Moroney Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMoroney Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 08 May 2014. Volume:698;Page:17689. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]7.SUE MORONEY (Labour) to theMinister of Finance: Will he use a financial veto on the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months’ Paid Leave) Amendment Bill to stop families from having 26 weeks paid parental leave?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance): The member will just have to wait and see. It will depend on the progress of the bill through the House. No decision has been made yet because it is not required.Sue Moroney: In response to that answer why has National used a range of delaying tactics including the threat of a financial veto an extension of the report-back date from the Government Administration Committee and filibustering on members’ day to prevent a second vote from taking place to progress extending paid parental leave to 26 weeks?Mr SPEAKER: In so far as there is ministerial responsibility the Hon Bill English.Hon BILL ENGLISH: I am not sure what the member is referring to but the House has processes to ensure that policies that members propose through members’ bills have the opportunity to be improved. The member maybe has not taken all those opportunities.Sue Moroney: Given that answer and given that there is a bill currently before the House from the Labour Party that proposes to extend paid parental leave will he propose amendments to that bill to progress any proposals to extend paid parental leaveand therefore honour the commitment made by his party to me last year or will he play politics and continue to delay and oppose that bill?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I have to say that we spend a bit less time worrying about the progress of Labour members’ bills than we do about ensuring that the Government sustains its ability to support hundreds of thousands of families. The Labour Party has picked out one group that it favours. It is not the only group of families. The Government will continue with its position which it has always had and that is that when the extension of paid parental leave which currently costs around $370 million or more is affordable we will look at it.Sue Moroney: Can he assure the House then that his proposal for families who are currently not eligible for paid parental leave will be superior to the $60 per week extra these families would get under Labour’s Best Start package?Hon BILL ENGLISH: It is hard to know what families would get under Labour’s Best Start policy because Labour is confused about it itself and has misled the public by not announcing that it was abolishing some support for families. So the answer is no. We find it difficult to compare because like most Labour policies it is misleading and hard to understand.Sue Moroney: Does he accept then that ColmarBrunton found that 62 percent of New Zealanders support Labour’s bill to extend paid parental leave to 26 weeks that the select committee heard submissions where 99.6 percent were in favour that the bill has a parliamentary majority and that the only thing standing between families and 26 weeks of paid parental leave is National’s financial veto?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I am surprised it was only 62 percent. What happened to the other 38 percent who did not support getting some extra free stuff from the Government? The Government of course has got to balance up the natural desire of New Zealanders to see children better supported with the long-run sustainability of those schemes. I would have to say that New Zealand families have done an extremely good job through difficult times and we have been able to sustain extensive support for families through the recession. As the economy continues to recover we might have more choices.