Parmar Parmjeet: Support for Children in Hardship Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParmar Parmjeet: Support for Children in Hardship Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 01 December 2015. Volume:710;Page:8410. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr PARMJEET PARMAR (National): Thank you for the opportunity to take this call on the Support for Children in Hardship Bill in the Committee of the whole House. This bill is to support children in hardship and especially children in low-income families. This is for benefit-dependent families and families dependent on student allowances. We know that two-thirds of children in material hardship are in benefit-dependent families or in some kind of other benefit-dependent families. This is in the evidence that shows that we need to focus on those families who are on low incomes. This bill is to give an increment in the base benefit rate after tax of $25. In Part 2 it matches that increment with the student allowance. I am not going to list the things that people can buy with this $25 but I totally trust those families to make wise decisions for their children and their families.This bill is a very fair bill because we are giving an increment in the benefit rate. We are also matching it for the student allowance because we do not want people receiving the student allowance to feel that they are being disadvantaged because they are on a student allowance. This increment will be achieved through regulations. This bill amends the Education Act 1989 to ensure that the increase in the student allowance rate is not subject to the annual New Zealand Consumers Price Index adjustment which is on 1 April 2016. So this increase will be on top of that.We want parents to be in education we want parents to be in some kind of training and then we want them to get into jobs. That was recognised by submitters during the select committee process. Submitters recognised that the employment of caregivers was an important factor in reducing the poverty and hardship of children in low-income families. Submitters also recognised that currently in New Zealand the poverty rates are the highest in families where no adult is in paid employment. It is important that parents are in education and some kind of training so that later on they can get into some kind of employment. It is good for the family—for parents and for children as well in the long run.I have heard a lot about the part-time work obligation for sole parents. That is actually a step in the right direction. We have seen the numbers which show that when there is encouragement for sole parents they do get into work. It is about providing the environment that encourages them and assists them to get into work. I have also heard the argument that different families have different kinds of circumstances and sometimes children at the age of 3 are not ready to be at an early childhood education centre or a day-care centre. My opinion as a mother of two children is that children will never be ready if we do not train them. As a mother I remember when I used to drop my boys off at the day-care centre. It was not easy for the first 2 to 3 weeks. It was not just me; other parents were going through the same kind of phase. We used to hide and watch our children. Once we were convinced that they had calmed down we would go to work.When I used to drop my boys off at the day-care centre I would see some children there who were much younger than my boys. That gave me a sense of what those people felt about being financially independent. This bill is about helping people encouraging people to become financially independent. Childcare assistance—yes it is important if we want people to get into training or education.The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Trevor Mallard): I am going to interrupt the member. I will apologise because I think that at least one of the speakers before her went quite a long way off the point on this particular part of the bill. She is going further off it and I would like to bring her back to Part 2 of the bill. Thank you.Dr PARMJEET PARMAR: Thank you Mr Chair. Yes I was responding to the previous speaker. Yes Part 2 is about amending the Education Act 1989 and also matching the $25 increase through regulations.The other thing that is related to this part is that it is important that we are fair with people—those who are receiving a benefit and those who are receiving the student allowance. We do not want people—those who are receiving the student allowance—to give up their student allowance and go on to a benefit because of the $25 increment that people are getting because they are on a benefit. This bill overall is to encourage people to get into training and jobs and for that—