Appointments — Abortion Supervisory Committee

I move, That, pursuant to sections 10 and 11 of the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, this House recommend His Excellency the Governor-General reappoint Professor Dame Linda Jane Holloway of Dunedin and Reverend Patricia Ann Allan of Christchurch as members of the Abortion Supervisory Committee, and appoint Dr Tangimoana Frances Habib of Hamilton as a member of the Abortion Supervisory Committee, each for a term of three years from the date of appointment, and appoint Professor Dame Linda Jane Holloway as Chairperson of the Abortion Supervisory Committee.

The Abortion Supervisory Committee is constituted under section 10 of the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act, and consists of three members, one of whom is appointed as chairperson. Two of the members must be medical practitioners. Members are appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the House of Representatives for a term of 3 years, and they may be reappointed. At the expiry of the term of appointment, members continue in office under section 11(5) of the Act until reappointment or the appointment of a successor. The powers of the committee are not affected by any vacancy in its membership. The committee has the responsibility of reviewing all provisions of abortion law in New Zealand and the operation and effect of those provisions in practice. That includes licensing institutions for the performance of abortions and appointing certifying consultants to authorise abortions.

The terms of appointment for Professor Dame Linda Holloway, Rev. Patricia Allan, and Dr Rosie Fenwicke expired on 17 June 2010. Dame Linda and Rev. Allan confirmed their availability for reappointment, and I agreed to put this process on hold until a successor to Dr Fenwicke was identified so that all three appointments could be processed together. I take this opportunity to thank Dr Fenwicke for her contribution to the committee.

Dame Linda Holloway, previously pro vice-chancellor of health sciences at Otago University, is a highly respected health professional, who was made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2005 in recognition of a career dedicated to health science. She is currently a part-time fellow in the department of pathology at the school of medicine at Otago University. She is a specialist anatomical pathologist, who earlier in her career worked in rural general practice. Her major area of research interest has been respiratory disease and perinatal pathology. She was one of the advisers to Dame Silvia Cartwright during the inquiry into the treatment of cervical cancer at National Women’s Hospital. Dame Linda has served one term as chairperson of the committee.

Rev. Patricia Allan has held a number of governance roles in the Methodist and Anglican churches, and has been involved in social service or ministry roles in Christchurch and on the West Coast for over two decades. She was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal by the Queen for her community work on the West Coast. Rev. Allan is a member of the board of the McLean Institute, which is a charitable trust, and has established her own consultancy business as a facilitator and mentor. She is a registered nurse, and also holds a licentiate of theology. Rev. Allan has served one term as a member of the committee.

Finally, the Government is proposing the appointment of Dr Tangimoana Habib to replace Dr Fenwicke. Dr Habib is of Ngāti Tūwharetoa descent, and currently works as a general practitioner for Te Kohao Health Ltd in Hamilton. Te Kohao Health is based in an urban marae and serves a mainly Māori population with strong links into the community through a variety of programmes. Dr Habib also runs a satellite clinic in another high-needs area of Hamilton. Since 2000 Dr Habib has been involved in Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa (Te ORA), the Māori Medical Practitioners Association, and she has been a member of Te Akoranga a Maui, the Māori faculty of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, since its inception in 2002. In 2003 Dr Habib was awarded a fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. She served on the college’s council in 2005 and 2006, and is the continuing medical education provider for Te ORA. In addition, Dr Habib has been a general practitioner registrar trainer, and is on the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners board of assessment and a new board established to provide governance in the education and examination of general practitioners.

All of the appointees are obviously very capable. They will bring a balance of knowledge and experience to the committee.

As the Minister of Justice said, the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977 requires there to be an Abortion Supervisory Committee. Section 10 provides that it is to have three members, two of whom are to be medical practitioners, and that those members are to be appointed by His Excellency on the recommendation of the House. Under section 11 of the Act, the members of the supervisory committee are to hold office for up to 3 years.

The Minister’s motion on the Order Paper proposes the reappointment of Professor Dame Linda Jane Holloway of Dunedin and the Rev. Patricia Ann Allan of Christchurch to the committee. Professor Holloway is to be chairperson of the committee, and an additional member, Dr Tangimoana Frances Habib, of Hamilton, is proposed to be appointed. As we have heard from the Minister, Dr Habib is proposed to replace Dr Rosie Fenwicke, and I would like to take this opportunity now to acknowledge the service of Dr Fenwicke on the supervisory committee over the period of Dr Fenwicke’s term.

I will say one or two words about the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act. It is a poorly drafted Act. It is antiquated. Litigation over its provisions has been frequent, especially in recent years. The legislation contains what to a contemporary ear are offensive terms—for example, the title of section 4, “Administering Contraceptives to Mentally Subnormal Females”. It is widely agreed that the legislation needs to be modernised and administered as a health statute rather than a justice one, which was the paradigm at the time in 1977 when the legislation was framed. I certainly personally welcome an updating of the law, and I hope to see that some time during my service in this House.

Meanwhile, I congratulate Professor Holloway and Rev. Allan on what is effectively a thankless task: embarking on service on the Abortion Supervisory Committee. I confirm on behalf of the Labour Opposition that our members were consulted some time ago by the Minister as to his proposed nominees on both the reappointments and the fresh appointment of Dr Habib. The Opposition knows of no reason to object to the appointment and the reappointments that have been proposed. Although, as is the tradition, members on the Labour side will have a conscience vote as to the names proposed, given the consultation from the Minister and the lack of any knowledge of objection to the qualifications of the persons proposed, I anticipate that there will be widespread support on this side of the House for the names proposed.

I am told that there may be another name floated in the debate. If that is the case, then I can confirm that there has been no consultation with the Labour Opposition over any such name. I would be surprised if members on this side of the House were to support any such late nomination, in the absence of such consultation.

