Rich Katherine: Care of Children Bill — Second Reading 
Rich Katherine: Care of Children Bill — Second Reading 
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KATHERINE RICH (National) 
: 
 When the House last rose I was making a few comments in response to a speech made by United Future member Murray Smith who seemed to think that there were no gay parents in the community and that if any child in this country did not have a mother and a father he or she was somehow in a desperate situation compared with other New Zealand children. I made the point that it is really important that we keep the debate about this bill pretty responsible because we do not want to give children the idea that somehow the situation they find themselves in is not as good as that of others. Sure we would like as many children as possible to grow up in a loving caring environment but the issue is whether children have adults in their lives who will provide unconditional support and unconditional love to help them as they progress through their lives. 
I finished up by saying that parenting is a two-person job. I thought about that over the adjournment and realised that of course it is not; it is a job that needs to be done by very many adults within a community and by extended families within the community. It is not just up to individual parents although they tend to be the lead carers—the lead people involved in the care of that child. 
I ended up going to  
Bananas in Pyjamas 
 at the weekend and seeing the friends of mine whom I had mentioned as I finished speaking before the House rose for the adjournment. They thanked me for my comments and I was pleased to receive those thanks. I met their new son. I looked at them and asked myself who the hell any member of Parliament or any member of the community is to look at those parents and say that their arrangement is not as good as anybody else’s. That child is probably one of the most loved children in the community. I think it is important that we recognise the very different variations that we see within the community in this country. 
That said a lot of this bill is about changing the language. We saw the huge debate and furore that was created as a result of some policy analyst or legislative writer deciding that the female partner in a same-sex relationship could be described as being a father. It caused a huge uproar. It offended not just fathers in the community but also a lot of women involved in such relationships because they did not see themselves as taking on that role either. Although it was quickly batted away as being an exercise in legislative tidiness I think it was a mistake to put those terms into the bill. In fact it would have been better to try to write a bill that fairly reflected the situation that is presently found in our community. 
There were a lot of issues too about how children were described and how there was a change in the way of talking about custody issues. I did not buy into the argument that use of the word “custody” indicated ownership. I thought it was a pretty useful word that allowed New Zealanders to talk about how they would look after their kids in the event of a relationship split. Now the term is going to be “day-to-day care” which I think is a bit of PC nonsense that does not really reflect the nature of the relationship between the parent and the child. 
The other thing is that it is very difficult to codify the role of a parent and to put that down in a piece of legislation and that is what this bill attempts to do. Within the community we see a wide range of different situations. It will be very difficult for this bill to apply to all situations of New Zealand families. I think we will find that there are some legislative issues that require us to be back in the House making amendments pretty quick smart because there are some areas of confusion within this bill. 
There are some good things though. I think it is important to make sure that the focus is on the child and that the safety and the interests of the child are paramount. That is something that has been included in a lot of child-oriented legislation over the last 10 to 15 years. I think it is important to introduce the child’s sense of time into the debate because of course 1 month or 6 months might not seem a long time to an adult but in a child’s eyes or in a child’s experience it can sometimes be an eternity when he or she is waiting to see a parent—usually the dad—over that period of time. 
One of the issues I think we need to debate very responsibly is the openness of the Family Court. It is not as straightforward as just letting the media in there and giving them open slather. I think it is important to have accredited media representatives. Nick Smith often talks about allowing the “disinfectant of sunlight” within the Family Court—allowing some media to go in there to see some of the goings-on which will make sure that New Zealanders feel they have an open and transparent process but of course making sure that details relating to individual families are kept totally confidential. 
There is an issue to do with section 37. While I am usually pretty liberal on these sorts of issues I will support the amendment from Judith Collins because one of the things that I have failed to get any answer on is why as a parent I have the right to be told when my child is having his or her tonsils out or a knee operation but I am not allowed to know when a termination is being decided on. That is a pretty difficult one for any parent to comprehend. Although I can see both sides of the argument on balance I have decided to support this particular amendment. 
I did not like the way David Benson-Pope described 10-year-olds as young women. In my view they are children. I do not think that talking about 10 13 or 14-year-olds who are considering abortions as young women is a very positive way to view this situation. 
I understand that the first and paramount consideration has to be the— 
Hon Annette King 
: It’s not very positive having a baby at 14 either actually. 
KATHERINE RICH 
: I ask the Minister who is shouting out why as a parent I am allowed to know when my daughter’s tonsils are coming out but not when she is having a termination.