[Sitting date: 02 December 2014. Volume:702;Page:9. Text is subject to correction.]

10. JAN LOGIE (Green) to the Minister for Social Development : Does she agree with paediatrician Professor Innes Asher, who is calling on the Government to “lift incomes for those in paid work and those supported by the income support benefits”?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Social Development): Yes, and although the number of children living in hardship has dropped, this Government is very focused on lifting the incomes of all New Zealanders. That is why our priorities are on growing the economy and getting people off welfare. According to the Statistics New Zealand household economic survey, household incomes have risen 9 percent, and we also have 1,600 people going off welfare and into work every week. For low-income families we are spending, for example, $2.5 billion a year on Working for Families, $4.4 billion on benefits, and $1.9 billion a year on housing assistance. We have maintained that support throughout the recession and the Canterbury earthquakes, when finances were extremely tight and other countries were introducing austerity measures. Plus we are funding programmes like breakfasts in all schools that want it, social workers in all low-decile schools, and extra support for budgeting services. Yes, there are New Zealanders doing it tough, and the Government continues by making sure that the billions we already spend each year on supporting families are being spent in the most effective way.

Jan Logie : Is the Minister concerned that even with all of that beneficence, these children are still living in poverty because the basic benefit levels are set too low?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY : I do not think there is a member in this House who is not concerned and who does not want to see every New Zealand child live a full and successful life. But the premise that that member puts into her question is incorrect.

Jan Logie : Does she accept it is not possible or even appropriate for all parents to be in paid work—for example, parents going through chemotherapy, parents caring for severely disabled children, or parents traumatised by violent relationships?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY : Yes, that is correct, and our benefit system supports exactly those people throughout those troubles.

Jan Logie : Why will she not set aside ideology and lift the incomes of the parents who cannot work, so that no New Zealand child has to live in poverty, which is what her current policy settings are subjecting them to?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY : I wish it was that easy, actually. The issues around poverty are complex and numerous, and take a great deal of effort over a long period of time. And in the very best of times, under the previous Labour Government, those children living in poverty hardly moved at all. So to expect us, after recovering from an economic recession, to work miracles in a short period of time—this Government is determined to work to ensure that all New Zealand children can enjoy a full life.

Carmel Sepuloni : Will she consider lifting the abatement rate from $100 to $150 as a way in which to lift incomes for those who are in paid work and supported by income support benefits; if not, why not?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY : This Government is looking at a range of measures to address some of the issues that have been raised in the Child Poverty Monitor released today, and in the work that this Government has been doing. But you also have to be careful that you maintain the advantage for people who are working, and that is why this Government is focused so much on getting people back into work—1,600 people a week leaving the benefit to get back into work has to be better for their families in the long term.

ENDS

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