Ardern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeArdern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 30 January 2014. Volume:696;Page:15699. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]8.JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) to theDeputy Prime Minister: Does he agree with the Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty that “The available evidence overwhelmingly supports greater investment in the early years of a child’s life”?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Deputy Prime Minister): I agree that the early years of life are crucial for a child’s development but there is no evidence that overwhelmingly supports any investment of any sort in the early years of a child’s life. If a particular programme can improve outcomes for children and is cost-effective then the Government looks very closely at that and indeed has initiated a significant number of programmes that it believes fulfil that criteria such as lifting child immunisation rates to a now record level applying a great deal of time and resources to protecting our most vulnerable children from violence and reaching out to those families who find it most difficult to access early childhood education. There is considerable other Government investment in the early years through maternity services child health services social housing Family Start and of course through extensive income support paid to parents.Jacinda Ardern: Why does the Deputy Prime Minister oppose greater income support for parents in the first year of their baby’s life?Hon BILL ENGLISH: It depends on which parents of course because some of those who thought Labour meant they would get $60 a week have found out that they actually will not get $60 a week. Labour has not yet fronted up to be honest to parents about its programme—Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I ask that you have the Minister address the question. He has begun by talking about what he believes to be the Labour Party’s policy. The question was a direct question to him about his view and he has not actually even come to that at all.Mr SPEAKER: I am going to ask Jacinda Ardern to repeat the question please.Jacinda Ardern: Why does the Deputy Prime Minister oppose greater income support for parents in the first year of their baby’s life?Hon BILL ENGLISH: We do not in principle oppose greater income support. What we support are cost-effective interventions particularly for those children who are most vulnerable. For instance too many of our children are subject to violence. Paying cash to their parents will not necessarily fix that. In fact if that was the solution then the Working for Families package would have fixed the problem. But in fact the Government led by the Hon Paula Bennett is putting significant effort and resources into reorganising the way the Government can protect our most vulnerable childrenfrom violence and there are some early signs of success. But if more money for parents was the solution there would be no violence against children in New Zealand.Jacinda Ardern: Why does he support paid parental leave but not the Best Start payment?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Because I am still trying to work out what the Best Start payment is and who would get it. But I have come to the conclusion that I know the policy better than the leader of the Labour Party David Cunliffe.Jacinda Ardern: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think you will find it was a very straight question to the Deputy Prime Minister—Mr SPEAKER: And I thought the member got a very straight answer. Does the member have further supplementary questions?Jacinda Ardern: Why does he agree with the principle of universalism for our New Zealand superannuation but not for the first year of a baby’s life?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The fact is that New Zealanders had debates about both of those things and having found myself and my party on the wrong side of that debate we know New Zealanders strongly support universal provision for superannuitants. That is the result of 20 or 30 years of vigorous political discussion. In the case of support for children our opinion and that of the New Zealand public is I think the same. Parents who are raising children and who need more cash get extensive support from the taxpayer. But I repeat again that the biggest gains to be made are for our most vulnerable children not for those who are in the households of parents earning $150000.Tim Macindoe: Has the Deputy Prime Minister received any reports of investment in the first year of a child’s life being taken away?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Yes. I understand there is a proposal to scrap the parental tax credit which pays up to $1200 to families of newborn babies who are on a low or middle income who are not on a benefit and who do not receive paid parental leave. Around 15000 families get the parental tax credit. That is about a quarter of all families with a newborn child. So under the proposal a quarter of all families would lose $1200 in the first year of their child’s life. This is just one of a number of omissions from the speech of the Labour Party leader David Cunliffe. He would not tell the parents the truth.Grant Robertson: Stop lying.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I will not accept any member interjecting with that interjection across the House.Jacinda Ardern: Can the Deputy Prime Minister tell the House how much better off parents who currently receive the parental tax credit will be when they all receive the Best Start payment as Labour has proposed?Mr SPEAKER: Well I struggle to see how the Minister has responsibility for that but the Hon Bill English can—Hon BILL ENGLISH: It is hard for us to know but I can say this. If the Labour Party leader had stated the case correctly he would have said that about one-third of parents would get $60 a week for the first year of a child’s life and around 15000 would get about $23 not $60. I do not know why he did not tell them the truth in his speech.Jacinda Ardern: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was a very straightforward question. I asked the Deputy Prime Minister what the difference was between the two—Mr SPEAKER: Order! It was doubtful whether the question was in order where the member was effectively asking the Minister to then comment on a proposed party policy by the Labour Party.Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The difficulty with your ruling is that the supplementary question asked by Tim Macindoe invited the Deputy Prime Minister to comment at some length on the Labour Party policy which he did without interruption. He got it wrong. He does not know what he is talking about—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member makes a reasonable point but I did not rule the question out of order. I left the question there to be answered and in my opinion the Minister has addressed the question.Te Ururoa Flavell:Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. Kia oratātou. Does he agree with the children consulted by the Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty about the importance of children being able to play with friends even if they are poor; if so what support can the Government provide to ensure free leisure and recreational activities are available especially in disadvantaged neighbourhoods?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The Government has helped fund around 30000 places on holiday programmes for children who would fit that definition. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the persistent advocacy of theMāori Party through the Ministerial Committee on Poverty for exactly that group of children. A number of the initiatives the Government has taken up have been at the proposition of theMāori Party.Jacinda Ardern: How positive exactly has the National Party polling on the Best Start package been to justify the ongoing attack against Labour and this policy?Hon BILL ENGLISH: As far as I am aware there is no polling on the “Bad Start” package. There is no point in asking people about the package because they do not know what it is. That is because the leader of the Labour Party does not know what it is. I am sure that when he makes it clear the public will then understand and then it may be worth asking them. But the member may have noticed that in the Stuff poll the comments were probably a good deal more negative than she had anticipated.Mr SPEAKER: Supplementary question the Hon—[Interruption] Order! The Hon Annette King has every right to ask a supplementary question and I am waiting with anticipation.Hon Annette King: Does the Government—Hon Steven Joyce: Can we get you a spade?Hon Annette King: Just wait a minute Mr Joyce; I will get it out.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Can we just have the question.Hon Annette King: It is not about you Steven. Does—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have given the chance for the Hon Annette King to ask a supplementary question.Hon Annette King: Does the Government support an antenatal policy—Hon Anne Tolley: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. On two occasions now members of the Opposition have remained on their feet while you have stood. You were very clear in the House yesterday that when you stood we all had to sit down. I called out across the House and was told to get stuffed but you might have a better chance. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am just checking whether the member picked up the point of order. The House will settle down. I have given a supplementary question to the Opposition.Hon Annette King: Does the Government support an antenatal policy that would require district health boards to book the majority of pregnant women for an antenatal assessment by 10 weeks’ gestation as recommended in a recent Health Committee report?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Well it is like a lot of propositions to do with supporting our families and children—there is merit in it. The question is does it balance up as the highest priority particularly for the most vulnerable children? Often we find that thesegood ideas like giving $60 a week to families on $150000 have some merit but the real problems are with those who are most vulnerable. So our priority for antenatal checks would be to ensure that those mothers who have the most difficulty accessing health care—because for instance they have a transitory lifestyle—would be the top priority because that is where you get the return on a significant investment.