Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill

I present a legislative statement on the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill.

💬 SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the parliamentary website.

I move, That the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Social Services and Community Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time, I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 6 March 2025.

The purpose of the bill is to strengthen the independent monitoring of the Oranga Tamariki system, or children’s system, and make it crystal clear to children and young people who their advocate is. The Oranga Tamariki system is defined as the system that is responsible for providing services and support to children, young people, and their families or whānau under or in connection with the Oranga Tamariki Act or the Children’s and Young People’s Well-being Act 1989.

The oversight of the children’s system was changed significantly in 2022 and two Acts were introduced: the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022 established the Independent Children’s Monitor as the independent monitoring agency of the children’s system and appointed the Ombudsman to investigate issues in the system, as well as handle complaints about the system. At the same time, the Children and Young People’s Commission Act 2022 established the Children and Young People’s Commission, equipping it with the functions, duties, and powers to protect and advocate for the interests and wellbeing of all children and young people who have interacted with the system.

This bill intends to amend the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act and Children and Young People’s Commission Act—specifically to transition the monitor from a departmental agency to an independent Crown entity with a small, multi-member board; and the Children and Young People’s Commission from an independent Crown entity led by a multi-member board to an independent Crown entity led by a single Children’s Commissioner.

Feedback on the 2022 Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill raised concerns about the monitor’s independence, suggesting that a departmental agency might not be as fully independent of political considerations. This bill responds to those concerns that were raised by many, many submitters, and will change the institutional arrangements of the monitor to an independent Crown entity to further strengthen its independence.

This bill requires experience and knowledge from the monitor’s board members to ensure that they possess the necessary skills and knowledge, such as quality assurance, data governance, and a strong understanding of the care system to assume these important roles.

Feedback on the 2022 Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill also emphasised the idea of having a single individual acting in the role of advocate—in other words, having a clear Children’s Commissioner. This bill addresses this concern, again, that was raised by multiple, multiple submitters—very, very strong community views. This bill addresses the concern by disestablishing the current five-member board model of the commission and returning to a single Children’s Commissioner.

The value in having two distinct roles and voices in the oversight system cannot be overstated. The Independent Children’s Monitor plays the role of neutral observer and reporter, and the Children’s Commissioner has a separate role in amplifying the concerns and advocating strongly on behalf of children, young people, and their whānau. Keeping the monitor separate from the advocate role of the Children’s Commissioner will help ensure that their work continues to be impartial, which, of course, is vital to its role.

However, I acknowledge that the monitor, the Children’s Commissioner, and the Ombudsman are only part of the oversight of the children’s system and need to work collectively to give effect to their separate but complimentary functions. For the monitor to perform its role well and influence change, it needs to have the trust of communities and to be a trusted adviser to Government, independent of any specific policy positions or considerations. Equally, to be an effective advocate, the Children’s Commissioner often needs to take and promote a strong position, sometimes publicly. A Children’s Commissioner must be able to do this freely and without fear of impacting the work of the monitor.

The monitor and the commission, along with the Ombudsman, are also working closely together to ensure the monitoring, advocacy, and complaints roles are properly joined up to best support our most vulnerable children and young people. These agencies are taking a “no wrong door” approach, which means regardless of which agency is approached, either for complaint or for feedback, they will direct people to the right place.

The bill also covers consequential and transitional arrangements for the monitor and the commission to ensure a smooth transition of functions. I’m sure every member of the House will recognise how important the work is, both of the monitor and of the commissioner. To minimise any disruption to both entities’ work, the bill provides that the chief executive of the monitor will continue as chief executive of the new independent Crown entity from one year from commencement date. Similarly, the current Chief Children’s Commissioner will also become the Children’s Commissioner for one year from the commencement date of the bill. Continuing the current Chief Children’s Commissioner’s role will help to build on the visibility of the position and strengthen their existing relationships with children and young people, which, of course, is critical to the success of their role.

The timing of our changes addresses and complements some of the findings that were provided in the final report of the abuse in care that was the royal commission of inquiry. A key finding of the report is that the State failed to ensure that there was robust, independent oversight and monitoring of all care settings that interacted effectively for people at risk and that robust and independent oversight and monitoring is a critical way of ensuring that care providers fulfil their duties to people in care, including detecting when they are not complying with applicable laws, regulations, policies, or providing safe and quality care.

