Faafoi Kris; Rurawhe AdrianFAMILY COURT (SUPPORTING CHILDREN IN COURT) LEGISLATION BILLFirst ReadingHon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Justice): I present a legislative statement on the Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Bill.Legislative statement published under the authority of the House.Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I move That the Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Justice Committee to consider the bill.Mr Speaker can I join with other members of Parliament who have congratulated you today. This is my first substantive speech in the House and can I say to you congratulations on your appointment as Deputy Speaker to the House. Ngā mihi nui ki a koe. I know from your rulings in the previous Parliament that you'll be firm and stern. So I look forward to seeing that being effected throughout the next three years. This Government is committed to continuing to strengthen the Family Court process and this bill forms part of a long-term programme of change focused on improving access to justice for children parents and whānau who are involved in disputes over the care of children. The bill is intended to enhance child wellbeing and care of children cases both directly and by assisting parents to resolve parenting disputes. It will enhance children's participation in proceedings that affect them and help to ensure that children feel supported and informed as they move through the Family Court process. It will also extend lawyers' duties in the care of children proceedings as well as reinforcing expectations that people should be protected from family violence. In fact the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child says that children's participation in decisions that affect them is a fundamental right and this bill will effect that. Could I also acknowledge the independent panel that examined the 2014 family justice systems reform. The final report from the panel was released in June of last year and found that children's participation in the Family Court process is still not recognised or valued. The independent panel identified that there is limited participation by children in issues that affect them and that there is concern as to whether their views are obtained and considered in both proceedings that happen inside a court and those that do not. So studies do show that children want to be involved in that decision making and can experience immediate and long-term consequences if they are not listened to as part of the Family Court process. This can include feeling isolated lonely and anxiety and having difficulty with coping with the stress of being in the middle of a parenting dispute.In responding to the issues that the panel found the bill will amend the Care of Children Act 2004 to establish a new guiding principle that a child should be provided with opportunities to participate in decisions where they affect their care and their welfare and that their views should be considered and it will also provide express reference to the United Nations convention that I mentioned earlier. The bill will also amend the Family Dispute Resolution Act 2013 and that will require a family dispute resolution provider to facilitate participation by children who are the subject of a family dispute. The bill also emphasises the importance of engaging children appropriately in processes that do affect their direct care. Providing children with an opportunity to express their views can help parents focus on the actual needs of the children rather than their own conflict between the parents themselves. Again studies can show that children do want to be involved in the decisions and the process around the dispute rather than be the decision-maker in a dispute and overwhelmingly children want to participate in the family life of both parents to be consulted and to have a say and to have an opportunity to make their own feelings known about any parental conflict. The independent panel also identified that there is considerable variation in how lawyers for children obtain and represent the child's view and that there is no legislative requirement for lawyers to understand the child's background or cultural background. So in responding to the issues the bill will also amend parts of the Care of Children Act to require that on the appointment of a lawyer to represent a child a lawyer's personality cultural background and training and experience must be considered and in essence they must fit the situation for the child. It will also require that a lawyer appointed to represent a child must explain the nature of the proceedings to a child in a manner that the child is most likely to understand supporting the child's ability to express informed views. That is not to say that this is not already happening but making it a clear requirement within the amendment of that particular piece of legislation will again make sure that the children's views are represented in a way that they understand and that they can have input into the resolution. These amendments are intended to ensure that children do feel supported and informed as they move through these processes. The panel also identified that the family justice system is unable to fully understand and respond well to family violence particularly the impact on its children. Also the Care of Children Act will be amended to require that the court must have regard to the principles set out in section 4 of the Family Violence Act emphasising safety as a primary consideration in the assessment of a child's situation. The bill signals the Government's continued focus on enhancing safety and strengthening responses to children at risk of family violence. The panel also identified that delays are widespread within the system and it's a significant factor in undermining people's trust and confidence in the court and that can contribute to things getting worse between parents and wider families. So the bill will again amend the Care of Children Act to impose duties on lawyers to promote resolution of issues in a dispute fairly inexpensively simply and speedily. The amendment is intended to lead to better and less harmful outcomes for children and it will be beneficial at a time when the Family Court is under significant stress around capacity exacerbated by COVID-19. So capacity within the Family Court can be provided more to those who actually need a judicial intervention as opposed to those who may not. Since 2014 increase in delays has meant that care of children disputes have taken longer to resolve leaving children and parents essentially in limbo for extended periods of time. I want to thank the independent panel for their report on the 2014 family justice system reforms as supported by the expert reference group. The panel's report has informed the creation of this bill and the Government anticipates that it will provide the foundation for further reforms in the family justice system. I want to commend their commitment to strengthening the family justice system so that children parents and their whānau are treated with dignity and respect and are supported in order to see that the best decisions possible are being made for those using the family justice system and importantly the children. The Government is committed to addressing the impacts of those reforms as well as broader underlying systemic barriers to access justice and we know that that will take time. This bill forms part of a wider package that was announced in May of this year to support families through the Family Court which also included the reinstatement of legal representation in the early stages of the Care of Children Act proceedings also improved information for children's parents and their family the establishment of the family justice liaison officers to help parents and whānau navigate the system and increased remuneration for lawyers for children to incentivise recruitment and retention of skilled practitioners to represent children. Together with this bill these initiatives will promote our vision of a family justice system that is safe and responsive to the diverse needs of those who are using it and where all parties do have a voice and importantly children. It is a family justice system that continues to place child wellbeing at its heart and we commend this bill to the House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to.