The Green Party wishes to take a brief call in support of the Abortion Supervisory Committee appointments: Professor Dame Linda Holloway and the Rev. Patricia Ann Allan, who have been nominated for reappointment, and Dr Tangimoana Habib, who has been nominated as a new appointment. Those women have a very responsible job under section 14 of the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977. This job includes licensing institutions and certifying consultants. I will not outline all the responsibilities under section 14. Suffice it to say that as well as other duties the committee has a reporting function, and its reports are carefully studied by the protagonists on all sides of the debate.

The Green Party has no reason to challenge the existing members of the committee, and from what we have been able to judge the new nominee has a strong background in vital issues—notably, improving Māori health status, particularly in terms of breastfeeding. We are hopeful that her concerns about whānau and the well-being of mothers and children will assist the committee in its work.

A percentage of people will always oppose abortion from their ethical perspective. However, there are other ethical perspectives and human rights issues to be addressed, and the supervisory committee plays a vital leadership role on this issue. More information and safe options for contraception are essential, and it is fitting that those professional women continue the important work of the 1977 Act. The Green Party caucus members are unanimous in supporting this motion.

I move, That the motion be amended by omitting “Reverend Patricia Ann Allan of Christchurch” and substituting “Dr Ate Moala of Wellington”. I say from the outset that the issues associated with abortion are absolutely essential to any understanding of w’ānau well-being and w’ānau ora. The protection and preservation of w’akapapa, of genealogy, are fundamental to the growth and health of our w’ānau.

I think about the precious heartbeat of every child. I think about the comment that Ngāti Whātua leader Naida Glavish once made—that there is no such thing as an unwanted mokopuna. I contrast that comment with the statistics that tell me that in the last 5 years close to 100,000 babies have been aborted—more than twice the population of my home city of Wanganui.

The Māori Party was pleased to support Dr Tangimoana Habib when her appointment was first proposed. Tanigmoana, who is of Tūwharetoa w’akapapa, is a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners and currently works as a general practitioner in practice at Te Kohao Health in Hamilton, as well as running a satellite clinic in another high-need area of Hamilton. She has been involved in Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa (Te ORA), the Māori Medical Practitioners Association, since 2000, and has been a member of Te Akoranga a Maui, the Māori faculty of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, since its inception in 2002. She is the continuing medical education provider for Te ORA and is also a general practitioner registrar trainer. But perhaps her greatest qualification is her lifelong proven commitment to improving the status of Māori health.

We are very pleased to support her appointment to the Abortion Supervisory Committee, particularly given the concern we have for maintaining the health and well-being of mothers, children, and the greater w’ānau at any time in which health issues occur. When I was involved back home with Te Ōranganui Iwi Health Authority, we always insisted that any young woman seeking advice of a sexual and reproductive nature be supported with the wisdom of elders, of kuia, whom we had arranged to work with us. The thinking for us was that sexual and reproductive health is never about just biomedical or clinical matters. It is about mauri, the life force. It is about wairuatanga, the spiritual dimension. It is about ira tangata, the ongoing genealogical connections found in our w’akapapa. So we welcome the opportunity for Tangimoana to bring issues associated with Te Ao Māori to the debate. We also support Professor Dame Linda Holloway as chair of the Abortion Supervisory Committee.

We believe that our amendment today strengthens the representation on the committee to take account of the particular needs of Pacific families. Dr Ate Moala is of Tongan descent. She has a distinguished background in Pacific health and, in particular, health related to the family. She is the clinical director of Pacific orthopaedics in Wellington. She is a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine and has particular experience in working with Pacific communities on a range of health issues, including breast cancer, immunisation, asthma, and healthy lifestyles. She is a board member of the Pacific Health Research and Development Foundation Trust and a former president of the Pasifika Medical Association of New Zealand.

We all know that culture counts. We believe that different cultural frameworks are vital in helping all New Zealanders to see health in a holistic way. In terms of my amendment, we consider it crucial that the issues of Pacific families are considered when coming to such a sensitive issue as abortion.

Dr Ate Moala was previously, in 2007, put forward as a nomination to the Abortion Supervisory Committee, in order to add value to the cultural competency of the committee and strengthen the composition and professional knowledge available to the committee. We hope, 4 years on, that wisdom will prevail and that we will see an Abortion Supervisory Committee that represents the breadth and diverse strength of Pasifika populations alongside tangata w’enua and other populations.

We have a most solemn duty in the House to ensure that we act in the Chamber in ways that enhance the health and well-being of all of our people. I hope my amendment will help us all to do that.

The question is that the amendment be agreed to. Are any further members seeking the call? We need a copy of the amendment to be tabled and signed.

💬 Hon Tariana Turia: Sorry, Mr Assistant Speaker. After the vote on voices, can I call for a personal vote?

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy): The member firstly needs to table the amendment and we have not had that done yet. We will then follow process. I will wait for the amendment to be tabled before the Clerk. It is in order, and there are no further amendments. I will put the question on the amendment. The question is that the amendment be agreed to. Given that there is an amendment to the motion, I declare that there will be a personal vote.

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Not all members are in the House, and this amendment has come at a very, very late stage. It is so late, in fact, that the amendment had not been signed or put on the Table when the member had finished speaking. Not all members will be entirely clear about the situation, so I want you, in order to assist members, to read into the record exactly what is happening now and who is voting for what, so that members are clear about how to vote. I do not want to stymie this by taking objection to it, but I have to say that this is poor process.

I will make this very clear. An amendment has been moved by the Hon Tariana Turia to omit the words “the Reverend Patricia Ann Allan of Christchurch” and substitute the words “Dr Ate Moala of Wellington”. That is the amendment that the House will now vote on, and it is a personal vote.