This view was shared by many, including the Human Rights Commission, which in its final report noted, and I quote: “Independence is crucial [to] the Independent Children’s Monitor to achieve its objectives of providing objective and impartial monitoring of the Oranga Tamariki system. … A monitor that is not completely independent of Government will struggle to gain the public trust and confidence … that is necessary to address [the failures of abuse in care].” Many people will not be surprised by these two simple but very important changes to the oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system. There was very clear feedback when the 2022 legislation was introduced and open for submissions, so we are resolving two of the issues that were very strongly submitted on at the time.

Overall, this bill strengthens the independent monitoring of the Oranga Tamariki, or children’s, system and makes it crystal clear to children and young people who their advocate is. I commend this bill to the House.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to take a call on the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill. Can I start by saying that we support this bill going to select committee, but that is qualified support. I want to address the two main proposals in the legislation.

When Labour was in Government, we started work on strengthening oversight of the children’s system. The Beatie report highlighted how inadequate our system of oversight was, and Labour acted quickly to make it stronger. We established the Independent Children’s Monitor, and we enabled the Ombudsman to provide accessible and timely complaint and investigation processes for children and young people. We boosted the diversity and advocacy powers through the Children and Young People’s Commission. At the time, we also reduced the review period to three years instead of five to enable the review to take into account recommendations from the royal commission into abuse in State care.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend the work of the Independent Children’s Monitor and the five children’s commissioners in their tireless advocacy for children and young people, and the work of the Ombudsman. But I find it really difficult to be speaking on these proposed changes to legislation to improve the oversight of the children’s system when we have just had question time and serious questions being asked about safeguarding in the children’s system, to ensure when the ability to use force on children in custody is being discussed and debated and decided by Cabinet—I find it difficult to believe what the Government is saying, in terms of their desire to ensure that we have the best oversight and protection for our most vulnerable children and that we respect their advocate and the voices, when the Minister for Children did not even bother to consult the Children’s Commissioner on the proposed changes in the youth justice policy space.

We support any changes that will build the trust that has been spoken about in terms of the independence of the Independent Children’s Monitor, but in terms of the changes to the Children’s Commission, we do not support the reduction down to one single commissioner. When we established the Children and Young People’s Commission, we put in place a model with five commissioners, led by the Chief Children’s Commissioner, and we did this to get wider and more diverse representation on the commission, to enable more robust advocacy for children and young people. Because of that, we believe that we need diverse representation for children and young people, and we don’t support those proposed changes in this legislation.

Stakeholders have now had time to see in action the changes that Labour made, and we believe it is important to hear from stakeholders on this and their views on the current system and what this bill proposes. We look forward to the select committee process, where submitters will be able to give us their views on the increase of children’s commissioners to provide that diversity.

Over the past year, this Government has made significant cuts to Oranga Tamariki front-line services, they’ve introduced boot camps, and they are repealing section 7AA, and we have seen the benefits of having a robust system of oversight for our children, holding the Government to account on behalf of children and young people.

To reiterate, we support this legislation going to select committee; we support any enhancements to the independence of the Independent Children’s Monitor. We do not support the reduction of commissioners for Mana Mokopuna. We look forward to the select committee process, and we challenge the Government, in all that it is doing across the children’s system, to ensure that we have the best safeguards and monitoring in place—that is respected, that is sought out, that is consulted on at every opportunity—so that we can ensure we are doing everything that we can possibly do to ensure we do not have a repeat of the abuse in care we had in the past. Kia ora, Mr Speaker.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise today on behalf of the Green Party of Aotearoa in support of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill. As my colleagues and the Minister have previously outlined, this omnibus bill amends two key Acts: the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022 and the Children and Young People’s Commission Act 2022. Specifically, it makes changes to the legislative status of the two core agencies in the children’s oversight and monitoring system. It changes te Aroturuki Tamariki from a departmental agency within the Education Review Office to an independent Crown entity (ICE). Secondly, it reverts Mana Mokopuna - Children and Young People’s Commission to a single commissioner model.

In supporting this bill, I want to acknowledge its origins. Changes to the children’s oversight and monitoring system were introduced in 2022. The Greens previously opposed changes that separated the children’s advocacy and monitoring functions for two main reasons, as it risked weakening both roles and compromised the independence of the children’s oversight system, and having the monitor as a departmental agency within the Education Review Office risked the autonomy of the monitor itself. The Greens are pleased to see the changes in this bill addressing these concerns now. The children’s monitor will have greater independence by being established as a fully stand-alone ICE.

