Pugh MaureenMAUREEN PUGH (National): Thank you very much Mr Speaker and I too stand in support of this bill which began its life when it was drawn from the ballot as the KiwiSaver (Foster Parents Opting in for Children in their Care) Amendment Bill but as we've heard in many contributions today it is now the KiwiSaver (Oranga Tamariki Guardians) Amendment Bill. For reasons that have been well canvassed this afternoon the Social Services and Community Committee did run into some difference of opinion about who should be able to opt in for children in their care in setting up a KiwiSaver account. And it's obvious today that this is where the different sides of the House have come to different conclusions because in the original intent of the bill this was to provide all care-experienced children with the opportunity to have a secure and tamper-proof way of saving for their future and building up a nest egg whether it was to help them into the first homes or to provide for their security in their retirement.It was very disappointing at the beginning of the Minister's contribution that the Hon Tracey Martin spent five minutes talking about the origin of this issue and when it became a problem for a foster parent—and to think that the Minister has criticised and tried to paint a negative picture around the fact that a foster parent had to use an advocate to work with the Government to try and get this bill to where it is today and the fact that after a year of working with the Government they had come up against a brick wall and so that foster parent went and spoke with Hamish Walker the great electorate MP of Clutha-Southland. It was at that point that Hamish Walker found that he was not going to let down these children that he was going to be their advocate and he is the one that put this member's bill in the ballot and very fortunate for him and for foster children he got it drawn.It is a shame that when this originated when the conversation first started it was actually the Government side of the House that refused to pick this up and run with it. So I pay huge tribute to Hamish Walker for his commitment to these kids and trying to secure their future. In terms of the process that we've gone through again I pay tribute to Hamish Walker because he has managed the process with dignity and he has managed it with passion. It became very clear in the talks that he had had with foster carers around the country that this was something that they were all very excited about because they all felt very deeply for the children in their care.It is a shame that we have got to the point now where this bill now is only addressing those who have guardianship for these children. So we are a little bit watered down from where we started but there are approximately 500 to 700 children in care that will benefit from the passage of this bill today. But we do leave behind about 6000 other children who will not see this benefit.It was interesting as we worked through the select committee process that one of the resounding comments that came from our submitters—those care-experienced children—was that they simply wanted to be treated equally. We've heard that today about equality—about equal opportunities—but the reality is that for children in care whether they have legal guardians or foster parents they don't have that equality as a result of the watered-down part of this bill.One of the issues that came up and that we talked in some depth about in the select committee was about that saving scheme for children. It was something that came up often in the submissions but it was a place—and KiwiSaver is the only financial instrument that is tamper-proof by anyone except the owner of that account and in this case KiwiSaver is that only financial instrument—where grandparents aunties and uncles or existing or former caregivers can actually make contributions to that account where it is safe and where it cannot be accessed by anyone else. As I said earlier it is that instrument that provides these children with financial security as they work towards homeownership or their retirement.Throughout the process through the select committee we heard submissions and we heard feedback from the officials—and the Minister has referred to that in her contribution today—that the CEO being the legal guardian of foster children is the only one that can open a KiwiSaver account. But along the way there were other issues that were raised too—for instance around identification or getting passports. One submitter told us at the end of last year that they had applied for an IRD number in 2016 and they were still waiting in 2018 for that to be processed. So when we say that the CEO of Oranga Tamariki can open a KiwiSaver account we understand that the CEO does have other priorities and we saw with the submissions that it tends to not be at the top of the priority list for the time that is invested in doing this. And so it has fallen down the priority list and it does not get the attention and the action. So that's why this bill giving the foster parents the ability to open the account was going to be so significant for them.But we did hear from officials that in highlighting those barriers to getting identification—whether it's a photo ID whether it was a passport application or whether it was an IRD number—because it had been highlighted through the passage of this bill that there would be some improvements in the systems and there would be a speeding up of some of those applications for those things. So we do look forward in the future to those internal processes working a lot more smoothly for the children in care. Also we heard very strongly about the pressure on a social worker's time and that you know things like getting these IDs are not their top priority. Completely understand that. I think it's an opportunity for us to pay tribute to the social workers that are dealing with these children on a day-to-day basis. I thank them most heartily for the contribution that they make to the lives of those foster children and children who come under the guardianship of Oranga Tamariki. It's certainly not the easiest job in the world but I imagine and hope that for many of them it is a very rewarding position so I give a big shout-out to our social workers who are out there in the field. As I said before about the processes the red tape and the barriers we see as a positive outcome of the process even though we're not giving the full benefit of this original intention of Hamish Walker's bill. But we still commend the work that's been done by the select committee—unfortunately not getting to the outcome that we had hoped. But we know that the 500 or 700 children in care that are going to benefit from this bill are going to have a lot more financial security in their lives and as you I'm sure will agree—and as both sides of the House will agree—that is a very positive outcome for all of these children. I thank you for the opportunity and I commend this bill to the House.Bill read a third time.