Henare PeeniHon PEENI HENARE (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector): Tēnā koe Madam Assistant Speaker and thank you for this opportunity. I rise to speak on the Health and Safety at Work (Volunteer Associations) Amendment Bill. And if I can I want to acknowledge the sponsor of the bill the member of Parliament Harete Hipango because I truly believe her passion in this particular space shone through as she attempted to liaise and communicate with members right across the House to promote her bill. Now the speaker who has just finished her contribution to this debate Denise Lee talked about the number of submissions that were made on this particular bill. Now I have the honour and great privilege of being the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector and in my time up and down and across the country from the Far North to the deep South I've had the good fortune of meeting with many community organisations and discussing with them many of the challenges that they face whether they be a large organisation or a small organisation. And I can hand on heart say that this one doesn't appear on the radar. There are other significant issues that are currently confronting community and voluntary organisations up and down the country and this one isn't in the realm of top priorities or dare I say even a blip on the radar. I think too that that is displayed in the number of submissions that were received on this bill—34 if I recall correctly and the vast majority of them oppose this bill. Now what I know about the community and voluntary sector is it's based on integrity—integrity. In a voluntary or community organisation the minute that the trust or integrity is broken between the particular organisation and the community at large we've got a problem. Why? Because what that means is our people the communities of Aotearoa New Zealand don't consider the organisation to be one of integrity. Therefore as is the Kiwi way we withdraw our support. So therefore based on that premise with integrity being at the forefront should a volunteer that actually spends their time in what we call sweat equity given to a particular kaupapa or particular charitable cause—should that integrity be broken we've got a problem.And what we're talking about here is the right for that volunteer or a worker in any work space to actually go to work or go and volunteer with an organisation and come home safely. Let's be honest: in this particular country Aotearoa New Zealand health and safety in the workplace is a serious problem—a serious problem. One only needs look at the forestry statistics of members of the public those who work in that sector who haven't gone home to their families—who haven't made it home after a hard day's work.The fear too in the wide-ranging scope of voluntary work in this country is that that could be a possibility as well. Not on our watch." is what we're saying—not on our watch. While we appreciate the intent of this bill the hard-core reality is that when I travel up and down the country and meet with these organisations they make it very clear that integrity is a key part.Should a member of a voluntary organisation all of a sudden find themselves injured seriously in their undertaking of their voluntary work and for some reason this House passed a bill that says "Well we'll waive or we'll turn a blind eye to a certain number of hours." I'd argue that challenges the integrity of the sector and makes it even harder for the likes of myself and communities far and wide to support the charitable efforts of many charities in this country.There are a number of other issues that have been canvassed with this particular bill and I also—if I can—just touch on the words of my colleague Kieran McAnulty who talked about the ability to go and undertake voluntary work and to return home safely to your families. That is ultimately what we want for our citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand: to make sure that when the thousands and thousands of volunteers in this country head out to make sure that they add value and they contribute to the well-being of their community or their particular kaupapa they have the right to make it home safely to their families. And that point I hope isn't lost on this House in this entire debate. Like I said we understand the intent from the member Harete Hipango in this bill. But I take it having read the report and discussed with colleagues on the side of the House that there is an undertaking to have a serious look at this and more widely speaking health and safety regulations that relate to paid employment and voluntary paid employment and volunteers.Just in closing can I say that as I've already mentioned I have the honour and privilege of being the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector and we do appreciate all of the work that volunteers do across this country. That work is the sweat equity the billions of dollars in productivity in this country. All hinge on the fact that the integrity of that sector is intact. Once we lose that integrity I'm afraid that the view that this country and the communities have of this particular sector and volunteers at large will be seriously affected and that will have a negative consequence on our communities. I stand to oppose this bill."