King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:672;Page:18410] 
2. 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) 
 to the  
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: Does she agree with the statement by Sir Peter Gluckman Chief Science Adviser to the Prime Minister in relation to the formation of policy in her portfolio delegation for family violence that “policy formed without consideration of the most relevant knowledge available is far less likely to serve the nation well”; if not why not? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
 on behalf of the  
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: Yes. 
Hon Annette King 
: Does she agree with Sir Peter’s statement that ongoing evaluation of policy decisions is needed to gauge whether such policies and initiatives should be sustained or revised? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Yes in some respects; in some respects that is what this Government has been doing for the last 2½—nearly 3—years. We have been looking at the services that work and comparing that against them. I also agree with Sir Peter Gluckman where he states in the same document: “One suspects that there are many Government-funded programmes now in place that when properly assessed would not meet objective tests of effectiveness;”. Effectively I am saying that change is also needed. 
Hon Annette King 
: Did she know that the Te Rito family violence fund and programme which she has just scrapped had been evaluated and was found to be fully embedded at a community level to be synonymous with family violence prevention to be invested in families’ strengths and capabilities to have identified and supported families with needs and to have increased the whole-of-family/whanau focus; if she did know why did she scrap it considering that it met the so-called goals and had been evaluated as working? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Yes. The review of Te Rito phase two was actually done in 2005. When we looked at it in 2011 we felt that it needed to be reviewed and that we needed to look at where that funding was going and whether it was going most effectively to the front line. Those Te Rito providers can apply and have applied for that extra funding. More funding is going into family violence initiatives from this Government and that is indeed a positive thing. 
Hon Annette King 
: I seek leave to table the  
Review of the Te Rito Phase II Collaborative Community Family Violence Prevention Fund 
 2009—not 2005—which is the most up-to-date one. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Hon Annette King 
: Is the Minister aware that the loss of Te Rito is more than the loss of funding; it is the loss of the networks the name recognition the investment in resources and the community support that was built up? As one person put it: “The network could not get a lot done without Te Rito funding. We just didn’t have the time. The community networks’ buy-in now is huge.” 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Looking at the Te Rito funding all of those applications have been accepted. They are going through a process. There is more money; in fact the Minister for Social Development and Employment put an extra $2.8 million into these family violence initiatives that are coming out. So they may actually be enhanced and they may look better. I understand the scaremongering from the other side of the House but that is all it is. 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I take exception— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I apologise to the member. A point of order has been called and it will be heard in silence. 
Hon Annette King 
: I take exception to the comment “scaremongering”. I have used documents provided to me— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: It is OK for the member to object but I do not want her to carry on and debate the issue. I think the question asked was a reasonable question and did not deserve to have that kind of comment. I ask the Minister to refrain from that when the question is a reasonable question. 
Hon Annette King 
: Why is Te Rito funding being transferred to the Family-centred Services Fund to foster family and whanau well-being but many agencies that now provide family violence programmes under Te Rito have been told they do not fit the criteria to get the money? They will not be providing the services so who will be and when will these new services start? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Because family violence does not happen in isolation; it happens within a family it happens to more than one person and the results need to come from within. Are we moving more funding to front-line services? Is this Government looking very carefully at what is and is not working and moving funding in there? Yes we are and I am extremely proud of it. More money is going into family violence services under this Government. 
Hon Annette King 
: How does cutting over $300000 from women’s refuges remove funding from the back line or the front line? What it does is just remove funding for a service to women and children in New Zealand. 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Overall funding to refuges both those part of and those separate from the collective has increased by 43 percent over the last 4 years. In addition refuges other than the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges have received more than $600000 and more than $1 million from the Community Response Fund. On top of that the collective has received more than $3 million from the fund