Lee Melissa: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLee Melissa: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 01 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19111. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MELISSA LEE (Chairperson of the Social Services Committee):Following Carol Beaumont’s speech I would like to commend her for her passion in her speech regarding the domestic violence situation in this country and the violence that our children are facing. I thank the member for participating in the inquiry that the Social Services Committee has been undertaking.I am proud to stand on this side of the Chamber as a member of the National-led Government under the fantastic leadership of our Prime Minister John Key. We are a strong united caucus behind a strong leader and we have a Government that has led the country from recession to sustained growth. We have an economy that has grown by 3.8 percent in the year to the end of March the third-highest among the world’s developed economies. It is forecast to reach 4 percent next year which is a far cry from the recession we inherited back in 2008.I was sitting here listening to members opposite talking about some of the social services and social welfare policies and I was sort of wondering whether we were living in the same country or not because only a net 250 people moved to Australia in May this year which is the lowest since the data started in 1996. Under Labour 3000 New Zealanders a month crossed the Tasman. That was a lot of Kiwis leaving our shores. In the past year alone there were more jobs that were created and if we stick to the Government’s programme the average full-time wage is expected to rise to something like $62000 or $63000 which is up by about $8000 in the next 4 years. This follows a $3000 increase in the average wage over the past 3 years.As the economy grows families will benefit from more jobs and higher wages and we are making sure that families will also be among the first to benefit from the extra Government spending because family is very important. As members opposite have also said families are the core of our nation. Children are the core of our nation. I am very proud to say that in this Budget we are investing $500 million in a package of practical support for young families and the vulnerable children who are most in need. There is $33.4 million extra to support vulnerable children with eight new children’s teams to work with at-risk children and families and to support children in care.I know that some members talked about having to fix poverty but child abuse happens right across society. It does not happen just in poor families; it happens everywhere. So poverty is not the reason that children are abused. Abuse happened simply because they were being abused by abusers. Some children happen to have a lower socio-economic status and some a higher one. It is right across the board and I am appalled that members opposite keep on talking about poverty being the reason for it.Earlier in a different speech—when we were talking about the Vulnerable Children Bill—I said that poverty cannot be a reason for abusing children. Nothing can be a reason or an excuse to abuse children. It is just abusers abusing children full stop. There is no tolerance for that. I know Carol Beaumont talked about the abuse level. I cannot believe that she would actually give poverty as an excuse for children being abused in this country.Carol Beaumont: It’s not an excuse but it is a fact.MELISSA LEE: Your members have actually said that it was an explanation; it was an excuse. The Government is taking its responsibility to support families very seriously. We are putting millions of dollars into child protection and services for vulnerable children and their families.The other thing that I am very very pleased about in the work that Paula Bennett has done—and I would like to applaud the Ministers in the social welfare sector: both the Hon Paula Bennett and Chester Borrows. One of the things I am most proud of as a member personally is the reduction in teen pregnancies that we have seen. From the policies that we have put through in this Government we have seen lower rates of teenagers getting pregnant. I am very positive for the young girls. For them they will have a future in education. I am not saying that they would make terrible parents but they will now have options. I think that is a fantastic record. There is $155.7 million more for early childhood education which has to be celebrated.