SpeechGLEN BENNETT (Labour—New Plymouth): Kia ora Mr Speaker. Mā te whakatū ka mōhio mā te mōhio ka mārama mā te mārama ka mātau mā te mātau ka ora—with discussion comes knowledge with knowledge comes light and understanding with light and understanding comes wisdom with wisdom comes wellness. This was the beginning of a submission made that I was able to sit in on during the select committee stage. They went on to say Some of us in the past have supported conversion therapy and now realise the damage it does. Some of us have never supported conversion therapy. Some of us have been hurt [some of us have close friends] who have been hurt [and pained] by conversion therapy. Our experiences and faith have led us collectively to believe that conversion therapy has no place in a society that values the humanity of all its people." Now this submission was significant for me in many ways but one is because this submission was from a group that I used to head up and lead. It was from a Christian organisation that I came out to a number of years ago as leader. We were a conservative—as was said it supported conversion practices in the past and had to deal with this. I've had to deal with this they had to deal with this and we came to a place where they talked about discussion about knowledge and about light and understanding which brings wisdom and with that it brings wellness. That is what this piece of legislation is about. It is around enabling discussion and not around enabling parents to be thrown into prison because they want to lean in and love their children. They want to lean in and be good parents and they want to lean in and be challenged and pushed but they want to lean in and ensure what is right for their child. Now this organisation Incedo as I said was part of my journey. It still is a part of my journey—and it's funny because I missed the first half of speeches tonight. I want to say it was because I didn't want to hear all the rhetoric and all the waffle and all the "We like you but" and "We think you're OK but". I was actually up in Bellamy's having my first anniversary dinner with my husband. It was good; I was behaved. But I just want to thank the Labour Party and I want to thank our Government for leaning in and ensuring that I can live my authentic self and so that people who are listening tonight and people who are online listening to the select committee processes can live their authentic lives without fear of discrimination and without fear of being told something is wrong with them.So often in this debate when we talk about this issue we forget the real lives and as I was on the select committee listening it hurt—thank you Willow-Jean Prime for your comments. It hurts to hear the rhetoric. It hurts in 2021 and now in 2022 to still feel even though I'm married and even though I can live my best life that I still have this narrative of "Yeah we support you mostly but what happens if one of our children"—we're like you. Yeah I've got friends but what about my children and we want to be in a place where the hard conversations are had. Yes it'll be hard—yes. But I just wish that my parents could have had those conversations with me. They never could. I never came out to them either because I was too scared because I had learnt—as I also listened to it in the select committee—"Love the sinner hate the sin." All I heard as a 12-year-old as a 15-year-old as a 21-year-old as a 30-year-old—and even now as a 46-year-old when you hear that "Love the sinner hate the sin." all I hear is "Blah-blah-blah-blah"—hate—"Blah-blah-blah-blah"—hate—because for me that is an essence of who I am. But I'm grateful that so many of our society support me support our takatāpui whānau and support our transgender and intersex communities. As I listened and was hurt I also listened and was brought to life as I heard Christian organisations as I heard individuals and as I heard community and youth organisations support this piece of legislation. Taranaki Youth Voice based in Taranaki—I thought they made a really good point. Again for parents for those who are scared of "What might this mean for me?" they talked about how conversion practices actually give a false hope to parents. They give a false hope to caregivers. They give a false hope to communities that maybe our rainbow alphabet soup of people can be fixed or can be changed—that false hope—and please this isn't just a phase or something; it is around the affirmation of who I am.I also want to note the Salvation Army and their comments and in the first reading I mentioned them in terms of my history within the Salvation Army. But they mentioned that God is love and one of the primary attributes of God is that if he's love there are no limits and it's for whosoever. They also talked in their submission about Jesus resisting the legalistic interpretation of the Scriptures. Summing it all up it was around love God and love your neighbour—that's it—and I think this piece of legislation is around that. It's how do we enable people to love people who are different to them and love people who aren't like them—but also again for our whānau for our parents to find people to talk to. If you're a good conservative Christian out there and you've made a submission and you are nervous and fearful then seek out people who maybe can alleviate your concern and your fear. You never know it might just help you to lean in in that light and that knowledge which also brings that wellbeing. Finally tonight I want to thank Minister Kris Faafoi for taking this on. I'm sitting strategically in Marja Lubeck's seat right now—or standing at her podium—to say thank you for the work that you've done to ensure this legislation has made it to second reading. As my colleague and others have said to Rainbow Labour to Young Labour and to all those out there who took the time to put pen to paper to put voice to Zoom and to speak for me—and I'm aware that I'm a cis gay male; I'm one of the privileged ones. But they were speaking for our trans community our intersex community those who are fearful and are afraid to admit to even their closest friend or family member that they may feel like something is different—but you're OK.I started with a whakataukī and I'm going to close with a prayer. Growing up in the Salvation Army we had a lot to do with the world of alcohol and drugs and Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps and there's the prayer that we would always use at the end of those services. I think it's apt for tonight and it says this: "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference." Kia ora."