King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:655;Page:5088] 
1. Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does he have confidence in the Minister for Social Development and Employment? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Deputy Prime Minister) 
 on behalf of the  
Prime Minister 
: Yes the Prime Minister does and he has a lot more confidence in the Minister than a certain Charles Chauvel had in a former Minister when as president— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The question did not ask “if so why” it simply asked whether the Prime Minister had confidence in the Minister. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That question was open-ended. I am allowed to give reasons comparisons analogies and anecdotes that back up my answer. Surely you are not going to rule that out. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Speaker is the sole judge of those matters and where the Speaker perceives that it will lead to disorder the Speaker may ask the member to desist. 
Hon Annette King 
: Did the Minister for Social Development and Employment advise the Prime Minister that her decision to cut the Enterprising Communities scheme would lead to 3000 job losses; if so how can he have confidence in a Minister who is creating more job losses than job opportunities? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The Prime Minister has a great deal more confidence in the Minister than a certain Charles Chauvel had in a former Minister when as president of the Labour Youth Council in 1988 he told the then employment Minister Phil Goff to “take action or resign”. Charles Chauvel is probably feeling the same way today. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The supplementary question asked by the deputy leader of the Labour Party might have been a little political but it was also very specific. It referred to an enterprise training scheme and the effect on jobs of that action. That issue was not addressed. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: It would have been helpful had the Hon Bill English actually referred to the supplementary question in some way in his answer and I invite him to do so now. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Yes. 
Hon Annette King 
: How can the Prime Minister have confidence in a Minister who claimed that the Restart package was a great success and the answer to New Zealand’s skyrocketing unemployment when since its introduction around 100 people a week have signed up for it whereas 1300 people a week are signing up for the dole; and is that really what he thinks is the answer to unemployment? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Yes the Prime Minister does have confidence in the Minister for Social Development and Employment. The Restart package is innovative it is successful and it is targeted at people who need assistance. The record of the Minister is really quite startling: we have been in recession for seven quarters now and we have an unemployment rate that is amongst the lowest rates in the OECD. Despite the fact that Australia has not had a recession our unemployment rate is lower than Australia’s. 
Chris Tremain 
: Has the Prime Minister seen any alternative proposals for reducing unemployment? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The Prime Minister has not seen any alternative proposals for reducing unemployment. He has seen Opposition proposals for the expansion of welfare. That of course will do nothing for jobs. Mr Goff’s views on expanding welfare are impractical unfair and unaffordable but that is not surprising. He thinks he can keep making policy in the way that Labour did when it was in Government. 
Hon Annette King 
: Did the Prime Minister agree with the decision of the Minister for Social Development and Employment to abandon National’s social development election promises aimed at helping sole parents into training and back into work in order to give them and their families a chance at a better life; if so why? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The Minister for Social Development and Employment has not abandoned those policy objectives— 
Hon Annette King 
: Oh yes she has. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Well she has not abandoned those policy objectives and the Prime Minister fully supports the Minister in making decisions that set priorities and fund effective programmes. That sometimes means we do not fund programmes that do not work well. 
Hon Annette King 
: Does the Prime Minister stand by his pre-election commitment to help New Zealand’s most vulnerable people especially those who live on Struggle Street; if so when the Minister for Social Development and Employment says that tough decisions need to be made why is it that the first people to suffer are those who are on Struggle Street? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Of course that is not correct. Because of confidence in the Government’s economic policies our rate of unemployment is amongst the lowest rates in the developed world despite the fact that we have had a long recession. That means we are doing a good job of keeping people off Struggle Street. 
Chris Tremain 
: Has the Prime Minister seen any reports of an employment Minister dealing with rising unemployment during a recession? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Yes he has seen a report that states: “It takes more than hot air more than rhetoric and more than using the backs of unemployed people to make political points. … I despair at the gamesmanship of politicians trying to get votes from the problem of unemployment”. That was said by Annette King in this House. 
Carmel Sepuloni 
: How can the Prime Minister have confidence in the Minister for Social Development and Employment when it is clear that New Zealanders are losing confidence in her—New Zealanders like Trudy who said in response to the Minister’s performance in question time yesterday: “I feel Paula Bennett’s answer showed her running for cover and I was very disappointed in the answer she gave. It seems to me that she was painting a very rosy financial picture for beneficiaries. I defy her to show me any cases of beneficiaries who receive anywhere near that amount of”— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will resume her seat. Questions are not meant to be speeches. I invite the member to reflect on that. I think we have heard enough of the question. I invite the Hon Bill English to answer it. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: It is great to get a question from someone who was not a Minister 20 years ago and who did not say things like “I despair at the gamesmanship of politicians trying to get votes from the problem of unemployment.” Paula Bennett is doing a great job as the Minister for Social Development and Employment. What is it about female Ministers that irritates Labour so much? 
Moana Mackey 
: How can the Prime Minister have confidence in a Minister who is responsible for cutting the training incentive allowance; and does he agree with Christine of Gisborne a solo mother of four who now cannot do the nursing qualification that would enable her to move off the domestic purposes benefit and into paid work when she says: “The Government has been sitting there”—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I apologise for interrupting the member. Members may not like questions but provided they are within the Standing Orders—and I saw nothing wrong with that question so far—members are entitled to ask them. Because of the noise coming from the Government benches I invite Moana Mackey to start her supplementary question again. 
Moana Mackey 
: How can the Prime Minister have confidence in a Minister responsible for cutting the training incentive allowance; and does he agree with Christine of Gisborne a solo mother of four who now cannot do the nursing qualification that would enable her to move off the domestic purposes benefit and into paid work when she says: “The Government has been sitting there telling us to upskill get into jobs not run up debt to ride out the recession and then they go and take away the assistance that some people need to enable this to happen.”? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: What we have learnt from the activities of the Labour Party over the last month is that we have to be pretty careful about believing whether Christine of Gisborne even exists and also whether she is on the domestic purposes benefit whether she owns three investment houses and whether all the information she has given to the Labour Party about her situation has been truthfully represented here. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am not sure whether you heard the end of the Minister’s answer but he challenged whether a member had truthfully represented something to the House. I think that is outside the Standing Orders. He can give an answer that defends the Government’s record without having to resort to that. 
Hon Rodney Hide 
: Of course the answer is within the Standing Orders. The Minister was not saying the member was lying or not telling the truth; he was querying whether all the facts had been presented—whether the matter had been truthfully represented. That is what that means and we have had plenty of instances where the examples used by the Labour Party— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Hon Rodney Hide 
: No no—I want to make the point— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No no. I do not want to see points of order being used to criticise another party. The member has made his point perfectly well and I feel that on this occasion the interpretation I took was the one that the Hon Rodney Hide has just outlined. That is why I did not object to the answer. I accept that there was a robust exchange but where questions quote someone partially identified like that one did one can expect that answers will be pretty varied. If members want to use that practice in asking questions they will get answers that may not be what they want to hear. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Why did Cabinet decide to cut the Enterprising Communities scheme given the fact as the Prime Minister has confirmed today that there will be 3000 job losses? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: In the course of the Budget Cabinet looked at a whole range of schemes including many misguided and ineffective schemes put in place by the previous Government. Given the fiscal constraints we have made decisions about priorities and we stand by those decisions.