King Annette: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises — In Committee 
King Annette: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises — In Committee 
[Volume:654;Page:3802] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) 
: 
 I am so pleased that the Hon David Carter welcomes my contribution tonight with a big smile and a cheer. I have to say that the Families Commission has been in the news a little bit lately. It has made the headlines in the news over the last few weeks. 
This organisation was first established in 2004 so it is relatively new. It is the brainchild and baby of the Hon Peter Dunne. When he was in coalition with a Labour-led Government he put this issue on the table as very important for him so we saw the establishment of the Families Commission. It was set up with three main activities: to listen and to identify issues; to research which means to promote and commission research on issues that matter to the family; and to act to encourage debate to raise awareness and advocacy for the family. If one could identify a major issue that the Families Commission has been closely involved in over the last few years it would be the It’s Not OK campaign. The Families Commission has been a driving force behind the It’s Not OK campaign to reduce family violence. So it has been working up to become I think a very effective commission indeed. 
I believe that the latest appointment of Christine Rankin to the commission shows that it is being set up to be dismantled. Ms Rankin has made it very clear that she does not even know why the commission exists yet she has just been appointed to it. Her appointment was not done in a straightforward way. It was not done in a transparent honest way. It was done by the Minister for Social Development and Employment who took this appointment to the Cabinet appointments and honours committee but failed to tell her Prime Minister the full facts about the appointment that she was making. 
Hon Paula Bennett 
: That’s not true. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I say to the Minister that I think many New Zealanders out there know that Christine Rankin is a person who certainly knew how to find the bucket. She knew how to find the bucket. She also knew how to spend up large. She created the culture of extravagance that became very much associated with her time as the chief executive of the Department of Work and Income. She was the person who invented the culture of extravagance. 
We are told she was appointed because she was a long-time advocate against child abuse. Many people including the media have set out to find out what Christine Rankin’s long-term advocacy against child abuse has been. In fact we have been able to find her first public comments against child abuse in July 2007. 
In National Government terms that might be a long time in terms of advocacy. If the Minister was serious about putting a person on that commission who was a long-time advocate I say that I could think of many. I will just name one: Dr Ian Hassall the former president of Plunket. He has been a long-term advocate against child abuse. 
I have to say that there is real concern in the community about the appointment of Christine Rankin. First I tell the Minister that there was no proper consultation. Peter Dunne came into Parliament at the same time as me. I know him to be an honourable man. If he said there was no consultation with him after the initial consultation then there was no meaningful consultation. He is a man of his word. I know that the Maori Party was not properly consulted. I heard what Minister Tariana Turia said about the appointment; the Maori Party was not in the loop. The National Government’s own members were not in the loop. Chester Borrows an honourable member of this House has already raised his concern about the appointment of Christine Rankin to the Families Commission. 
Then we get to the issue of due diligence. I served on the Cabinet appointments and honours committee for 9 years and I happen to know what due diligence is. It is not a matter of getting on the blower and giving Christine a call and asking her what she has been up to and whether any of the rumours that are circulating about her are true. That is not due diligence. Due diligence is ensuring that if the Minister appoints someone to the Families Commission she does the work. I tell the Minister in the chair that she did not do the work. I say shame on her. It is a poor appointment.