SpeechSHANAN HALBERT (Labour—Northcote): Tēnā koe Madam Speaker me ngā mihi mō te tau hou ki ngā mema Pāremata i runga i te Whare i tēnei pō nō reira tēnā koutou.[Greetings Madam Speaker and best wishes for the New Year to the members of Parliament in the House tonight greetings to you all.]Happy New Year to everyone and it's wonderful to be back in the House with my parliamentary colleagues. Kia tau te rangimārie. [Let peace be upon us.] But it's a particular pleasure because this is the second reading of course to confirm this Government's commitment at the general election to pass legislation that bans conversion practices. Normally February is when we celebrate Pride in Aotearoa and while I'm sad for obvious reasons that the spread of Omicron has meant Pride festivities have had to be put on hold I hope delivering this legislation on time is some compensation for our rainbow communities. This bill encourages safe and open discussions around sexuality and gender expression and it will prevent the harm that conversion practices cause and provide an avenue for redress for those who have been impacted by them. Conversion practices are based on the falsehood that a person's sexual orientation gender identity or gender expression can and should be changed. They are discriminatory harmful and outdated and they have no place in modern Aotearoa New Zealand. It also shifts the conversation about sexuality gender identity and gender expression this evening. It has become apparent through the consideration of this particular bill that we are no longer talking about whether we should support people to live authentically but to a far more healthy and loving conversation about how we do that. As I said in my first speech on this this bill is about showing kotahitanga—unity—to our rainbow communities. Sexuality gender identity and gender expression are not political issues; they are issues of humanity and it's actually confusing to me why such basic human rights are even up for debate in this House let alone why sadly some members this evening would choose to vote against them. As politicians I believe that we have a duty of care to support our constituents and this is one of those issues where how we vote will be remembered in years to come.I joined the Justice Committee for a number of evidence sessions on the bill. There were almost 107000 submissions on this legislation close to 40000 of which included original content. Eighteen separate oral hearings were held by many of us—days and days of listening to the people of Aotearoa. But I was impressed by the efforts that submitters in favour of the bill made to clearly set out the case for banning conversion practices—in particular young New Zealanders our rangatahi who have a much more enlightened attitude to sexuality and gender identity and expression. They know who they are. They support one another to live authentically as this legislation sets out to ensure and this evening I want to say to them that I hear you. On the other side I also want to acknowledge our religious groups that we heard from. I also want to acknowledge the progress that I saw in those submissions from religious groups—the progress that they have made on these issues. For these communities sexuality and gender issues have been confronting. However what I saw and what I heard from a number of faith-based communities making the shifts that they need to in order to offer loving and affirming pastoral care to the young people that they care for—in that spirit and as a Catholic I'd like to encourage us to navigate a pathway forward on these issues too. I sometimes think about my own place as a gay man in this country within my faith community and I believe too that through kotahitanga we can get there together and that my faith my culture and my sexuality can go hand in hand.These are certainly issues that weighed on the committee's mind and it has proposed some sensible amendments to the purpose of the bill and the definitions of serious harm" and "conversion practice". The definition of "conversion practice" has been amended to cover practices sustained efforts and treatments so that both one-off and cumulative practices are captured. Examples of what conversion practices look like have been added to for the avoidance of any doubt and the doubt that we've heard this evening. These include "using shame or coercion intending to give an individual an aversion to same-sex attractions or to encourage gender-conforming behaviour:" "encouraging an individual to believe that their sexual orientation gender identity or gender expression needs changing because it is a defect or a disorder:" and "carrying out a prayer-based practice a deliverance practice or an exorcism intending to change or suppress an individual's sexual orientation gender identity or gender expression." The bill defines a conversion practice as a "practice sustained effort or treatment" that is both directed towards a person because of their "sexual orientation gender identity or gender expression;" or "done with the intention of changing or suppressing … sexual orientation gender identity or expression." It explicitly does not capture the expression of a religious principle or belief that is not intended to change or suppress a person from being who they are nor does it prevent parents from being part of conversations with medical practitioners about healthcare for their tamariki their children. These will remain matters to be decided between health professionals patients and their families.Under the bill criminal and civil law will prohibit and deter the performance of conversion practices. Criminal offences are created where there is a heightened risk of harm or where it can be demonstrated someone has suffered serious harm as a result of conversion practices. A pathway for civil redress is created for the Human Rights Commission to take complaints about conversion practice with escalation to the Human Rights Review Tribunal where a resolution cannot be arrived at.This evening I stand here as a proud Labour MP and I'm proud because Labour Governments have consistently advanced the position of human rights for our rainbow communities. I remind everyone this evening that Labour has shifted homosexual law reform property relations civil unions equal marriage expunging historical homosexual convictions and only last year we amended the births deaths and marriages legislation. The Labour Party—our Government—remains relentlessly proud for our rainbow communities and this bill is a part of our active support for continuing this journey forward and most of all for our country to be the inclusive and accepting nation that we want it to be. I particularly want this evening to acknowledge Rainbow Labour and Young Labour for campaigning on conversion practices. That paved the way for this piece of Government legislation that we're now considering.Sadly across the room I'm disappointed in the decision of many of you this evening. It's a great shame that you can't decide on where you sit on a human rights issue that is detrimental to our rainbow communities that you sit on the fence this evening and that most of all you can't take a unified position on a way forward. We are not a nut to crack nor are we like a kidney transplant as said in your speeches this evening.Finally and to conclude my speech this evening I want to acknowledge OutLine who do great work for our rainbow communities across the country. This legislation is also a tribute to them and groups like them who have seen the harm of our rainbow communities when they are confronted by the long-term impacts that follow from conversion practices. For them and for all of our rainbow communities I commend this bill to the House. Tēnā tātou. SPEAKER: Matt Doocey—a five-minute call."