Ngobi TerisaTERISA NGOBI (Labour—Ōtaki): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker and thank you for the opportunity to take a short call on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill. Can I also just start by acknowledging the member Karen Chhour and say congratulations on getting your member's bill pulled from the biscuit tin. But not only that I also remember—as Angie Warren-Clark talked about—your maiden speech your lived experience and the passion you have in this. So I want to acknowledge that. But like Angie Warren-Clark said I personally cannot support this bill and neither can Labour and I will tell you why. If I start right from the start I wish that we didn't have to have Oranga Tamariki because that would mean that every tamariki and every rangatahi in Aotearoa New Zealand was safe and loved and that would be a great reality. Unfortunately that is currently not our reality. Our current reality is that we do have to have something to be able to make sure that our children—all children; all tamariki and all rangatahi from Aotearoa New Zealand—are safe and well and this is what we have in Oranga Tamariki. However our other reality is that unfortunately we know and we've heard and Angie Warren-Clark talked about the Wai 2915 inquiry—we know and there's so much evidence and research that tells us that unfortunately tamariki Māori and rangatahi Māori have higher proportions going into State care and we can't ignore the fact of that. Unfortunately while I know that the member's intention is to make sure all children are safe this bill will not do that. This bill in fact will make it worse for tamariki and rangatahi Māori. At the moment we make sure that the chief executive (CE) has the responsibility to make sure that the policies and support are there and making sure that there is a partnership and that we are doing the right thing in terms of our responsibility under Te Tiritiri o Waitangi. Part of that is to make sure that when we are seeing those spikes we don't just ignore them. It is about looking at and addressing what that looks like. Currently we have the powers—or the CE has the powers—to do that. This bill which repeals section 7AA will take away those responsibilities or those powers for the CE to specifically focus on tamariki and rangatahi Māori. The difference is that we know that for some of these cultural practices in terms of the tikanga in some of Te Ao Māori we have to make sure that we find measures that are going to be able to support them in the culturally appropriate way. I know that the Opposition might not agree to that but it's a reality and it's a fact. I also have lived experience in terms of working in that space. As you can see I have my Pākehā side and I have my Samoan side and I know that it's about making sure both of those are upheld. It's not a thing where you can separate it out. I can't separate out my Pākehā side or my Scottish side from my Pacific side and neither can these kids—neither can our rangatahi and tamariki Māori. At the end of the day the Government is already putting in initiatives to make sure that we have more Māori organisations to be able to work with not just the tamariki and not just the rangatahi but the whole whānau because at the end of the day that is what we want. We want to make sure where we can that the tamariki and the rangatahi that are going into care can if possible return back and make sure that they are returning back to a safe and a loving household and that's what it should be about. I am also unapologetic in terms of making sure that where we do have cultural differences we need to make sure that we are putting in the right support for those cultures and that is one of the reasons. It's in Wai 2915—it's in that inquiry—and it shows that because we haven't we've seen this spike in tamariki and rangatahi Māori going into State care. If we truly care about all Aotearoa New Zealand kids then we need to care about—Karen Chhour: Some kids need to go into care—their parents don't take care of them. TERISA NGOBI: —the Māori kids too Karen Chhour. We need to make sure that all kids matter and so that is what it currently does. This bill is divisive. It's separatism—that's what it is. That's what your party is about—sorry Mr Speaker; not you. That is what the ACT Party is about. We don't believe that on this side of the House. We make sure that everybody is heard—every single person's voice is heard—including our Māori tamariki's voice and that is what this is about. We're making sure that we do the right thing and making sure that—unlike this bill does—we don't—Angie Warren-Clark: Race-baiting. TERISA NGOBI: —yeah—cause more trauma to those children. I absolutely do not commend this bill to the House.