Wall Louisa: Human Rights Amendment Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWall Louisa: Human Rights Amendment Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 26 March 2015. Volume:704;Page:2699. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]LOUISA WALL (Labour—Manurewa): Kia ora. Ngā mihi e te Whare. It is my pleasure to speak on the Human Rights Amendment Bill in its second reading. Labour opposes this bill and we oppose the bill for two distinct reasons.The first reason is that the Human Rights Commission should not have to consult with the Minister about its priorities. Currently the Human Rights Commission is an independent Crown entity. It is an independent Crown entity along with organisations such as the Electoral Commission the Health and Disability Commissioner the Law Commission the Independent Police Conduct Authority and the Privacy Commissioner. Why are they independent? Because sometimes their investigations actually mean they have a responsibility to hold the Government accountable. That is the reason those entities exist in our society—to hold the Government accountable. Having to report to the Minister would make them a Crown agent or an autonomous Crown entity and what do those entities have to do within our public system? They either have to give effect or have regard to Government policy. That is the fundamental problem we have with that part of this legislation.The second reason Labour is opposing this legislation is that it disestablishes the Race Relations Commissioner and the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner. I would like to take us on a bit of a historical journey because when we look at how those positions were created within our society they actually all go back to the United Nations. The United Nations was formed on 24 October 1945 and as an international body what the United Nations has actually done since its creation is develop conventions. The first such convention that is relevant to the piece of legislation before the House today is the international Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. That was adopted by the United Nations on 21 December 1965. New Zealand signed that convention on 25 October 1966 and to ratify that as a country what did we do? We established the Race Relations Office actually and from the Race Relations Office we created the Race Relations Commissioner. So that particular office then held us as a country accountable to the fact that we ratified this international UN document.The second instrument that is relevant to this conversation we are having this afternoon is the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. That was adopted by the United Nations on 16 December 1966. New Zealand signed that covenant on 12 November 1968. How did we embody within our society our commitment to that particular covenant? Actually we created the Human Rights Act in 1977. So the Human Rights Commission and the human rights commissioners were created because they displayed internationally our commitment to these UN conventions or covenants. In 2001 however we did merge those two—the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination and civil and political rights—when we brought the Race Relations Conciliator and the Human Rights Commission together.The next convention that is relevant to our discussions here in the House is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. That was adopted by the United Nations on 18 December 1979. New Zealand signed that on 10 January 1985 but in fact in 1984 we had already established the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. Actually I would like to take this opportunity to say happy 30th anniversary to the Ministry for Women. I know that there is an event tonight and tomorrow and it is to signify our commitment to that international convention and New Zealand’s commitment to ensuring that the rights of women actually have a very specific vehicle within our Public Service to give effect obviously to our commitment to the equality between men and women.In 1994 when the Human Rights Amendment Act was enacted we actually created the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner—so that is how that position again displayed our commitment to that particular convention.The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the United Nations on 13 December 2006. We signed that convention on 30 March 2007 and we ratified that on 26 September. I guess if there is one small area within the bill that we can acknowledge it is that what this bill creates is a priority focus on disability rights and so a particular commissioner will have the mandate for representing the rights of those in our community who have disability as a part of their identity and their life here in our country. I would just like to highlight that 22 of the 42 submitters actually supported that focus.So what this bill is going to do essentially is have a chief commissioner four to five other commissioners and then focus areas will be disability equal employment opportunities and race relations. If that is the rationale or logic for those particular focus areas I actually want the Minister in this House to consider the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which was adopted by the United Nations on 13 September 2007. This Government actually announced support for that on 20 April 2010 and I guess I have to stand here as a member of the Labour Party which was the Government when this particular UN declaration was adopted and acknowledge that at that point in time we did not support that particular declaration—neither did Australia neither did Canada neither did the United States. But I am pleased to say now that the four countries I have just mentioned actually do now support this particular declaration. I probably should say why we did not because it was all about article 26 of that declaration and I will read it. It says: “Indigenous people have the right to the lands territories and resources which they have traditionally owned occupied or otherwise used or acquired.” It is appropriate that the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations is here in the House because I think we—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard):I am going to interrupt the member and ask her to come back to something closer to the bill.LOUISA WALL: The reason I am highlighting this is because based on the logic of the Government there should actually be an indigenous rights commissioner. Based on the logic of this bill in the areas that I have identified there should be an indigenous rights commissioner. So my question and maybe in the Committee stage I will have an opportunity to ask the Minister—the focus for me is really about the specificity of the commissioners that we have and their relevance to international human rights conventions that New Zealand has signed up to since 1966 and whether or not that logic should be applied as we go into the future. Obviously—from my perspective—if we were going to futureproof this piece of legislation we would also look at the rights of LGBTI people because it seems within the international human rights framework that LGBTI people are one of the most marginalised and victimised people. Kia ora.Debate interrupted.