Tinetti JanJAN TINETTI (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. At times in this House we stand here for bills that we think: this will go through and the rest of New Zealand won't see much of a change in what's happening. But this bill that we're discussing and debating here this afternoon is one that I've really really thought very very hard about because this is a bill that will impact upon the young people of this country and their families. This is one that's been living very dearly in my heart since the tragic event that happened in Christchurch. I have two sons who have both been in hostel accommodation at university. Despite everything else that I've done—standing in this House being a teacher being a principal—the biggest job and the most important job that I have ever done is that of a parent. My children are my gift to this world and they are my taonga. As a parent I was absolutely in trepidation when I sent my children off to live in those hostels for the first time. When my first son went to a university hostel in 2012 he was 17. He was still a child in my eyes and I was scared witless. But in my heart I felt OK because I was sending him to university hostel accommodation and I felt that at that university hostel accommodation he would be well cared for and he would be looked after because I didn't realise that in this country there wasn't a consistent approach to the welfare and pastoral care of our students. I like every single other parent who sends their young people away did not realise that. I trusted that we had that in place. Now that particular son's experience wasn't so good in that hostel accommodation. Thankfully he came through the other side of that but I should have questioned more at the time and I should have questioned: why wasn't that so good? My second son went to a different university and had a much better experience in his hostel accommodation. Again I didn't question about the inconsistency. I didn't think that—I thought at the time that that perhaps was just a one-off. I didn't understand that we didn't have those procedures in place in this country to actually look after all of our young people. I didn't realise that there was a voluntary code—that it wasn't mandatory practice. As a country we need to do better. As a country and as a House here today from today we can make that change for the better so that at least from the start of 2020 our families and indeed this country can be reassured that our young people are receiving a high level of pastoral care and support; that no parent ever has to go through what the family of the young man in Christchurch have been through. This bill addresses that regulatory gap in the welfare and pastoral care of our domestic students. We've had it outlined very clearly from the previous speaker Shane Reti about how we do have the regulations there for our international students but there has been that regulatory gap and it does need addressing. This bill will enable the Minister of Education to issue that code of practice for the pastoral care of domestic tertiary education students our very own young people.I'm proud to be in this Government because it has long been my strong belief—that is shared by this Government—that we need to put our learners at the centre of the education system—our learners of all ages not just those young people that start their journey a few months old at early childhood or in the schooling sector but also those in the tertiary education sector. We need to put our learners at the centre of that system.I agree with the Minister that I do not accept the argument against these changes that bringing everyone up to minimum standards will be costly and that these costs will be passed on to the students. There should never ever be a trade-off between profit making and pastoral care of our young people. We must put our learners at the centre. We mustn't ever have that trade-off with profit making. Our young people and their welfare and their pastoral care are too important. Them and their families their whānau are far too precious to ever let down again.I look forward to this bill coming through to the Education and Workforce Committee and working with it further and I look forward to knowing that our young people will be in safer hands from 2020 onwards.