10. Question No. 10—Prime MinisterKAREN CHHOUR (ACT) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 10—Prime Minister10. KAREN CHHOUR (ACT) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her statement We always hear about New Zealand being a great place to raise a family—and that's certainly true. But we can always do more"? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes. I made this comment as part of a wider statement about making New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child. This Government remains committed to improving the wellbeing of Kiwi kids. That's why we've developed for the first time an all-of-Government strategy focused solely on improving the lives of all children the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy and we've set ourselves bold and ambitious child poverty targets. Already we're providing free and healthy school lunches to 88000 students in 322 schools and kura across the country we've increased the incomes of around 96000 sole parents by an average of $132 per week we've extended free and low-cost GP visits to 56000 13-year-olds and we've provided our Best Start payment to over 100000 parents of newborn babies and extended paid parental leave. Under this Government we've seen one of the largest policy-driven falls in child poverty in a very long time but there's also more to do. Karen Chhour: Has she seen the video produced by Mothers Matter released today? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Unfortunately no I haven't. But I would say to the member if she chooses to put on notice any specific subject matter I will always do my best to come to the House prepared and able to answer. Karen Chhour: What does she say to the statement from Mothers Matter that "many women are encouraged to leave just hours after birth despite our government's commitment to a full 48-hour minimum funding per birth"? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We know that we have of course minimum expectations but one of the things I think we've been particularly focused on as a Government is how we can overall improve the maternal health and wellbeing of our mums. I do think the support that they receive immediately after birth is an incredibly important part of that and I would also say the contracted six weeks' worth of midwifery care as well as well as Well Child/Tamariki Ora. So if there are examples of where people are not getting that standard of care we should know about that and do something about it. Karen Chhour: What urgent actions will the Government take this year to address the appalling rate of maternal suicide in New Zealand? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: This as I've just reflected in my answer was one of the things that when we were working on our mental health plans and the huge investment we made in the 2019 Budget. Specifically mental health care for our new mums was part of the conversation we had and so it would be prudent to have Minister Little perhaps update you on some of that work. What I can tell you about it from a child poverty and wellbeing perspective: we've started rolling out—first in Rotorua—a programme specifically that works intensively with our new mums. So it's based on nurse-family partnerships. It's in the home. Rather than it being ad hoc it can be as much as weekly. It tries to form a relationship between new mums and our professional healthcare providers so that they can identify early on if additional support is required. We're looking to roll that out across the country but in Rotorua we're hoping to see really great results. Hon Louise Upston: Why then did the Minister for Children today in select committee confirm that there'd been no investment in the first 1000 days in this term or the previous term of Parliament? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I imagine the member is not correctly paraphrasing the Minister for Children. Of course in terms of the first 1000 days I'm happy to share with the member that we have created for the first time—brought back since the National Government in the 1990s got rid of the child payment we brought it back in the form of Best Start. We extended paid parental leave we increased the family tax credit we increased benefit rates for families—and of course that directly affects children. And for the member I would say perhaps she's unaware that the Best Start payment is precisely orientated to the first three years of a child's life for the very fact that the first 1000 days is so important."