanted to highlight and one of them is the Families and Whānau Status Report which is an annual report that measures how New Zealand families and whānau are faring across a fairly wide range of indicators. It's a broad piece of work that the commission has undertaken in the past and this will continue as well. I was also heartened to learn that the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study will continue and will be transferred as well. It provides evidence about basically what shapes children's early development so that every child in New Zealand can have the best start in life. This study started in 2008. It's broadly reflective I was pleased to find of New Zealand's changing demographic when it comes to ethnicity as well. So that piece of work will be transferred to the Ministry of Social Development. The final—not so much a piece of work—function of the Families Commission that I've had a lot to do with is the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse which is again New Zealand's clearinghouse for information regarding family violence and research reports as well. I was very pleased to note that this function will be transferred to the Ministry of Justice so the sector can rest assured that the information that's held by the clearinghouse and the function that's played by the clearinghouse will continue.So I just wanted to quickly read out a small paragraph that was part of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation's submission. This is really an acknowledgment of the work that the Families Commission has done to change the way that we view the make up of a family—or what a family is really. So anyway they said and I quote We warmly acknowledge that the Commission championed recognition of the difference between pākehā and Māori concepts of family and whānau and an overarching inclusion of diversity. This is evidenced in their research reports including Whānau yesterday today and tomorrow … and Mātiro whakamua: looking over the horizon … Both reports draw on Māori knowledge cultural practices and methods to research and analyse the stories and drivers of whānau success and explore the role of Māori women as advocates of whānau development and the important role of te Reo. The commission has contributed to the pātaka of knowledge and enhanced our understanding acceptance and celebration of the diversity in development of family and whānau in Aotearoa."I think that's well worth acknowledging as many submitters did—the fact that the way we view or how we consider as a society what a family looks like has changed over the years since 2004 and that the Families Commission has played an incredibly strong role in contributing to that change. I believe that it's fitting at the second reading to acknowledge the work that has gone and also to acknowledge the chief executives (CEs)—the successive CEs—and the staff who have worked tirelessly with the Families Commission which has been known as the social policy evaluation and research unit or SuPERU as well and to thank them for their dedication to their roles. It's indeed a pleasure to commend this bill to the House. Thank you."