I want to acknowledge the incredible mahi of the monitor and those working within it. These kaimahi uplift the stories, experience, and reality of tamariki across the motu. They do this daily while respecting the mana and dignity of tamariki and the experiences they seek to uplift. I want to acknowledge the integral mahi of the monitor since its inception in 2022. There’ve been many reports published by the monitor from tamariki’s access to primary healthcare to tamariki’s experience of returning home after State care, but the report that sticks with me the most is Towards a stronger safety net to prevent abuse of children, which centres on the tragic case of Malachi Subecz’s death and the State’s repeated failings. It concluded that tamariki are no safer in New Zealand than they were at the time of Malachi’s death. These incident reports are a vital part of our oversight system and make sure we care for our tamariki by holding a mirror to the decision makers within agencies and the Government so that we can make evidence-based decisions that reflect the needs of the community and centre the children.

As I have said previously, the Greens support the intent of giving the monitor further independence. However, increased independence cannot substitute for adequate funding. The Greens continue to call for sustained funding increases to ensure that the monitor can effectively continue to keep decision makers accountable.

I want to acknowledge this Government for listening to those on the front lines of our care system in New Zealand within this bill. Last week, I had the privilege of meeting again with VOYCE - Whakarongo Mai and recognising the incredible mahi they do nationwide to support care-experienced tamariki, and I want to share the words of Mary-Lynn Huxford, National Care Experienced Youth Participation Adviser, who said, “Reverting to an appointed Children’s Commissioner will simplify things for tamariki, with an identifiable and reliable person there for them to turn to. I’m so pleased to finally see a government decision about the care sector being informed by those who are care-experienced.”

This bill reflects the commitment to centring the voices of those with lived care experience in our care response, which the Greens wholeheartedly support. However, this cannot and must not stop here. The Government and Crown have profoundly failed survivors of abuse in care, and, next week, we have this apology, and we need to make sure that we are advocating for all 138 recommendations to be implemented. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It’s an absolute privilege to rise on behalf of ACT in support of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill. When I first came to Parliament, I came out of sheer frustration around, in my community, seeing and hearing issues that I knew about growing up, dealing with, in care myself. My mission, from day one coming into Parliament, is to make a real, true difference when it comes to young people in care and making sure that whilst they’re in care, they’re safe.

I am grateful to the work of the Hon Louise Upston in this space, because, while I was in Opposition, I was firmly opposed to the changes that were made in 2022, which muddied the waters of how a young person or a person who wanted to find a way to have a voice when things were going wrong didn’t know who to turn to or where to go. There cannot be gaps in our system when it comes to responding to reports of kids being in danger or kids being hurt or harmed in care, and we need to make it simple. We need to make it a “no wrong door” policy so that no matter where a young person or a family member goes, they can be directed to the exact right person who can monitor for them and the exact right person who can advocate for them.

I truly understand the importance of a transparent system when it comes to children in care, making sure that they are being provided with absolutely everything that they need and everything that they should have whilst in the care of Oranga Tamariki. Children in State care deserve a truly accountable system, and that means having a truly independent and accountable advocate in their corner. We need to gain back the trust. Things that are coming up now, where we’re hearing stories of how children screamed and cried for help, where they approached multiple agencies, multiple people to say they were being hurt and harmed, and nothing was done. This is unacceptable and it cannot continue, and we will do everything in our power in this Government to make sure that we put measures in place through bills like this one where young people’s voices can be heard easier, they will be listened to, and their concerns will be actioned appropriately. I have every faith that this will bring back some of that trust that has been lost in a system that is meant to protect our young people.

There are many changes going on, within not just Oranga Tamariki but multiple agencies across Government who have involvement with children in care. We must make sure that there are appropriate people who have that independence and that ability to speak up without fear of doing so. I truly am grateful for this bill—it’s been a long time coming.

Listening to the submissions when the changes were made in 2022 was heartbreaking. It was like listening to people, once again, screaming out to be heard and once again being ignored. I hope that this legislation being put through Parliament right now shows that we are listening, that we have taken on board the submissions from the changes in 2022 and the concerns from not only young people but organisations within the community from multiple different areas, including hapū and iwi, that were concerned about oversight for their young children. It’s just to reinforce: we listened, we heard, and we’re keeping our promise as a Government to make those changes that not only ACT campaigned on but, alongside the Hon Minister Upston, we—

The member’s time has come to an end.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of New Zealand First in support of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill. I’d like to firstly just thank the member prior to me—the Hon Karen Chhour—for her heartfelt contribution and the tireless and dedicated work that she is giving to this space and the care of our children and young people.

