Ngaro Alfred: Families Commission Amendment Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeNgaro Alfred: Families Commission Amendment Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 02 July 2013. Volume:691;Page:11501. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ALFRED NGARO (National):Tēnā koe e te Rangatira. Whakanui i Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. I want to acknowledge the celebration of Māori Language Week. Before I do I was here last night during the dinner break and I want to acknowledge the dedication and the unveiling of the commemorative plaques for Afghanistan Timor-Leste and the missions in support of peace that are here today as a reminder. Last night what was also to remind us were the families and the whānau who were here to celebrate the sacrifice that was made. That leads me into my brief speech in regard to the Families Commission Amendment Bill because it really speaks to the importance of the role that the Families Commission plays. The previous speaker Moana Mackey talked about the importance of independence. It is quite interesting. She may have forgotten that for a while there the Labour Party talked about “hands on” and now it wants to preach about hands off so it is a bit confusing to sort of hear that speech about that. I think that this actually seriously is a combination of the two things.So let us see what the commission actually does Ms Mackey. The Families Commission established in 2003 was important because it was about identifying the needs of families and whānau in our community. Most important it was about the research that was a part of it and I was a part of that previously especially around the Family Violence Clearinghouse and information relating to family violence and that was quite critical. That function has not been removed. There is still the importance of evidence-based information that informs policy makers NGOs and others so that when we are focusing our focus of energy and effort it goes into the appropriate places.It is important to see that under the Crown Entities Act 2004 the Families Commission still has that sense of autonomy even though there have been arguments against that. So its role is as an advocate for the interests of families inside of our communities. Also it is to monitor and evaluate those programmes and interventions. What was mentioned was about Sir Peter Gluckman. Well in the Social Services Committee where we interviewed with the Families Commission it was important that Sir Peter Gluckman actually confirmed commented on and celebrated the shifts of the Families Commission in these amendments. In fact he said to us quite clearly at that point in time that the focus on evidence-based research was absolutely important. So when we went from seven commissioners down to one the other commissioners had anengagement role. This would ensure that by having a families status report and a Social Sciences Expert Panel we would have an even greater sense of an evidence base and we would have a clear focus on what that could provide for the policy makers and for our communities at large.Moana Mackey also talked about the longitudinal study and I know Professor Richie Poulton. In fact I met him last week and spoke with him about the work that he was doing—the longitudinal study which is world leading absolutely—and the importance of that impact on families. We also talked about the role of the Families Commission and we could see the benefits and the pluses of the Social Sciences Expert Panel and the evidence combined with that longitudinal study that could make a difference. So we do not agree on this side that these amendments will in any way discredit or take away the credibility of the Families Commission. Our view quite clearly from the experts who have been quoted and talked about from the communities and from those who are on the ground is that in actual fact this will truly make a difference. So I support this bill. I think that actually these amendments will both help and support the direction and the focus. Most important at the end of the day will it truly make a difference to the families in our communities? We believe it will. I commend these amendments to the House.