Pillay Lynne: Social Security Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Pillay Lynne: Social Security Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:639;Page:9114] 
LYNNE PILLAY (Labour—Waitakere) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to speak to the Committee stage of this bill—the Social Security Amendment Bill. I commend Judy Turner for a really honest and good speech and I would love to see that same degree of—certainly not goodness; that would be going too far—honesty from the Opposition. I looked before at the report and I want to take this opportunity to commend Russell Fairbrother for fantastic chairing of the Social Services Committee; we worked very constructively together. I was quite impressed with the National members on the committee; I thought at last they were trying to work quite constructively. 
When I look at the bill I see there are a lot of recommendations—we recommend this and that and we recommend that the bill provides for retrospective substitution for a more appropriate benefit. The select committee made all sorts of recommendations. The minority report contributed to by the National members was very small and they did not really grizzle in it very much at all not half as much as the Nats are inclined to do. Then surprise surprise they are not supporting it. It really is confusing and they are confusing. Of course with all the flip-flops that that party is inclined to do it is very hard to keep up with what its members should be doing. It would not surprise me if they got back to their leader today and he said: “Look you’ve got it wrong. We’re supposed to be supporting this bill.” Anyway at the moment they are opposing it and I think that is very very sad. 
This bill builds on what this Government is about. It is about assisting people to get back into work. What do we need for that? We need a recipe—a whole package. The first things we need are a buoyant economy a supportive climate and support for our business and our industry. We need the opportunities that we have provided in skills and training through the Gateway programme when kids are at school through apprenticeships through industry training through tertiary reform and through interest-free loans for our students in universities and polytechs. They are just the first things that are under way. 
For people to re-enter or to remain in the workforce we need good-quality affordable early childhood education and my goodness the initiatives in our early childhood field that we hear a number of people from the Opposition speaking about are assisting people into the workforce and assisting our statistics. We need great schools and we need good after-school care so that when parents are in the workforce they can be comfortable knowing that their children are being cared for. And of course we need Working for Families. 
Working for Families has assisted good people into work. I can see Paula Bennett over there who often talks about her experience as a single mother. I acknowledge the single mothers whom I spoke to a few years ago who told me they wanted to be back in work but it was really difficult. It was difficult with the cost of childcare with transport and really it was just too hard to get back in. It was not that there was not a will to do it; it was just that there was not much of a way. Now the in-work payment and family credits through the Working for Families package have enabled mothers to get back into the workforce if they want to with early childhood support. It has made the return to their career a reality and that is a really really good thing. 
I also want to talk about some people from within my electorate whom I have talked to. I want to talk about Teresa who went to Work and Income to seek job assistance before applying for a benefit in March 2007. She attended a Work and Income job search service—a planning and assessment module—and was referred to the Straight 2 Work school of business hospitality course. As a result of attendance at that course she is now working in a restaurant in the city. 
Anne Tolley 
: I raise a point of order Madam Chairperson. We have waited for almost the entire speech from this member for some relation to this bill. We have had Working for Families. Now we have a story about someone coming into her office and applying for some benefit. That really has nothing to do with the bill. Could I ask that you direct the member back to the bill. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Ann Hartley) 
: I listened to what the member said and she was certainly talking about the domestic purposes benefit. I have looked it up. I remind the member that we are on clauses 4 to 21. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: If we look at the bill it talks about the initiatives that have ensured we get people in work.