Bennett Paula: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Bennett Paula: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Sitting date: 29 January 2013. Volume:687;Page:7560. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development) 
: 
 I just want to stand up in support obviously of the Prime Minister and his outstanding address today. He is the man with the right policies with the right team and with the right focus to take New Zealanders forward. This year is going to be a big year but to be fair last year was a fairly big year for this Government and for the work that we have been doing for people. It has been clear what that vision is for them the plan is under way and I have to say that certainly the welfare reforms are well and truly on track. 
It has been a substantial year particularly for the Ministry of Social Development and for the work that we have been doing for our most vulnerable people. As I say we have been driving through significant welfare reforms and developing a Children’s Action Plan—the likes of which has never been seen before quite frankly—that will see a way forward for our most vulnerable children. 
When going up and down this country we received more than 10000 submissions from New Zealanders. We got submissions from organisations that work with children from everyone—from our schools through to individuals mums and dads and professionals. It was quite outstanding to see their commitment to the work that they wanted to see done and to now see their work with implementing it. 
The year ahead is going to be really significant for us and we have chosen two areas where we are introducing our first Children’s Teams. We have already got that well and truly under way in Rotorua and I have got to say the people there are embracing it with everything they have got. They have been somewhat surprised that they get to develop it for themselves. They thought that this Government was going to come along and say exactly what it wanted. We said: “No here are the ingredients. How you actually put this all together for your kids is up to you.” Maori have certainly been embracing it and want to see it work and so do many other New Zealanders. 
What will be interesting is to hear from the Opposition whether or not it will be supporting the Children’s Action Plan going forward. I know that many New Zealanders are interested in that. I get asked about it pretty much every day I am out there. Anywhere I go and hold a public meeting I am getting at least 100 people along to it and I have to say they are from every walk of life. I have never had such a diverse audience as I have been getting at the meetings that I run on vulnerable children. 
The question I get asked every time is whether the Opposition will actually be coming along and standing up to be part of the work for these most vulnerable children. I have to answer honestly every time and say that I do not know. The Opposition has not indicated that it will be willing to work alongside us on it and I certainly hope that as this is a new year we can see some of the work that is going on for those most vulnerable children actually reaching beyond what is party political at times and putting the interests of those kids first instead. 
I have been incredibly proud of the work that we have been doing in coordinating our responses across health education the police when needed and certainly across the Ministry of Social Development and even within that of course across Work and Income Child Youth and Family and the Family and Community Services group. 
What was most important was how we actually got that one response for children and families as we needed it. We have got a number of different initiatives that are going on. It is time they were consolidated. So you try things and you work alongside. Some work better than others and you have always got to be standing up reassessing making sure that you are on the right track and then taking forward what really is working. I see this particularly in my own portfolio and in the work that goes across those social services—that we do pull together and really start consolidating and putting more into it. When I look at the work of Whanau Ora and how that works alongside those most vulnerable families I think it has been quite incredible. 
We introduced last year the young parent payment and the youth payment and that is going now to those youth providers who provide a service for young people. That got rolled out in about August last year and in those first few months it has been really interesting to see how they go but this is the year that it takes off. 
To be quite frank towards the end of last year there just were not the same training opportunities to put young people in because the year was winding up and so they were preparing them more for the beginning of this year. We have simply seen thousands of kids who now go through a provider instead of Work and Income. We are hearing from them—which I think is most important—and they are saying it works. They are saying they would rather be connected to someone who knows them who understands them who has more flexibility quite frankly than a Government agency does and who can see them as individuals. 
I think that this year is going to be a big year as far as seeing them get better connected into education in whatever form that takes for them recognising that they are individuals. They are usually individuals who have had a bit of a hard life and school has not always worked out for them so we have to do differently. 
This Government’s investment in these kids was an additional $287 million—$287 million and we are putting it where it counts. This is not the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff; this is in the paddock way back. This is about getting them before they go into the system and when they need the most help and it is about how we can actually wrap it round them. It is recognising that the Government alone does not have all of the answers that they sit within our communities and that if we put the right funding alongside them and give them the mandate to go and do it then we can make a big difference. 
The big difference made by the sharing of information between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Development has been huge. We know who these kids are in real time. We can get the names to the right people. We can track them down. We can then keep that contact with them and get them back into school earlier. 
I think it is important to recognise that in just the last year 29648 young people aged between 18 and 24 left a benefit to go into work. So nearly 30000 young people aged between 18 and 24 went off a benefit last year to go into work. Let us compare this to 2008 recognising it was a completely different time. In 2008 14800 young people went off a benefit and into work. Granted there are more of them now so you would hope there was more but when we constantly hear that there are no jobs that there simply is not any work it is not true. A lot more work needs to be done but I say if you are not looking you are not going to get one. 
Our expectation is that people are work-ready and our reforms say that. Yes we expect people to be drug-free and able to turn up for the jobs that are available. Yes we think that if you have got a warrant out for your arrest then you should not be able to sit on a benefit and almost use that money to run. Yes we think that if you are of a certain age and you do not have obligations such as caring for very young children you should be able to work part time. Yes we think that unless you are actually out there actively applying for jobs getting your CV ready and asking people for a job you will not get one. Those expectations are making a difference. 
Sue Moroney 
: What jobs? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Well let us go. In the 4 years from November 2008 until November last year 305000 people came off a benefit to start work. They are not the ones who went off to go into another relationship and they are not the ones who actually went off or swapped a benefit; this is 305000 people who actually came off a benefit to start work and that compares to 280000 people in the 4 years previous to that. 
Are they finding it hard? Is it tough out there? Absolutely but to sit back and feel sorry for them like the Labour Party would like to do is actually not going to make a difference for them. We are upskilling them and putting the money where it is really really needed so more money is going into employment assistance than ever before. 
Let me talk to you about Job Streams because I hear that the Opposition is really interested in it. The other day we had one of Shearer’s big new ideas. He came out with—wait for it—a big new idea and that is that we should subsidise employers and help those who are on benefits so that they can get into work. Well duh it is already happening mate. Wake up and smell the roses. It is called Job Streams and it has been happening for the last year. Before that we had Community Max and we had Job Ops. I would like to say that under Job Ops and Community Max nearly 90 percent of them did not go back onto benefits. Nineteen and a half thousand kids— 
Sue Moroney 
: No wonder things are so bad. She thinks it’s an apprenticeship scheme. 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Shall we go? Nineteen and a half thousand kids got an opportunity into a job—19500 of them—and 18000 of them are still in work. Now we have Job Streams which is a subsidy into work. That can be up to $21000 a year—$21000 a year could be the subsidy for someone who is not connected into the workforce and has been out of work for a long time. That makes a difference for them. 
Sue Moroney 
: Where are the apprenticeships in that? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Well we have got 14000 more apprentices that are going to be coming on board over the next 5 years. We are not just putting numbers through like Labour did. Labour just shoved them on half-hearted courses so that it could come up with the numbers but it did not take into consideration whether or not they finished the courses or came out with something that had quality. And obviously they did not because as soon as times got tough those kids fell out of jobs. 
The kids that had gone through that process under Labour fell out of jobs as soon as things got tough because the jobs were not real and it was a false economy. So yes the public will have a choice: throw more money at it like Labour did do not worry about the actual quality and do not worry about the results or come to this Government which has a vision is in control and will actually look after those young people when they need it. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Just before I call the next member earlier in the day I explained that the House has two presiding officers unavailable. Under Standing Order 33 the Speaker can appoint a temporary Speaker. I will now appoint Jacqui Dean to take some time in the chair.