Henare PeeniHon PEENI HENARE (Minister for Youth): Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker and thank you very much for this opportunity to speak on the first reading of the Oranga Tamariki Legislation Bill.Much of the contribution across the House during the first reading of this bill seems to be in support of what's being mooted in this particular bill and while this might be an omnibus bill there are some very technical aspects that do need to be corrected that bring it in line with the focus of what this Government is trying to do in this space in particular with those of our tamariki who find themselves in a bit of trouble whether it be with Oranga Tamariki and of course the Ministry of Justice or through the courts. As I travel up and down the country as the Minister for Youth one of the biggest challenges that is always raised with me is about the transition of our young people whether it be from school to opportunities school to school or school to university.In this particular instance what we're trying to do is create some clarity—in particular for the legislative side of this particular debate to make sure that for those who turn 17 it actually does align; that it brings it into line with much of what we're trying to do in this space for our young people to make sure that they have what seems to be at least a clearer transition for the minds of the bureaucrats and the Public Service out there for the legislators in this House but also for our young people who find themselves caught in the system.It seeks as I mentioned around the transition that the benefits of the policy to include 17-year-olds in the youth justice jurisdiction are fully realised and fully realised in the truest sense. Most of us across the House will know that many of the issues that are raised in our communities are about the siloed approach to the way the Government operates and to the way bills and legislation actually govern the way we live. What we're saying here is actually that the justice jurisdiction is fully realised to make sure that those dare I say it rakiraki are in a row.Also I mentioned earlier some of the technical changes that need to occur and addressing some of those drafting errors to the legislation. It includes unintentionally broad provisions relating to interim court orders but also makes a consequential amendment to the Children's Commissioner Act 2003 to correct a cross-referencing error. They seem minor technical amendments but ones that I think fit more broadly in with where the Government's going with our young people and the well-being of our young people. So I think those are all steps in the right direction.You'll see by the number of bills that are amended following this particular piece of legislation just how out of sync a lot of our system is when we look at our young people and the way we look after them. Some of them here: the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Act 1995 the Returning Offenders (Management and Information) Act 2015—you'll see just by the timeline of those Acts that will be impacted upon once this particular bill is passed that this has been going on for a long time now. Those piecemeal or bit-piece adjustments to in particular legislation that impacts upon our young people are no longer satisfactory.But I'm confident that the Minister the Hon Tracey Martin and indeed this Government have the longer vision for our young people in place. This is just one of those bills that will achieve that. I notice those Acts that will be changed do span from 1989 all the way to—yeah to up until more recent times—2017. So they're all important things. Some of those features will be I guess introspective—looking inwards towards Oranga Tamariki and the functions that they have. But just as important as we share information and our young people pass through the systems of the State when we look at the way it works with the youth justice jurisdiction it's important that those particular pieces line up.The majority of these amendments and their impacts on rights of interest are beneficial to 17-year-olds—17-year-olds. As I mentioned as I travel up and down the country as the Minister for Youth I see issues with transition. One of the other things that they always raise is this rite of passage: at what age do you qualify for something? At what age do you pass into the next system? So I think that's another one of those good parts of this particular bill. The bill amends too the 2017 amendments that inserted three new sections in relation to interim court orders. These sections would from 1 July 2019 allow the court to make interim orders on its own motion when there may be no relevant Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 proceedings under way. The amendments also allow a lawyer representing the child to apply for interim custody restraining or guardianship orders within the context of non - Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 proceedings.Now that's important because as our institutions care for our young people who find themselves in this particular position or predicament it's important that they all understand exactly what legislation they operate under where their powers extend to and how far where they cease and where other organisations come in to play their part to care for our young people.Look much of what the House has already said today touches on the benefits of this particular bill and while I heard while I was in my office some of the dissension from the other side of the House about process and other matters may I remind the House that this is about our young people. It is about their well-being. It's about making sure that issues that we have been well aware of for a number of years now can actually be—dare I say it as I did earlier that we make sure the rakirakis are in a row to make sure that we have a piece of legislation that serves our people as best as possible to make sure that in particular the 17-year-olds which I've already mentioned actually have a clearer vision of what the process is when they find themselves in this predicament. I can't wait to seize more of the debate that will no doubt transpire as the course of this bill goes through the House to make sure that across the entire House everybody's on the same page here. There's already been a bit of support but I heard a few niggles and we want to make sure that by the end of this we can iron out some of those creases and make sure that our people can receive a bill that's worthy of the New Zealand public. I want to once again thank the Minister for bringing this bill to the House and commend it wholeheartedly.Bill read a first time.Bill referred to the Social Services and Community Committee.