Parliament puts vulnerable children before politics

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett was delighted to get unanimous support from Parliament for the Vulnerable Children Bill at first reading.

“This legislation is part of the wider Children’s Action Plan, with more than 30 initiatives to prevent child abuse and improve the lives of our most vulnerable children,” says Mrs Bennett.

“I’ve deliberately kept politics out of this and I’m delighted Opposition parties have found a way to support this work in exactly the same vein.”

This cross-party support is hugely significant for communities and individuals across New Zealand who’ve passionately adopted the Children’s Action Plan.

“It’s absolutely fair that parties have supported this legislation to Select Committee but reserve the right to debate and discuss the detail further before committing to the next step, I welcome that debate.”

“We are making major changes affecting thousands of New Zealanders.”

The Vulnerable Children Bill starts with leadership; making the heads of Health, Education, Police, Justice and Social Development accountable for a vulnerable children’s plan.

“This will have a direct impact on frontline workers in every one of those departments because policies will change,” says Mrs Bennett.

There will be new child protection policies for the five agencies as well as also Te Puni Kokiri, Ministry of Business, Employment and Innovation, District Health Boards and school Boards of Trustees.

New standardised screening and vetting checks of the Government Children’s Workforce and restrictions to stop people with serious convictions from working closely with children, will provide greater frontline protections.

Judges will be able to place Child Harm Prevention Orders on adults who pose a serious risk to children.

Only three people will be able to apply for such an order; the Chief Executives of Corrections or Ministry of Social Development or the Police Commissioner.

“The process of determining risk will be robust and the threshold high.”

“This Government has weighed up individual freedoms against the protection of children; Cabinet thought about this long and hard.”

“We have a responsibility to protect children from those who pose a serious risk to their safety, so we are putting children ahead of adults.”

“I look forward to Select Committee wrestling with this one,” says Mrs Bennett.

Courts will be able to curtail and define guardianship rights of birth parents in who risk stability for a child with Home for Life carers.

Parents who seriously abuse or even kill children will have to prove they are safe to parent again; if they go on to have another child.

Mrs Bennett says all of these changes are about a better life for the most vulnerable children in New Zealand.

“New Zealanders asked us to take action and make a difference to our appalling child abuse record. That’s what we’re doing,” says Mrs Bennett.

The Vulnerable Children omnibus Bill proposes two new Acts: the Vulnerable Children Act, and the Child Harm Prevention Orders Act.

It also amends the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 and the KiwiSaver Act 2006 and makes consequential amendments to a number of other Acts.

For more information go to: www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz