Media Release
Minister Must Stick To Her Guns
Friday, 19 December, 2008
The Minister of Social Development, Paula Bennett, has welcomed the Human Rights Tribunal finding against the Child
Poverty Action Group (CPAG) claim that children of beneficiaries are discriminated against because their parents do not
receive the In Work tax credit.
Welfare Commentator , Lindsay Mitchell, noted however that the Associate Minister of Social Development, Tariana Turia,
may not join in celebrating the good sense the Human Rights Tribunal has shown. "The Maori Party strongly supported the
action of the CPAG. Many children of beneficiaries are Maori and the DPB is an integral part of the Maori community, "
she said today.
"Fortunately Ms Bennett is able to grasp the bigger picture and appreciate that preserving an incentive for parents to
work, which is in the long term best interests of children, is vital. As the CPAG is now seeking a meeting with the
government to plead its case directly, it is to be hoped that they do not aim to play one minister off against the
other."
ends