Sabin Mike: Families Commission Amendment Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSabin Mike: Families Commission Amendment Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 02 July 2013. Volume:691;Page:11498. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MIKE SABIN (National—Northland):It is good to hear a member of the House talk about the sort of fiscal prudence that this National Government has become known for. The Better Public Services that this Government has committed to is a very very important part of changing the economic fortunes of this nation through some very tough times with the global financial crisis and the Canterbury earthquakes. The Better Public Services model can once again be seen in the work that is being done in this bill the Families Commission Amendment Bill. The programme of work has seen through the select committee process very little in the way of consequence or issue brought to the table because I think it is quite clear from the manner that we have gone about reorganising these sorts of structures that what it is about is delivering better outcomes. It is not necessarily about the structure or how much money is thrown at the issue; it is about the structure that sets about achieving the resolutions and the outcomes that are required.The Families Commission moves from having seven commissioners down to having one and it introduces the new function in a research monitoring and evaluation setting. I take note of the comments made with some scepticism by the member who has just resumed her seat Barbara Stewart about this sort of function. The whole point is that what we have arrived at here is a leaner more functional model that has some very clear targets. We have found through other work in the Better Public Services efforts that we have made that when you set some clear expectations and when you have a structure that supports that—when you are driven towards outcomes—you are far more likely to achieve those. You can achieve those—sorry not you obviously although I am sure you will be contributing markedly to those. We can achieve those by ensuring that we get better bang for buck in the way we go about business—so removing the title of commissioner from six and leaving the single commissioner and requiring the Families Commission to develop an annual families status report goes to the heart of those sorts of outcomes ensuring that there is a more deliberate and accountable structure.There will be new functions as I mentioned that include the independent monitoring and evaluation. I will look very closely at that to see just how that sort of monitoring and evaluation function falls into shape. One thing is for sure: the family dynamic in New Zealand—or anywhere for that matter—is quite diverse and there are a number of different challenges that families and communities do face and confront. So I guess the important note here is that for the structure and what we are looking to measure and how we are measuring it the devil will be in the detail but I am sure the Families Commissioner will be taking on that challenge.The Families Commission currently receives $8 million in funding each year which is $32 million over 4 years obviously. We are reprioritising $4 million over 4 years into parenting programmes relationship education and youth mental health initiatives. Youth mental health is something that this country has some significant and severe challenges with and that is intrinsically linked of course to the family. Over 4 years $40 million will be reprioritised into social policy evaluation and research units which are now known as “SuPERU”. These acronyms seem to spring up from nowhere but I think it will stick that one.I have no trouble in commending the work done by the Social Services Committee in this bill. It is about better public services. It is about outcomes. I commend it to the House.