Sepuloni CarmelSOCIAL SECURITY (COVID-19 INCOME RELIEF PAYMENT TO BE INCOME) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development): I move That the Social Security (COVID-19 Income Relief Payment to be Income) Amendment Bill be now read a first time.This bill contains minor and technical amendments to ensure that our recently announced COVID-19 income relief payment can be implemented on 8 June 2020. On Monday this Government announced the COVID-19 income relief payment to provide support for people who have lost work since March due to the impacts of COVID-19. Like Australia the UK and many other countries we can't escape the reality that there will be job losses and people's lives will be affected. We've already taken significant measures to support people protect jobs and help businesses stay afloat against the impacts of COVID-19. Just to name a few we implemented the wage subsidy which has supported more than 1.6 million employees throughout lockdown; increased main benefits by $25 per week and doubled the winter energy payment; developed a small-business cash-flow loan scheme; injected $27 million into the social services sector; and invested a further $30 million through civil defence emergency management into helping those with immediate needs around food and welfare.As with the global financial crisis and the Canterbury earthquakes widespread redundancies were expected and temporary financial assistance was introduced to reduce the impact on those who lost their jobs. The COVID-19 income relief payment will help cushion the blow for families who have experienced an unexpected job loss due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. This payment is temporary financial assistance in recognition of those New Zealanders impacted by job losses due to COVID-19 that may not be eligible for support in our current welfare system and/or find themselves unemployed at a time where the labour market is going to be much more difficult to navigate.This payment is one of a range of financial assistance initiatives that the Government is providing to New Zealanders. Under our confidence and supply agreement we committed to an overhaul of the welfare system and this Government has already taken steps to increase income for New Zealanders. We implemented our Families Package which was the biggest boost in household income in a decade for thousands of families. In Budget 2019 for the first time in New Zealand's history we indexed main benefit increases to wages and also removed the punitive sanction 192. And as I mentioned in this speech this year we have increased main benefits and doubled the winter energy payment. We are already seeing the impacts of this. For example for a person receiving sole parent support with a six-month-old no other income and living in Nelson increases under this Government have meant a total increase of $155.91 compared to a person in the same situation in 2017.This Government has also delivered a jobs Budget that not only extends the wage subsidy for our hardest-hit sectors but also is focused on creating thousands of jobs. Our $1.6 billion trades and apprenticeships training package will provide opportunities—SPEAKER: Order! Order! I apologise for interrupting the member but the time has come for me to leave the Chair for the dinner adjournment.Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: We are investing an additional $150 million into expanding the Ministry of Social Development's (MSD's) employment services enabling MSD to respond to increased demand including providing some services to people before they enter the benefit system. Other investments include $12.5 million towards strengthening employment services for disabled people and $59.6 million towards expanding skills for industries' pre-employment and in-work training to support the Government's construction accord. These initiatives will make a huge difference to New Zealanders seeking further work or training opportunities and we also know that unemployment unfortunately is likely to get worse before it gets better. That's why the COVID-19 income relief payment is an important part of the next steps of the Government's response to COVID-19.We know that many people who may be faced with job loss might not qualify for a benefit. In ordinary times we'd expect many of these people to quickly find other work or manage their costs over time without extra support. However these unprecedented times we face mean many of these families and individuals will be under pressure to get back on their feet quickly to meet their living costs but will be doing this in a different labour market than they have faced before. This payment will provide a cushion for up to 12 weeks for people who experience a job loss between 1 March and 30 October this year and whose partners earn under $2000 per week. The payment has two rates: $490 for those previously in full-time employment and $250 for people previously in part-time employment. We know that some people may need additional income support; so if eligible recipients can access supplementary and hardship assistance from the Ministry of Social Development.This bill ensures that entitlement to this additional assistance will accurately reflect people's circumstances by taking this payment into account when determining eligibility. The bill does this by making a minor amendment to include the COVID-19 income relief payment programme which I am establishing as a welfare programme in the definition of income in the Social Security Act 2018. As the payment itself is temporary so is the amendment in this bill. The provision making the payment income will be repealed as soon as the programme is revoked and not replaced. We're moving apace so that those who will find some income relief from this payment can access that support as soon as possible. This bill helps us achieve this and I commend this bill to the House.