Lotu-Iiga Sam: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Lotu-Iiga Sam: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 09 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:2091. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA (National—Maungakiekie) 
: 
 It is an honour to take this opportunity in the general debate to contribute and to thank the Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett. She is not here right now but I thank the Minister for her courage her conviction and her commitment to this country by bringing these welfare reforms to the House.  
I have one issue with Miss Bennett though. I have one issue. She said it should have been Cunliffe. I look over there and I say: “It’s gonna be Robertson.” It has got to be Robertson. That is the look on his face and no matter what anyone says Mr Robertson and his henchman Mr Mallard are preparing the coup. Mr Parker—yes he could be your deputy. He could be the deputy for Mr Robertson but we all know that the left of the Labour Party is planning a clandestine dinner if not a barbecue in the next few weeks.  
Mr Parker said that we have not brought the big issues to this House this afternoon. Well Mr Parker may I just say that if long-term welfare dependency and trapping people in lives of limited choices poverty and poor outcomes is not a big issue in this country then I say to please come and visit an electorate because I do not think that Mr Parker as a list MP quite understands what is going on out in middle New Zealand. I have seen this not only in my electorate but in my family. I have seen long-term dependency hurt people whom I love and care for and that is why I support the reforms of this Minister and I support the Prime Minister.  
So what does it mean? We will be putting people who want to work and who should work back into work. I hear all the claims from across the Chamber that there are no jobs. Well I looked on the internet just before I came to this Chamber and as at 1.30 p.m. TradeMe had 11195 jobs 9640 of which are full-time roles. SEEK had 16046. 
Hon Simon Bridges 
: iPredict had Grant Robertson as the next leader. 
Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA 
: Mr Bridges said Grant Robertson is going to be the next leader on iPredict so he has been doing his research too. So please do not tell me that there are no jobs out in our communities. The Labour Party needs to do a bit of research get out and find out what is actually going on in our electorates.  
Getting back to Budget 2012 which Mr Parker asked about this Government is going to invest $287.5 million over the next 4 years into welfare. That is over and above—over and above—what has already been allocated. It is about investing in our people. So what are we doing? We are putting parenting services in place. We are putting budgeting services in place. We are having mentors to help the young and help the unemployed and those on benefits to get back into work. The Minister was quite correct when she asked what Labour would do. What would Labour do? The big fat answer to that is a big zero. It would not do anything. It wants to leave these poor people to suffer and be vulnerable over a long period of time.  
I commend the Minister. I support these reforms. I look forward to these reforms saving over the next 4 years $1 billion worth of taxpayers’ money. That is why we are doing it. We are here to help the people of New Zealand. We are here to get this country back on an economic track of fiscal responsibility and fiscal competence. This National Government is delivering the promises to New Zealanders.