Upston LouiseHon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō): Thank you Mr Speaker. I am pleased to stand in support in the first reading of this piece of legislation the Holidays (Bereavement Leave for Miscarriage) Amendment Bill (No 2) which as those who've been watching or listening will know is in Ginny Anderson's name and Clare Curran who's just resumed her seat has been instrumental in bringing it to the House. I do want to just say though in terms of Kathryn van Beek that I think that the reality with bringing this issue to an MP and then to Parliament is it's actually exposing a very hidden issue. There'll be other examples in this House myself included where a constituent—in my case Graeme Moyle—has brought an issue that ends up as a member's bill. But this one is different because it's an issue that has been hidden from view and it's hidden for a couple of reasons. One of the challenges is that often miscarriages take place in the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy. That is the time that many parents to be on medical advice or other advice actually don't tell anyone they are expecting so then if there's a miscarriage during that time not only have you not told anyone you're pregnant but to then tell someone you've miscarried is also kind of a bit strange. I've been in that situation. I was six weeks with my first miscarriage and because I hadn't told anyone I was expecting it then felt quite strange to tell someone I'd miscarried. So I think for an employment situation I'm sure there are many employers who want to support the people that work for them but because they weren't aware of the pregnancy it's particularly challenging to then be able to respond in a way as well. So I think this piece of legislation is really important and I think there'll be issues like every piece of legislation that comes out in a select committee that will be traversed in terms of the practicalities but I do think it's a really important issue to be talking about. I also had a miscarriage at 17 weeks which was the next kind of scenario—when everybody knows—and the thing that's strange about miscarriage and why I think it's particularly important this Parliament debates it is how frequently it occurs but actually how rarely it's spoken about. So by bringing this issue to Parliament I'm hopeful that this will be a conversation that more people can have not just with their loved ones but also with their employers and their work colleagues because the reality is there are a number of health impacts with pregnancy and very definitely when a pregnancy comes to an unplanned end. My colleague the Hon Nikki Kaye talked about these. There are physical ones there are emotional issues and it is an issue for a family you know and not just the woman who was pregnant and then miscarried. So National will be supporting this in the first reading. It's a very sensible practical measure that supports women and their families. I think more importantly it's an issue that needs to be discussed and that we need to talk about. We need to have a conversation as a wider community and as a country so that for someone who has miscarried—and I can totally get the comment that Clare Curran made about an employer who says Just get over it." Well you know what that tells us very clearly is some people have absolutely no idea and unfortunately part of having no idea is because it's a hidden issue and it's not talked about and people have no idea how traumatic it is. I remember trying to explain to my three-year-old son that now there was no baby. So it's about having those conversations more openly. It's about the ability for someone whether it's the woman who was carrying the baby the wider family or the husband to be able to get support to be able to have conversations to get professional advice if they need it and to take this issue and put it under the fresh air which means anyone who's got a challenge in dealing with it can get the support they need and actually the front-line support is from their employer who can say "Take the time you need." So by putting the three days' entitlement to bereavement leave into this legislation I think it's a fantastic first step that will help women and children and their families up and down this country. Thank you."