Henare PeeniFAMILIES COMMISSION ACT REPEAL BILLSecond ReadingHon PEENI HENARE (Associate Minister for Social Development) on behalf of the Minister for Social Development: I move That the Families Commission Act Repeal Bill be now read a second time. This bill is a straightforward piece of legislation. It takes the next steps to update and improve the effectiveness and efficiencies of social science research and advocacy for the interests of families and whānau and recognises that investing in families is an integral part of how this Government chooses to operate. The bill consists of two parts. The first repeals the Families Commission Act 2003 thereby disestablishing the Families Commission. The second provides for residual management processes to effectively manage the consequences of the disestablishment. I would like to start by thanking the Social Services and Community Committee for considering this bill over recent weeks. They have treated it as a priority and produced a timely and thorough examination of it. I am particularly pleased that the committee examined the bill in the context of other changes that have been or are being made such as the creation of the Social Investment Agency and the general expectation that research and evaluation resources are available and subsequently used. The committee's report notes that a number of submissions were received on the bill but that these focused on the original policy decision and consequences of disestablishment rather than on the actual legislation itself. Based on this analysis the committee came to the unanimous conclusion that the bill requires no further changes. However I would like to take this opportunity to look at the issues raised in the submissions and at how the Government proposes to address them. The first issue is about the need to have an agency with the statutory role of advocating for families and whānau. I recognise that a case could have been made to have an agency with this role back in 2004 when the Families Commission was established. However the social sector today is significantly different. We have a better understanding of the diversity of New Zealand families and of the drivers of families and whānau well-being. A lot of this can be attributed to the commission's work on the scope and definition of what it means to be a family or a whānau unit. More importantly this Government has a clear focus on improving the well-being of all New Zealanders. An example of this is the Child Poverty Reduction Bill where many agencies are working together to address the very urgent issue of child poverty in this country. Another example is that Treasury has been developing the Living Standards Framework to incorporate well-being outcomes and support policy development across all activities of Government. A number of agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are able to continue the important task of advocating for families and whānau. This Government has a collective and united focus on improving people's well-being success and ability to reach their full potential. Going forward I am positive that good mechanisms exist to ensure that attention is given to the needs and interests of families and whānau wherever they may be. In particular the Ministry of Social Development will produce and publish the Family and Whānau Status Report in June of this year which will provide a means by which we can monitor the progress made. The second issue raised by submitters concerned the ability to maintain the level of coordination and collaboration necessary for effective research and evaluation. I'm confident that these connections will endure once the commission is disestablished and the Social Investment Agency established as a stand alone departmental agency in July 2017 will contribute a significant dose of capability in this area. The need for effective research and evaluation of programmes has become a common part of core processes with agencies placing importance on using research and evaluation evidence when making important investment decisions. There are heightened expectations on agencies to work with each other on investing for social well-being and the State Services Commission is working on assisting agencies to work better together into the future. I note that the Families Commission in conjunction with the Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association has played a key role in establishing practice guidelines and tools that encourage more effective use of research. These tools and practice guidelines support decision-making processes across Government especially those involving Budget initiatives. Ministers continue to value this type of information and I expect that these tools and guidelines will continue to apply even once the commission is disestablished. The third issue raised by submitters concerned the ongoing availability of the considerable amount of useful valuable and meaningful information produced and collated by the Families Commission during its existence. The Ministry of Social Development is working closely with the social policy evaluation and research unit (SuPERU) over key aspects of the disestablishment process. As you would expect they are taking great care to preserve this storehouse of knowledge and ensure stakeholders are kept up to date. This includes maintaining the SuPERU website and the tools to support NGOs and continuing the Growing Up in New Zealand research fund. The Social Investment Agency is now responsible for maintaining access to the Hub a one-stop shop for New Zealand Government social science research which currently features more than 6400 research publications. I've also been advised that the Ministry of Social Development will ensure all archive requirements are met and you will be pleased to know that SuPERU is approaching the Parliamentary Library to ensure that members of this House have continued access to these resources. The arrangements already made and planned for the transfer of the commission's functions are comprehensive. In November last year and April this year some functions were transferred to the Ministry of Justice the Ministry of Social Development and of course the Social Investment Agency. The shared goal between all parties is to achieve an orderly and seamless transition for stakeholders and the remaining Families Commission staff. I would like to once again thank Mr Len Cook the outgoing SuPERU board chair and other members of the SuPERU board and remaining staff for their professional diligent and conscientious approach to this process. I am confident that the changes provided for in this bill along with the other changes being implemented by the Government are the right next steps to improve the effectiveness and efficiencies of social science research and advocacy for the interests of families and whānau of Aotearoa New Zealand. I commend this bill to the House.