Stewart Barbara: Social Security Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Stewart Barbara: Social Security Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:638;Page:8946] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to support the second reading of the Social Security Amendment Bill. In New Zealand First we believe that the employment of New Zealanders is a priority. The failure to ensure that the potential workforce is employable not only limits the labour market capacity but also imposes a huge cost on all New Zealanders while indirectly contributing to the level of crime and substance abuse and adding generally to the demands on our health system which we know is already stretched. It is also important that people get and retain a sense of worth and self-esteem through making a role for themselves in society—and they can do this. We believe that people should move from dependence on the State to a state of independence if they can possibly work but we are very aware that some people in the community just cannot do so. 
The welfare system that we operate here in New Zealand is actually a safety net that gives people a helping hand when they need it most. But it should never ever be a lifestyle choice for those people who can work. Some people work in the community or in a pre-employment programme which is always better than sitting at home and being isolated from the rest of society. 
We would like to signal that we had some areas of concern about removing from the sanctions provisions the requirement for beneficiaries to undertake activity in the community. So we followed that up and we were told by the Minister that this applied to sickness and invalids beneficiaries and that unemployment beneficiaries would be involved in training for work or some other pre-employment activities. We were in the main satisfied by that—it is really hard to argue against. We do not want to see people turn down a job because they feel obliged to turn up to a training programme of up to 26 weeks. Also we do not want to see the training programmes jeopardised for the people who remain due to a total lack of participants. 
New Zealand First is firmly committed to the concept of mutual obligations. When a person is unable to get paid employment the State will pay that person on the understanding that he or she make some contribution back to the community. This can be interpreted as a training or pre-employment programme. We believe that this requirement assists many people many of whom have completed quite a number of courses to find employment. Work experience is a very valuable training ground for employment. I understand from the Minister that the change in the requirements for “work” in the community is aimed principally at sickness and invalids beneficiaries. 
 A number of activities are already aimed at the unemployed—mainly training programmes and work experience. The mere discipline of having to attend a programme or to work on a daily basis and to reorganise one’s life to accommodate that and the need to focus on one task for 6 to 8 hours to work as part of a team to follow rules and to have a supervisor who is not in one’s home are all part of work preparation and are valuable skills for everyone to learn or for some people to relearn. When one looks at the number of employers who are already teaching young people these skills—and I can list a few: the local councils supermarkets fast-food outlets gas stations and factories—one can see that the list just goes on and on. One must applaud the effort that all of those employers put into these young people. It cannot be easy; we all know that. It raises the question of why a person if he or she is on a sickness or an invalids benefit is totally exempt from having to learn these skills to plan for employment at some time in the future. 
We have all said in this House and we have heard many times from both sides of the House—particularly from National—that the largest number of people on benefits are those on the invalids benefit or the sickness benefit. The bottom line is that one actually needs skills to be employed in the workforce. To clarify this area I say that I was pleased to see what the United Future member had proposed in her minority report attached to the bill: placing clear and concise guidelines around activities in the community for unemployed and sickness beneficiaries so that sanctions cannot be imposed for unreasonable expectations. 
We do not want to see beneficiaries having unfair advantage taken of them. But we do want to see that the right services and support are in place for people so that their opportunities for work are increased. People need to be assisted so that they can develop work skills and some will need to be supported and assisted towards finding and keeping a job. We all know that working adults are the basis of any successful society and we do not want the numbers of people on either the sickness or the invalids benefits to increase any further. All of the research shows us that families thrive when they are not dependent on a benefit. We need people to be in work and we need people to want to work. 
The difference in people when they are working is absolutely amazing. Last Christmas my son was fortunate enough to be employed as a trolley assistant at a local supermarket. Initially it was for just the school holidays. He had to learn some work skills: making sure he was there on time getting into the uniform and actually working and focusing on a task for 8 hours. Of course as with any student he found it totally challenging. He is 16 and it has been really great to see the change in that particular lad. He is now keen to go to work on a Sunday. He could not actually give up the job at the end of the school holidays because he enjoys being part of a team and being respected and acknowledged as part of that team. Of course he had to make lifestyle changes so that he could give his best. There are lots of young people like that who want only to have a chance and to make the best of it. 
The bottom line is that work matters. That is what should be happening. The emphasis in this bill is on getting the right services and support in place for people so that their opportunities for work are increased. We would blame any Government if that were not one of its policies. 
We like many aspects of the bill which were listed by Russell Fairbrother earlier. We were very pleased too to see the changes in the services offered to the 16 and 17-year-olds on the independent youth benefit. Those changes need to be carried through. It is far more preferable for young people to be engaged in education and training so that they can hold down sustainable employment than for them to be receiving a benefit at this particular point in their life. 
 We know that young people today face a far more challenging environment than any of us did in the past. So any initiatives to ensure that young people can be engaged in activities that will further their opportunities to hold down a job are absolutely welcomed. We know that young people cannot be inactive for long periods of time. We are all aware of the negative outcomes that eventuate from this: mental ill health substance abuse and criminal activity—all of those things that we do not want our young people to be involved in. Success in employment education and training is by far the most important way out of poverty for young people. We are particularly pleased to see the services that have been offered to those on the sickness and invalids benefits. We believe that those services are important for everyone in the community. 
New Zealand First supports this bill. We believe that the changes it makes are positive for young people. We want all people to work so New Zealand First definitely supports this bill.