Bennett Paula: General Debate 
Bennett Paula: General Debate 
[Volume:678;Page:1388] 
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development) 
: 
 Here we are with Labour in its fourth year of Opposition and with its third leader and it still does not get it. It still does not understand where New Zealand’s values are at. No lessons quite frankly have been learnt. The faux horror at welfare reforms that we have been hearing from Labour members—the mock shame the distress that we heard yesterday very meekly from the Opposition—quite frankly says to me that they have no idea where New Zealanders’ values are at when it comes to welfare and their expectations of a Government in that area.  
We have had two oral questions from the Opposition on welfare this year—yes two questions. That is exactly how important Labour members think the biggest reforms are for this country. Yesterday we had Grant Robertson calling National’s welfare reforms a “culture of blame”. Let us be really clear: Labour’s record is simply one of shame when it comes to welfare dependency and beneficiaries in this country.  
Let us be quite frank: in the time of the 2000s of labour shortages we did see the number on the unemployment benefit drop down. Where did they go? We saw the number of those on the sickness benefit go up by 51 percent—51 percent. And during that same time the number on the invalids benefit went up by more than 47 percent. Simply moving people from the unemployment benefit and on to the sickness benefit and the invalids benefit is not actually helping people to move forward in this country and it is as simple as that. The excuses we heard from Labour at that time as to why we had a burgeoning number of people on the invalids benefit in particular was that that was what was happening internationally. It was all because of what was happening and Labour could not help it. Well let me be quite clear: under National the number on the invalids benefit in what as we know has been the worst recession the world has seen since World War II has gone up by 0.3 percent—0.3 percent.  
To give a little bit of context around that let us be quite frank. Remember that in the 2000s when Labour was in Government it moved people from the unemployment benefit on to the invalids benefit where they would not be work tested. Labour members were simply not looking there—simply not looking there—because that was too hard to deal with. That is what we heard from Labour. We saw that number burgeoning by over 50 percent.  
Under National it simply has not gone up and that is an indication of good policy and good management—good policy and good management. If one cares about people—if one cares about people—one will be actually putting the right kind of policy and the right kind of support around them to move them into work and make a key difference in those people’s lives. Shoving them on to the invalids benefit ignoring them spending no money on them and not even acknowledging that they are most likely to be on that benefit for the longest time is quite frankly disgraceful and is a culture of shame that the Labour Party lives by.  
Let us just deal with some of those facts. We are constantly hearing about how numbers have been bouncing around. I will tell you one thing: the numbers on the unemployment benefit may be higher than anyone in this country would want to see but they are the true honest transparent numbers which is not what we saw under Labour. Simply shoving people from one benefit to another so they do not have to be work tested is shameful. We will stand up. We will know as better managers of the welfare system that putting the right policies in place to back them is absolutely the right thing to do and will fundamentally make a change in those people’s lives.  
We hear constantly from the Opposition that it does not like our youth reforms. Well we are going to back young people. We are going to back them into work. We will put the support around them that they so desperately need and did not get under Labour. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Just before I call the honourable member over recent years this applause has become a tradition in this House but for goodness’ sake do we have to have stamping as well? I say to members to please be a little more reasonable.