Collins Judith: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Collins Judith: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:623;Page:18875] 
6.  
JUDITH COLLINS (National—Clevedon) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: Why was the plan to introduce a single benefit in 2002 which was announced by him in 2000 not carried out? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 In 2001 when the Government set out its agenda for change in the  
Pathways to Opportunities 
 document we identified the reforms that would lead to a simpler system focused on moving people into work. The single core benefit system was identified as something that would be implemented in our second term of Government. We recently announced a decision to implement the simplified system. The roll-out of the new service model will begin in May this year with legislation introduced hopefully by the end of the year. 
Judith Collins 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister made no attempt to answer the question as to why it was not introduced in 2002 as he had promised in 2000. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member said that he was not going to. I heard him deny that. 
Judith Collins 
: Will any beneficiaries receive the single benefit as part of the pilot of the Government’s new scheme in May; if not why has he yet again trumpeted his single benefit proposal when nothing is planned to change for at least another 2 years? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: People cannot receive a single core benefit of course until it is legal; therefore we have to pass legislation through the House. The reason that we announce things well ahead is so the officials can now go ahead with drafting the legislation and implementing the policy. 
Russell Fairbrother 
: What steps has the Government already taken to help more New Zealanders into work? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Since 2001 the Government has been working on an ambitious programme to reform the system. Significant milestones are the abolition of the Work for the Dole scheme and the focus on real jobs employment plans for those on the domestic purposes benefit intensive case management for the long-term unemployed hugely successful partnerships with industry the Working for Families package announced last year and the new service for sickness and invalid beneficiaries. We have seen the results of that with 100000 fewer people being on benefits with 264000 more New Zealanders being in work and with New Zealand having the lowest unemployment rate in the OECD. It is tiring but worthwhile work. 
Sue Bradford 
: When can members of Parliament and the public expect to see sufficient detail about the new single benefit to understand how it will work; and can the Minister assure invalids beneficiaries that their core benefit will not be reduced under the new system? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: We have already made it clear that beneficiaries know there will be no financial losers in the changes at all. The programme for change was set out when we released the policy. During this year we will be starting on the new service model legislation to be introduced later this year all going very well. I am happy to give the details of that to the member in a private seminar some time around this building if as usual she wants to be given one. 
Judith Collins 
: Can the Minister make clear to the House how a single benefit with multiple add-ons will be any less complicated to administer than a defined number of benefits; if so why does he think that every major newspaper in this country has described his scheme variously as “a lemon” “Maharey’s mystery” or “heartless disaster-in-waiting”? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: By my count we won on the editorials I have to say. But of course all the experts who write editorials are often applying for social policy jobs and they may well get one. This is how it simplifies matters—if I could just explain this to the member because I know she needs to understand. There are currently seven major benefits and three smaller ones. For those seven benefits there are five sets of eligibility criteria. There are seven sets of rules as to how one gets add-ons within those benefits. There are four sets of eligibility criteria for whether one is a job seeker or not. There are something like 30 additional benefits a person can get from those seven benefits five sets of eligibility criteria and so on. The single core benefit will provide one benefit with one set of criteria and will be very simple to operate. 
Judy Turner 
: Can the Minister confirm that if the move towards a single benefit is successful in reducing the amount of time spent on administering benefits then the role of Work and Income case managers will have to change dramatically; if so will he consider allowing non-governmental organisations to assume that role by paying them for placing people into sustainable employment who otherwise would find it difficult to get a job? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Yes one of the aims of the changes is to reduce the around 70 percent of time spent by front-line case managers on administering the system so that they can spend that sort of time on assisting a person to go and get a job. At the moment no we have not considered taking those case management obligations out into the community. It is something we have done in partnership with some organisations around the community but right now my view is that it is a statutory right to access income support and it therefore should be administered by the State. 
Judith Collins 
: Why has the Minister disregarded the view expressed by the  
Dominion Post 
 on 24 February 2005 that: “There is little about human behaviour that the Government can influence without employing a financial carrot and stick approach.” or does he expect that just reducing the number of types of benefits will by itself get beneficiaries into work? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: That is an extraordinary question. Since 2000 this Government has been implementing a whole range of highly successful policies that have helped to reduce unemployment to 3.6 percent—100000 beneficiaries off the benefit in 5 years. The National Party says it will do that in 10 years. If I was a voter I would stick with the party that has made that success. 
Judith Collins 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister really did not address the question at all. We just got a tirade about something. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Perhaps the Minister could very briefly get to the point of the first question asked by the member. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The answer is that we do not expect the single benefit on its own to gain those results. We have already gained extraordinary results from the range of policies I have just outlined. What we hope to gain from simplifying the benefit system is that we will do even better. 
Judith Collins 
: I seek leave of the House to table a report from the  
Dominion  
of 18 July 2000 in which the Minister is quoted as saying that he hoped to have the universal benefit finalised by 2002 and that it would be the final stage of the Government’s welfare reforms. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought. Is there any objection? There is objection.