Barnett Tim: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Barnett Tim: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 10 June 2003. Volume:609;Page:6058. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
9.  
TIM BARNETT (NZ Labour—Christchurch Central) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Justice 
: What steps is the Government taking to address concerns about the need to modernise the legislative framework for the guardianship and care of children? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL (Associate Minister of Justice) 
: 
 Today I have tabled the Care of Children Bill which repeals the Guardianship Act and removes the inappropriate language of “custody” and “access” orders referring instead to “parenting” orders covering day-to-day care and contact and which will shift the focus from parental “rights” to parental “responsibilities”. 
Tim Barnett 
: Does the legislation provide for shared parenting arrangements? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: As the words “shared parenting” imply such arrangements must be by agreement. They cannot be imposed. I am confident that the win-lose mentality around custody and access will diminish once this law is passed as it provides for both parents having ongoing guardianship responsibilities regardless of which parent the child is living with. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Noting the injustice of parents having to fight for years for custody of their own children when there is no question of neglect or abuse the injustice of the Government providing legal aid for persons stopping parents who are responsible from having access to their own children and the injustice of parents having to pay child support and taxpayers having to pay for the domestic purposes benefit for a person when parents are both able to and capable of caring for their children what is in this bill to strengthen the rights of responsible parents to raise their own children? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: I should point out to the member that not one of the three examples that he has used is covered by my delegation as Associate Minister of Justice. They all relate to different portfolios. 
Dail Jones 
: Why does this modern approach include the granting of a parental order currently called a custody order to the homosexual or lesbian partner of one parent of a child making it even more difficult for the other heterosexual parent of the child and bringing three parents into the court case as envisaged in clause 43 of the bill; and has the United Future party indicated its support for this bill increasing the rights of homosexuals and lesbians? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The United Future party can speak for itself. The Minister can answer the first two parts of the question. 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: What the bill is attempting to address are some anomalies that have existed in respect of discriminatory provisions in the existing law. These are clarified in the law. Both parents will be permitted to jointly appoint a new partner as an additional guardian and the sex of the partner that is so appointed will be irrelevant. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I want you to reflect on the answer that was provided by the Minister in response to my question. She said that it was outside her responsibilities to answer for any part of the questions I raised about parents having custody of their own children about parents being able to have rights as responsible parents for the raising of their own children. The Minister’s response was that she did not have responsibility for any of that yet she has responsibility for a bill tabled in her name that covers all those very issues today. I think that I am deserving of a reasonable answer to the question I raised. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No that is her answer and she is entitled to stand by it. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. A member has to give an answer— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member did. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: —and it must be given consistently in the public good. How can it be in the public good for a Minister to table a bill that deals with the very responsibilities that Dr Smith questioned on then give an answer saying: “I’m not responsible for these things.”? We have to have some standards surely. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: We do and the Minister is entitled to say that she has no responsibility for a particular area and that is the end of the matter. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: But she does have responsibility. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister has given an answer and that answer stands until it is proven that a mistake has been made. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. In the Minister’s name we have a Care of Children Bill. What is in that bill goes to the core of the issues that I raised in my original question. For the Minister to say that she has no responsibility for what the bill says in that regard or for my question—which asked what is in the Care of Children Bill to strengthen the rights of responsible parents to raise their own children—is not acceptable. I do not think it is acceptable for the Minister to say that she has no responsibility for those things even though they are in the bill. 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: The member raised three issues. He raised the issue of delays in the Family Court. He raised issues relating to child support and he raised the issue of eligibility for the domestic purposes benefit. I correctly pointed out that none of those three aspects of the law is covered in this delegation. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I seek leave to re-ask my question so that I might have an answer because those issues are important. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I think that is reasonable. I presume that there is no objection. He can do so. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Noting the injustice of parents having to fight for years for the custody of their own children when there is no question of neglect or abuse what is in the Care of Children Bill to strengthen the rights of responsible parents to be able to raise their own children? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: This legislation is getting away from the language of parents having rights. Parents have responsibilities towards their children.