Ngobi TerisaTERISA NGOBI (Labour—Ōtaki): Kia ora Madam Speaker. It's a real privilege and honour to take a call on the Holidays (Bereavement Leave for Miscarriage) Amendment Bill (No 2). I would also like to acknowledge the member Ginny Andersen for championing this bill along. The change to allow three days' bereavement leave for mothers and their partners who have lost their unborn child I know personally will make such a difference.As some of the other members have spoken many of us unfortunately know people who have experienced miscarriage or have experienced it ourselves. I know about 10 years ago my best friend who is now one of my constituents lost her child. When that happened she applied for tangihanga or bereavement leave rightly so but was declined that leave and offered annual leave instead. She declined that annual leave because she had other children that she needed to save that leave for but more than that this is not a holiday. This is the death of a child and that's a big difference and that's why it belongs quite surely in the bereavement leave legislation.We also have those personal stories. I remember when I was about 11 years old and I and my two younger brothers were super-excited because my mum was five months pregnant and she and Dad couldn't wait to have another child. Then one day Dad picked us up and said Today you'll need to stay with your grandparents." We said "Why is that Dad?" and he said "Your little sister"—we were sure it was a sister—"has gone to heaven." When that happened I remember Dad then being super-sad. Mum and Dad were super-sad and I remember Dad having to travel for those couple of days while Mum was in hospital to go and see her straight after work and that's why straight after school we stayed with grandma and grandad. That is because he couldn't get the time off. My dad was the only earner in our household and so leave was really important to my family. For me again he shouldn't have had to take leave for his wife and himself losing a child.More than that though I also have my own personal story as unfortunately myself and my husband had around seven miscarriages before we had our three beautiful boys. During that time—and I remember my first one—I remember having to ask for leave was hurtful and humiliating and I was a bit worried too. It was my first job in the Public Service so I wasn't sure how that would go down. They gave me annual leave of course—again I didn't think it was a holiday. But even that annual leave wasn't long enough because when you lose a child it's not just about your three days' leave. It's also about the physical hurt that you go through and have to work through and I mean having to go for scans I mean having to have time off to go and see your doctor I mean having to have time off if you have to have any further treatment and so that's just not you on your own if you're lucky enough to have a partner. That's both of you who both need to go along for emotional support and you both need to take leave therefore both are not working at that time. And if you're not getting leave and one of you is going without leave that's one less pay cheque coming in during that really needy time.More than that though it is also about the emotional hurt. While three days is amazing three days doesn't quite cut it. The emotional pain to my partner and myself was huge and I think that we sometimes forget as mothers what our partners are going through at that same time. They experience that loss as well and it's important that their employers also acknowledge that they have had a death as well and need that time off.I believe that three days is good. It will give people time but more than that it also means that we don't have to go in there and tell them what has happened explain ourselves. We can just apply for bereavement leave under the miscarriage provision and leave it at that. We don't have to relive that stigma that hurt and we can make sure that we get the leave we need to be able to get our heads right and our hearts right.I also want to just say again how grateful I am to all the submitters. Again I thank Kathryn for bringing it through but also again Ginny for championing this bill. I know personally as I've mentioned what a difference it will make to not have to worry about the financial situation while you're going through that—and actually we do have three beautiful boys now—and not to have to worry about using up your annual leave when you can use that for things that are holidays and the like. For me I just want to say thank you again. And from all other mothers with our beautiful babies in heaven thank you very much. With that I commend this bill to the House.Motion agreed to.Bill read a third time."