As already mentioned, this is an omnibus bill with a single, broad policy to enhance the oversight and the monitoring of the Oranga Tamariki system. So many of the technical things have already been mentioned, but one of the things I will speak about is that whilst the Children and Young People’s Commission is now in a board model and is now being reduced to a sole position—a sole commissioner—it will also have a deputy in order to be there in the event of any absences and to ensure that there is a steady flow of work and process.

The other change is the Independent Children’s Monitor, which is now an independent Crown entity. Now, one of the great things about this is that it will be governed by a board of three members, and they will all have expertise in the area of Oranga Tamariki processes, systems, and duty governance. It is also just ensuring that like an audit, everything is done properly and efficiently, and the most important thing is that the intent of the bill is covered, and that is the care of our children and our young people.

In summary, the intent of the bill is to improve the outcomes for our children and young people. It will ensure independence and also ensure that the processes are not only efficient and effective but that people are accountable. There will be independence, and with this separation between advocacy and monitoring, it will be the beginning of the rebuilding of trust in organisations when it comes to the care and safety of our children.

I will keep it brief: New Zealand First supports the bill, and I commend it to the House. Thank you.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai, ā, tēnā tātou katoa e te Whare. It’s probably less of a pleasure and more of a duty to stand and bring a particular angle to this discussion and to this bill, to say that Te Pāti Māori will support it to select committee with the conditions which I’m going to express in my kōrero today.

Having been a social worker and then a care and protection social worker in the time in which the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act came to be, I’ve got some insight both clinically, culturally, and technically in terms of how these bills and pieces of legislation and law come into action and don’t always hit the mark, unfortunately, when they’re on the ground. That’s a bit of the backdrop for my discussion.

Weighing heavily on our collective Māori consciousness is the wellbeing of our mokopuna Māori, so it concerns me that 80 percent of all children abused in State care institutions are tamariki Māori. The time for action must be now, yet the actions we see from the coalition Government tell a different story. This bill intends to improve oversight and monitoring of Oranga Tamariki, and we’ve heard all the technical bits, how that’s described, making structural changes to the Independent Children’s Monitor. If the Government is truly committed to structural changes and it is actually sincere about the care and protection of mokopuna Māori, this seems to me tinkering at the edges yet again, this bill, this idea, this insight behind it all.

Here’s part of why I’m talking like this: so there’s the tinkering on the edges, but then there’s the section 7AA deal—which ironically, this is about monitoring and taking care of and keeping an eye on all New Zealand mokopuna, children, right? Yet to take away, to dismantle a cultural paradigm, a clinical paradigm under section 7AA, which is now dismissed—it’s off the books. We will treat you just like any other child, any other New Zealander.

You see, the difficulty that we have as a party with that is that, again, it does not at all really deal with structural change in any real, significant way. We want this to go to select committee and we want to listen to the stories that are bound to come through, but, again, it just feels like another piece of tinkering on the edges and over here the dismantling of section 7AA—tinkering on the edges and reintroducing boot camps; tinkering on the edges and then coming back to the potential abuse in custody with a military-style model. Why do I know this? Because my memory working in the field tells me this. Despite the reassurances or the comments from the Minister, I’m not confident at all, and many of us are not. And on the 19th, I think we’ll get to see that a little bit more closely outside on the grounds.

Seeking to improve oversight and monitoring of Oranga Tamariki through the re-establishment of an independent children’s monitoring board is a minor structural improvement. The independent authority would see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori. Coming to what we would replace it with, or we would ask the House to consider, is our mokopuna Māori authority. This independent authority would see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from State care back into the rightful care of te iwi Māori.

I heard the Minister refer to a section 396. Again, back in 1989, in the 1990s, I used to approve 396s. I think over the whole time I was in the department, I maybe did three or four. The idea is good, but the implementation and the practice is hopeless, and I’m interested to see whether that’s going to be any different this time. I fear it won’t.

