O'Connor GregGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu): Thank you Madam Speaker. Probably the most surprising thing about this bill is it's taken so long to get to this House. I remember when this bill had its first reading and being quite amazed that after a career dealing with such issues that it had never occurred to anyone to actually change this law. It just makes so much sense.In wondering that I think perhaps one of the reasons was that many of these offenders and the victims are known to each other. I think probably the whole family were involved in the process the offender or the patient—we don't know what terminology to use—was actually known to the family themselves. But I think as society's probably moved on a little and I think of my own career the number of these instances I've been involved in where there were absolute complete strangers involved. I do remember one Saturday night in Christchurch as suburban a place as you could possibly see a young man went in there with an axe and ruined a family's life. The father of the family was killed. That family would never have known what happened because it didn't come to trial. As you'll see many members have spoken before about it previously what would happen there would be an agreement. The worst part of this is that the trial process as traumatic as it often can be is also something of a closure. Many of these families are actually also denied sitting through and seeing a trial process and seeing a judge make a determination. While it didn't bring back their loved one it actually helped them on a journey moving on. So again not only were they denied that they were also denied any knowledge of what went on with the offender.These offenders/patients again went on into the system and often no one knew. I know that again someone I was involved with I thought they were in care for the rest of their living days. I myself became aware that they were actually on home leave—this from a case I'd been involved in. That was something of a surprise. I was a professional involved and I can just imagine what any family member who had known and been in that shopping centre in Porirua and seen that person would have felt.As I say when we're looking at some of these bills we often wonder what the real issue the piece of legislation that is going through is designed to fix. There is absolutely no doubt exactly what it is that we've designed to fix.In just looking back that the work that the Justice Committee did I look at the terminology they've come up with and it is actually very—I think they've done great work to actually come and get right to the determination here to make sure that the real point here the act or omission is proven; it is proven that there was an offence committed. Because again even the terminology of that when one did start looking at it through the mental health lens started looking at through other lenses often the physical act that was involved was perhaps somewhat obscured in that whole system. I congratulate the select committee for the work they did and the terminology they've come to that they actually do determine that an offence has been committed and that this person whatever terminology is used was the person who committed it.So while nothing in the system no amount of legislation will undo the harm that is done the irreparable harm to families to victims and various other people at least anything society can do to help that step forward this bill certainly goes a long way towards that.I wasn't involved in the select committee. The last time I did look at this bill was when it was being sent to the select committee and very interesting and I think complimentary of that committee to look at this now. I think they probably couldn't have done much more with it. I congratulate that committee. I congratulate the member for her journey in getting it to this House and this far. I have no doubt that it will go through its next two processes without any problems whatsoever because it just is as I say a bill whose time is well overdue. I thoroughly recommended this to the House.