O'Connor Greg; Sepuloni CarmelOVERSIGHT OF ORANGA TAMARIKI SYSTEM AND CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE'S COMMISSION BILLIn CommitteePart 1 Preliminary provisionsCHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): Members the House is in committee on the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People's Commission Bill. I remind members that they are able to participate remotely. If you are on Zoom and want to take a call please type call" into the chat. You should also use the chat if you want to raise a point of order. If we receive new tabled amendments I will advise members so they can refresh the House papers page to see the new amendment. Finally it would be helpful for members to ask multiple questions if they have them of the member in charge during their call. Members we come now to Part 1. The question is that Part 1 stand part.Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): We know that the Oranga Tamariki system has not operated as well as it should or as well as we all expect but the system is incredibly important for our tamariki and rangatahi and for our future. It is important that it has strong oversight to ensure it better serves our tamariki and rangatahi going forward. This bill does three things to support the system to achieve this: it establishes the independent monitor to have oversight over outcomes for children and young people receiving services through the Oranga Tamariki system; it simplifies and strengthens the independent complaints and investigations processes related to the Oranga Tamariki system led by the Ombudsman; and finally the bill strengthens advocacy for all New Zealand children and young people by expanding the existing Children's Commissioner to a Children and Young People's Commission and enhancing its functions.I know there has been a lot of discussion at select committee in the media and with stakeholders about this bill. I want to be clear that we have listened and heard the concerns that have been raised. As a consequence I'm already aware of many of the issues that may be raised by members in the House today. That is why I want to run this committee of the whole House differently from the way I usually would. As usual I will talk to and answer questions on all of the key features of the bill as we work through the five parts but in doing that I'm going to take a little bit more time to step through what each part of the bill is actually going to do and why we are doing it the way we are and respond to the particular issues that have been raised. The Government believes in this bill and the improvements it will make for our tamariki and rangatahi. I want to take this opportunity to explain why and to assure members in this House and the public that their concerns have been can and will be mitigated.I'll start that process with a few brief opening remarks on Part 1 which sets out the preliminary provisions of the bill. This includes the purpose and principles Treaty of Waitangi obligations placed on the monitor and Ombudsman common duties interpretation section and the definition of the Oranga Tamariki system. I won't touch in detail on clause 3 because it is an overview of what is included in the bill so all the matters covered in the clause are better discussed later in the process. I want to be clear also that any debate on the form and functions of the monitor Ombudsman and commission itself is outside the scope of Part 1 but we will discuss this as we move through the bill. With respect to the purpose and principles of the bill clauses 4 and 5 I think we can all agree on the purpose of the bill to uphold the rights and interests and improve the wellbeing of children and young people who are receiving or have previously received services or support through the Oranga Tamariki system and to promote effectiveness of the system. The principles of the bill are in clause 5 and complement this purpose by ensuring that the people working in the system will be focused on our tamariki and rangatahi. We heard from children young people and advocates how important our international obligations are as a statement of their rights in a korowai for our work in the Oranga Tamariki system. That is why the principles of the bill explicitly require any person who is operating under the Act to have regard to the rights set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. Listening to these key stakeholders has also led us to change this clause through our Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) which strengthens the existing intent of the provision to ensure the best interests and perspectives of children and young people are considered. I know that there is concern that we have not given the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples the same status in the bill and Jan Logie has submitted an SOP with regards to this. Because we haven't ratified the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples it's not appropriate to reference it in legislation. However that doesn't mean that the changes we are making are not focused on improving outcomes for Māori. I want to talk to the Treaty provision in clause 6. We know Māori are overrepresented in the Oranga Tamariki system. Addressing this is both a key priority of the bill and a Treaty obligation. When developing the bill we listened to the concerns of stakeholders who didn't want a broad Treaty clause that was open to interpretation or could be read down. That is why the bill includes the summary clause which clearly states our commitment to give effect to the Treaty and improve the system for tamariki and rangatahi and their whānau hapū iwi and communities as well as setting out exactly what this will mean throughout the bill. This ensures that the Treaty is at the heart of this system while also placing specific obligations on oversight bodies including the Ombudsman whose status as an Officer of Parliament may have excluded them from a broad general clause. The common duties provision in clause 7 should not require a great deal of discussion today I would think. I think we all agree that achieving the aspirations I've just been talking to will require the monitor Ombudsman and Children and Young People's Commission to work closely together. This is also important because of the burden that poorly connected agencies can place on our tamariki and rangatahi and the providers that support them and the risk of harm if things slip through the cracks. We listened to stakeholders and included this provision in the bill to make clear our expectations with regards to the close relationship between the monitor the Ombudsman and the commission.Clause 9 defines the Oranga Tamariki system and includes the delivery of services and support to children young people and their families and whānau under or in connection with the Oranga Tamariki Act. This is not limited to the care and protection system. The definition also includes health education and youth justice and we are introducing an SOP to make sure that tamariki or rangatahi in this part of the system are clearly covered.To sum up this part of the bill also includes the interpretation section transition provisions in Schedule 1 and confirmation that the Act binds the Crown. I'm happy to take calls."