Stewart Barbara: Corrections (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill Customs and Excise (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Stewart Barbara: Corrections (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill Customs and Excise (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Volume:646;Page:15382] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 On behalf of New Zealand First I rise to support the third readings of the bills from the Social Assistance (Debt Prevention and Minimisation) Amendment Bill. It is relatively rare for legislation to go through the House with the support of almost all parties and when this widespread support occurs it is very obvious that the legislation is addressing a problem that is widely recognised. It is a real pleasure to support this legislation. 
As the commentary states this legislation amends the legislation affecting data sharing between a whole number of agencies: the Ministry of Social Development the Department of Corrections the New Zealand Customs Service and the Accident Compensation Corporation. This is important and highly constructive legislation because it focuses on minimising hardship and debt when a person is on a benefit and his or her circumstances change specifically when he or she enters the criminal justice system. Greater sharing of all the information between these organisations would prevent the hardship that occurs. 
I think it is very realistic to say that people are not in a position to contact Work and Income when they are in prison or entering prison. I would say that it would not be one of the things that they would even be thinking about at that time—and neither would their families—yet this can be the very time when this debt starts to build. Overpayment on a benefit can be extremely difficult to pay back when one is on a fixed income and we have heard various figures bandied about in this House tonight about the level of debt of beneficiaries—the number of beneficiaries who have actually fallen into debt. Any changes such as this legislation that help to prevent overpayments and help to reduce debt need to be implemented and to be implemented quite rapidly. 
We in New Zealand First had some concerns about incorrect data matches but with the safeguards that the Ministry of Social Development has in place to ensure that if this happens there is minimal impact on the person concerned we were reassured. These safeguards will actually give people the opportunity to have their benefit reinstated before a payment is missed. The transferring of money overnight into a person’s bank account when a payment has been stopped wrongly is a very positive step forward. As previous speakers have said the data matching will be important and it will need to be carefully monitored. 
We in this House all know—and we have had people come to see us who have unmanageable debts—that debt can become totally unmanageable when one is on a limited income and unfortunately it does not take very long for that situation to occur. Unfortunately too it takes a very long time to pay back any debts that are owed. These are the people who often fall prey to the unscrupulous moneylenders as they attempt to find a quick way to get rid of a debt only to find themselves with a far larger problem in the long run. It is difficult enough to manage on a fixed income and on a benefit and with the rises in the costs of living to have to repay a debt at $10 or $15 a week is an added struggle and a big stress for those families—many of whom we have to recognise live from week to week. To ensure that debt is not incurred in the first place is absolutely imperative. Being in debt of course can also reduce the financial advantages of finding a job and returning to work as levels of repayments are often reduced while a person remains on the benefit. 
New Zealand First wholeheartedly supports this legislation. We believe that any measure that stops beneficiaries from getting into debt unnecessarily wrongly or fraudulently is very worthy of support.