3. Child Poverty Reduction—Government Measures and ReportingHon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime MinisterChild Poverty Reduction—Government Measures and Reporting3. Hon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her statements?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): In the context in which they were given yes.Hon Paula Bennett: Does she stand by her statement that My Government will have a key focus on reducing child poverty."; and if so how many children will be moved out of poverty due to her mini-Budget announcement at the end of last year given Treasury have admitted they got their analysis wrong?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes absolutely we stand by our ambition to improve the well-being of children and particularly the incomes of the households they live in. As the member will be aware Treasury has acknowledged that there were issues with their modelling and that the numbers that we used at the time of the mini-Budget were inaccurate. We're waiting for those figures to be redone and as soon as they are we'll provide them. My understanding is that the effect of that modelling error is far-reaching and has affected the last Government's numbers as well.Hon Paula Bennett: So if reducing child poverty is her priority then when will she be able to tell New Zealanders what her package will actually be able to do? It's been weeks and over a month and I would've thought that would be a priority—to be able to give the numbers.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Oh look as the member knows we actually released what we believed to be the impact at the time. Treasury has since said that their modelling was incorrect. That affects the last Government's numbers as well so my question to the Opposition would be: what impact would your Budget have had? It is a plague on all our houses. We wait keenly for that information because I'm as keen to share it with this House as the member is.Hon Paula Bennett: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I was purposely not political. I'm just interested in when we might have a number. I freely admit that it was when the Opposition was—SPEAKER: And—[Interruption] Order! I heard the Prime Minister say that the material is not available yet and would be released when it was. I don't think one can be more specific than that.Hon Paula Bennett: How will the Government monitor and report whether organisations that work with vulnerable children and receive taxpayers' funding are making a difference?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Accountability in that area is of course important. What we're talking about at the moment though is the accountability of the Government to make sure that we're directing resource into doing all we can to lift families on low incomes out of deprivation and hardship. But of course we keep organisations to the same transparency and accountability standards as any Government would.Hon Paula Bennett: So will she or any of her Ministers be putting in a bid to increase funding for organisations that are working with vulnerable children for this year's Budget?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Our focus on vulnerable children is consistent. In fact we're proposing that we retain the action plan around vulnerable children that the last Government floated. But Budget bids will be revealed at the time that the Budget is announced.Hon Paula Bennett: So will the Prime Minister or any of her Ministers actually put in a bid to retain the funding for KidsCan or increase it when it does such crucial work for New Zealand's children that need it most?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As we've already outlined in past questions that will be made clear at the time Budget bids are revealed as part of Budget 2018.David Seymour: How will the Prime Minister convince the public that the Government's new statistical invented poverty measure is more credible than the last one?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: In fact there is an internationally robust set of measures used by the OECD used by UNICEF that only seem to be in dispute by ACT.SPEAKER: Question No. 3—Tamati Coffey.Tamati Coffey: Ah that'd be 4 but thank you. Mr Speaker—SPEAKER: That's—Hon Members: Oh!SPEAKER: Well you're certainly not Paula Bennett."