The mokopuna authority would both assert and protect the rights of our people promised in He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It will be the primary national agency that prioritises whakapapa, because whānau do know what’s best for their own. Whānau Ora is a perfect expression of that. Whānau Ora’s by Māori, for Māori—and I see I’ve run out of time. What a shame. Tēnā tātou.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. It’s a pleasure to rise on behalf of the Government side of the House to speak in support of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill at its first reading. This does two things, essentially: it ensures the independence of the children’s monitor; and, secondly, it creates a stand-alone Children’s Commissioner. The overall policy objective is to improve outcomes for children and young people in New Zealand through structural changes which will enhance the visibility of the Children’s Commissioner, which will become part of this process, and make one single person who will be a visible and identifiable face for advocacy in New Zealand, which is one really key point.

The second thing that this will do, that is a very important thing—it will strengthen the independence of the children’s monitor. This will take this out of where it’s currently, which is part of the Education Review Office, and will make the Independent Children’s Monitor an independent Crown entity—so separate from Government. The importance of that is to enhance confidence in people that wish to raise issues of concern that this is independent from any Government agency or Government; also to ensure that this commissioner is strictly focused simply on their role, which is to ensure the wellbeing of New Zealand children is being adequately addressed by other Government agencies. In particular, it’s the independent monitoring of the Oranga Tamariki system, which we have heard over the last few years—just the number of challenges that that has.

This is a very good piece of legislation that will enhance the system of monitoring that we have of the Oranga Tamariki system, and will enhance confidence that New Zealanders have in this. I commend it to the House.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. It’s a pleasure to take a call on the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill. Labour supports this bill to select committee. In general, we support the change of making the Independent Children’s Monitor become an independent entity, and we recognise the benefits. This bill changes that monitor to be outside of Government, and it changes the constitutional arrangements to enable that to sit aside and be independent from Government. Having a clear Children’s Commissioner is a good thing. Where we have reservations is around the disestablishment of the board of five members. We believe that having that board provides additional diversity and a range of views if we are truly going to have children’s interests and their wellbeing at heart. We look forward to hearing submissions from the public on that particular issue.

As noted in the initial speech, the royal commission has stated that there wasn’t robust oversight of our children and young people in New Zealand, and we need to learn from those mistakes in the past. We look forward to these changes bringing an increased level of transparency. As the Minister for Children pointed out in her speech, it is really at the heart of the matter of rebuilding trust within our community—about rebuilding that trust in order for communities to be able to report, for children to be protected, and for there to be a more positive relationship going forward. I completely agree with rebuilding trust being at the heart and the necessity of the issues that underpin child welfare and child wellbeing. My problem is that many of the actions this Government has taken, particularly in the space of protecting the wellbeing of children, have gone to do the antithesis of that, which is to cause increased mistrust within the public.

Cutting critical front-line jobs at Oranga Tamariki means that there are front-line workers who are no longer there doing that good work. Contracts for Oranga Tamariki that enabled children to be kept within their whānau, to be kept out of State care—some of those key contracts right across the country have been cut. Those things, I believe, undermine trust in our system and undermine the ability for good reporting to take place. We’ve also seen the repeal of section 7AA. Strangely enough, when you look through the legislative statement here, it states that this bill we’re talking about is consistent with the Government’s Treaty of Waitangi obligations and that the bill retains provisions intended to recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It’s great that that’s still in there.

The other point I would make, in relation to the rebuilding of trust and how important that is for this piece of legislation, is the fact that a lot of the young people we are talking about—whether they be in State care or within their own families—have been victims of family or sexual violence. I have a deep concern that some of the cost cutting this Government has done, whether it be Police pulling back from family violence or whether it be no additional funding for Te Aorerekura to build a network of support within our communities for family violence, again undermines the trust and the ability for reporting to take place.

Then, finally, we have heard today that the military-style academies—boot camps—will potentially now be able to have force used in them, and it is disheartening that the Prime Minister did not know in Cabinet that that had happened when questioned about that in the media. That does not go to building trust. While it is great that we have a bill that’s having an independent Children’s Commissioner, there are a range of actions that have been taken by this Government that undermine the trust that we need to build in New Zealand if we are really serious about preventing harm to our children, violence not only within State care but also within our communities—and we have a big job ahead of us to do.

I look forward to the submissions, and I encourage submitters, anyone at home who’s tuning in, to put their views in and make them heard loud and clear at select committee. It’s a very important part of our democratic process—that your voices are heard as part of the consideration of this legislation.

I stand in support of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill. The bill covers two broad areas of change: one is to strengthen independent monitoring of the Oranga Tamariki system, and the second is to strengthen advocacy for children and young people’s issues.

The bill seeks to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Government agencies that are charged with overseeing New Zealand’s child protection system, and must include greater advocacy and independence.

