Little AndrewFAMILY VIOLENCE BILLFAMILY VIOLENCE (AMENDMENTS) BILLThird ReadingsHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Justice): I move That the Family Violence Bill and the Family Violence (Amendments) Bill be now read a third time.Today marks a significant day for New Zealand. It's a day where this House will pass two bills that say of family violence Enough is enough." These are bills that say family violence has no place in our society. The Family Violence Bill and Family Violence (Amendments) Bill mark a major step in reducing this country's horrific rate of family violence.The statistics paint a picture of people from all walks of life being subject to family violence. This horrendous issue in our society knows no bounds but let's not forget also that this is mainly about violence against women. Let's not forget that this violence leads to women and children dying each year. People in our society are suffering and we need to do all we can to keep our mokopuna and their whānau safe. Dealing with family violence is complex but we as a Government are committed to providing the sector communities and families with the support they need to address it.As Minister of Justice I often receive letters from people detailing their accounts of how family violence has affected their lives. These accounts are taonga and they drive me—and I know they also drive my officials and others in this House—to want to make change. These accounts provide a guiding light for our mahi alongside the memory of those who have died and for those who are with us but who have been or continue to be affected by family violence. One of the key things that we as a Government can do is make sure that we have an effective system to prevent detect and address family violence. These bills provide the foundation for that system and will drive the change we need.These bills will collectively do three things. The first thing the bills will do is support a more integrated system. We need a system that provides tautoko for those in the sector a system that empowers those who are best placed to make the decisions they need to to keep victims safe and address perpetrators' behaviour and a system that works collectively to address this issue knowing that it is bigger than one individual or one organisation. To do so one of the things that these bills do is enable family violence agencies including specific Government agencies and social services practitioners to share information when it is safe and appropriate to do so.Sharing information can assist the sector to work together to build a more complete picture of the situation they're faced with when making decisions and providing support for a family being affected by violence. Ensuring the right people have the right information to make decisions and plans will ultimately help increase the safety of victims. The bill also reflects our modern understanding of family violence. Family violence can occur between anyone in a family relationship not just between those in an intimate partner relationship. It can be between parents and their children or between people in a close personal relationship. Family violence can be individual behaviours that may appear minor or trivial in isolation but over time accumulate to form a wider pattern of behaviour. Often a feature of these patterns is that they involve coercive or controlling behaviour. The bill also clarifies that dowry-related violence is and will be treated as family violence.The principles and definitions in the Family Violence Bill reflects this contemporary understanding of the nature and impact of family violence. These principles and definitions will foster a shared understanding of family violence and support consistent decision-making and ways of working in the sector. Consistency will also be supported through the new ability to issue codes of practice. Codes will be used to guide coordinated and consistent service delivery which will ensure the sector can work collectively to the same set of rules and provide further clarity where needed.The second key thing that these bills do is improve civil orders to better support victims. Protection orders can be an effective tool to support victims and keep them safe from further violence but there are currently barriers to applying for an order. One of the things the Family Violence Bill does is make the application process easier. Sometimes people may not be able to apply for a protection order because they are particularly vulnerable and afraid. Following the passing of these bills approved organisations will be able to apply on behalf of people who cannot apply for themselves because of incapacity fear or any other sufficient cause.The bill also makes it easier for a young person to apply for a protection order. A child who is older than 16 years will be able to apply for an order on their own behalf without a representative. The bill also acknowledges the importance of early intervention and the need to identify and manage risks before they escalate to cause serious harm. Early intervention helps disrupt what we now know is a pattern of behaviour in family relationships. It also helps prevent this pattern of behaviour being replicated by children who can carry this trauma through their lives and across generations.The bill now enables a person issued with a police safety order to be directed to a risk and needs assessment. When a police safety order is issued it can be the first time a potentially violent relationship is registered with the police. This provides an important opportunity to assess the risks and needs of the situation and determine what support is required for both the victim and the perpetrator. We know it's important that victims have the opportunity to access the support they need and put in place appropriate safety arrangements. A police safety order gives the victim the time and space to do this with the perpetrator being required to leave the home. However sometimes five days—which is the current period of time for a police safety order—is not long enough. A victim may need time to come to terms with the conflict that has occurred before putting safety arrangements in place or they may have to work or they may have other commitments to deal with.The Family Violence Bill now enables police safety orders to be in place for a maximum duration of 10 days rather than five. This will provide victims with more time to receive the support they need and secure safety arrangements to help prevent further harm from occurring when the order ends. And I know and it was right for members of the Opposition during the committee of the whole House stage to raise the cautious view about supporting 10-day police safety orders. That is right because that is an extraordinary constraint on the liberty of some but in the end when members on this side of the House considered it we came down on the side of extending those police safety orders to 10 days to come down on the side of the need to put the safety of victims first. But let us see how they work.The final key change these bills will make is to ensure better recognition of family violence in the criminal justice system. Firstly the bill introduces modern criminal offences to reflect the dynamics of family violence offending. One of the new offences is strangulation or suffocation. Non-fatal strangulation is a major indicator or risk of homicide. Evidence shows it is used as a tool of abusive coercive behaviour. The new offence will allow the courts to better identify and acknowledge the seriousness of this behaviour and distinguish it from other violent behaviours.The bills also prioritise the safety of victims of family violence. We know that victims of family violence are subject to a substantial risk of re-victimisation given the family relationship with the perpetrator. The Family Violence (Amendments) Bill amends the Bail Act to make the safety of victims and the safety of those in a family relationship with a victim the primary consideration in bail decisions for family violence cases. It also enables the courts to impose any bail conditions it considers necessary to protect victims and their family. This sends a very strong message to the community that victim safety is a priority in family violence cases.I want to conclude by thanking everybody who has put their time and effort and energy into this. I want to particularly thank the Hon Amy Adams who started the journey on this legislation and started it by reaching across the aisle in the last term of the previous Government and getting all members on board and this House on board to support this legislation. I want to also particularly acknowledge the work of the under-secretary Jan Logie for whom this has been her life's work and has reached the culmination of this legislation. She's dedicated to making a real change for New Zealand in this and in other work that she does as well. I want to thank everybody who has given their feedback to make this bill and bring it here. I commend this bill to the House."