Brown Peter: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brown Peter: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:614;Page:10716] 
10.  
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: In regard to the Families Commission when does he expect the appointments to be in place and will the United Future party have any powers of veto? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 The Families Commission will commence operations on 1 July 2004. Appointments will be made in May 2004. An independent panel will conduct the interviews. Appointment recommendations will be reviewed by Labour Progressive and United Future representatives. No member of that group will have power to veto. Cabinet will make the final appointment decisions as it does on all similar appointments. 
Peter Brown 
: Will the Families Commission be able to address the problems of older families and their concerns over finance health and end-of-life concerns such as was espoused in my Death with Dignity Bill; will the commission be able to concern itself with those issues for those folk; if not why not? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Yes it will. 
Moana Mackey 
: How many formal expressions of interest have been received for Families Commission appointments? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: One-hundred-and-eighty-six formal expressions of interest were received and a number of other informal inquiries were made reflecting the fact that many New Zealanders see the Families Commission as an excellent opportunity to promote and strengthen families as a core institution in our society. 
Judith Collins 
: Will appointees to the Families Commission be required to read the recent Swedish study of almost 1 million children published in the highly regarded medical journal  
The Lancet 
 which showed that children with a single parent are twice as likely to develop a psychiatric illness such as severe depression or schizophrenia to kill themselves or to develop an alcohol-related disease? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I doubt whether appointees will be required to read anything but I hope they read widely and I hope they understand the notion of scientific causality. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: Is there a ministerial advisory committee on the establishment of the Families Commission on which United Future is represented that is presently looking at the types of briefings incoming commissioners will require as part of their induction process and will the matters that have been raised already in question time be matters it could well consider? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: There is such a panel and United Future representatives are making an outstanding contribution. Part of that contribution is to look at the wide range of issues that incoming members will undoubtedly canvass? 
Dr Muriel Newman 
: Is the Minister prepared to give an assurance that every member of the Families Commission will be strongly supportive of the type of pro-family values that not only would be recognised by churches throughout the country but as stated on 11 June 2002 by Peter Dunne the United Future party would be standing up fearlessly for? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I can give a guarantee that members of the Families Commission will endorse support and strengthen families in all of their diversity. 
Peter Brown 
: Noting that answer in particular will the Families Commission be able to concern itself with homosexual families such as two men living together in a homosexual relationship with a desire to adopt children? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: If that is what the member wants I am sure that it will take it up. 
Peter Brown 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I take it from that answer that the Minister will consult New Zealand First on what we want. That was a flippant answer to a genuine question that concerns a number of people. If you are going to let the Minister get away with that you might as well let him get away with anything. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I thought the reply was a little flippant. I would like the Minister to give a slightly different answer. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Yes as we have said consistently all the way through the debate the Families Commission will be able to look at families in their full diversity in New Zealand. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: Can the Minister confirm that groups like Plunket parents centres and various other agencies that work with families have since the passage of the legislation last week made a huge number of public comments supporting this as a positive and worthwhile initiative that is long overdue? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: This is the last day of questions for this year and I am just that tiny wee bit more reasonable than on other days. However there were too many interjections during the asking of that question and the members—I think very senior members—know it. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I happen to have a couple of quotes here from organisations. The Plunket Society said that the Families Commission was one of the greatest gifts New Zealand families have received in a long time. Parents CentresNZ said the Families Commission was a step in the right direction for parents. 
Peter Brown 
: Will the Minister give the House the assurance that if the Families Commission involves itself in controversial issues such as I have endeavoured to outline United Future will have no power to undermine the commission or veto any of its recommendations? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The commission is established under its own legislation so people will not have the ability to veto its investigation of such things as gay families—as the member might seek to do.