KAREN CHHOUR (ACT): Thank you, Mr Speaker. We often don't have the hard conversations that are needed for many reasons. They are too hard to hear or we don't want to face the truth that things are not as they should be. I've come into this role, knowing that I'm going to have to have some of these hard conversations about the care of our children in this country. In an ideal world, we would not need someone like me to stand here and say New Zealand deserves better; unfortunately, that's what I'm having to do. I've watched over the years as Governments, past and present, tiptoe around issues that are so important to the average New Zealander. I've waited for a Government that had the courage to stand up and start saying what needed to be said; unfortunately, this never seems to happen. For years I've never really told my story, as I was ashamed of it. As I got older, I realised, unless we are honest with ourselves about our past, we cannot move forward. So here it goes.