The bill will change the Independent Children’s Monitor from being a departmental agency under the Education Review Office to an independent Crown entity. This is designed to ensure independent monitoring, particularly as it is separated entirely from Government.

The bill returns the Children and Young People’s Commission to a single commissioner, taking it away from a five-member board structure. This, in turn, will give children and young people a single and visible advocate. It ensures that those transitioning out of care know who their advocate is, should there be any issues.

Ultimately, the bill is aimed at improving outcomes for children and all young people in New Zealand. I commend this bill to the House.

Kia ora, Mr Speaker. It’s interesting to listen to the debate this afternoon and to hear that there seems to be support across the House—although cautious support from us here in Labour. As I’ve been listening—you know, there’s the old phrase that everyone knows about how it takes a village to raise a child, but I really think sometimes you need to flip that around and consider that it takes a child to remind us of our responsibility to the village.

I think, looking at this legislation—and I was actually a member of the Social Services and Community Committee last term; I was deputy chair when we went through this process. The challenge for me then and the challenge for me now is, again, what is my responsibility to my village and for the sake of our tamariki, our rangatahi? I know that it was challenging when we went through the process, and many of my colleagues from previous years and my friends in my own community do question it, particularly around the five-person board, but I came to a place where I did support it wholeheartedly. The reason I did was because it was around diversity and it was around the whole concept of how you often have to be able to see yourself to be able to actually reach out and to seek the help you need.

We had people like the Hon Karen Chhour, we had people like the previous speaker Paulo Garcia, and other members, speaking about how it’s clumsy and it’s difficult having a five-person board as opposed to one commissioner, but my challenge back to that is: you need to be able to see yourself to actually be in the space or have the ability to actually connect and actually seek out the necessary help.

I look back to when the first iteration of the Chief Children’s Commissioner was established in 1989. There were eight chief commissioners up until we brought this new piece of legislation in, in 2022. Of the eight, two were female—and of the two, both were Māori. Of course, it’s funny that the two wāhine were also Māori. Of those eight commissioners—that’s what it was. I just think that’s where we need to look very carefully about who is stepping up and representing us in this space. My challenge as we cautiously take this to the select committee is for us to listen carefully to the advocates, listen carefully to stakeholders, around how it has actually worked in the last two years in terms of having the five-member board—what was good about it, maybe what was challenging about it; but the fact that that we need to be able to see ourselves in in that space.

The second part I want to briefly talk about is in terms of, I guess, my role—in my whole life, pretty much, particularly in my adult life—working with young people and their families, and, coming back to that village scenario, it’s around how do we in this House always look deeply into legislation, that, actually, the child is at the centre of that.

That’s where I have concerns, but I’m willing to commend the bill today to go to select committee, to look and to listen and to understand where we actually can best do what we can for the sake of our rangatahi, for the sake of our tamariki. The Minister for Social Development and Employment, who is putting the bill through this afternoon, and I sat in the select committee last term and we went through this. As I said at the start, it was challenging, but I thought we needed to look at a different way of doing it. The Labour Party are willing to move forward and to support this bill and to really critique it, to pull it apart but to listen carefully to our stakeholders and those engaged, particularly at the coalface of working with our rangatahi and our tamariki. I commend this bill to the House.

I too rise in support of this bill that the Hon Louise Upston has brought to the House, the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill. We’re in the first reading, and I tautoko what the speaker before me, Glen Bennett, said in terms of acknowledging that something different was tried, but I’m glad that this bill seeks to go back to having that one voice—that one voice that’s going to be there to advocate for our tamariki, for our children. That’s important because it’s such a delicate balance of advocacy that’s taking place in the realm of Oranga Tamariki, of our tamariki, of our rangatahi.

Essentially, there’s two areas of change that this bill seeks to establish: strengthening the independent monitoring of Oranga Tamariki, the system there; and strengthening, as we said, the advocacy for our young people’s issues generally. This is going to be done by making the monitoring independent, and that’s something that our Minister has stressed. In August this year, she said that we want to give our children a greater voice. In May this year, she said there’s going to be stronger oversight for our most vulnerable children.

I’m glad that this bill has got the support of the whole House. It will go to the select committee and go through those avenues that it needs to go to. I commend this bill to the House.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a first time.

The question is, That the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Bill be considered by the Social Services and Community Committee.

Motion agreed to.

Bill referred to the Social Services and Community Committee.

Instruction to Social Services and Community Committee