Sabin Mike: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sabin Mike: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 19 July 2012. Volume:681;Page:3752. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
5. 
MIKE SABIN (National—Northland) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development 
: How will the Government’s welfare reforms support people off welfare and into work? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development) 
: 
 I am absolutely thrilled that our reforms are going to fundamentally change the way that welfare is delivered. The Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill which is set to have its third reading just this afternoon means that we will be working with youth but also with predominantly women on welfare far better than we currently do. These changes will introduce greater work expectations and preparation as well as a real wraparound service for those young people who so desperately need it and in the past have not been receiving it. 
Mike Sabin 
: What are the aims of these welfare reforms? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: The statistics have been telling us for years that welfare dependence is intergenerational. One hundred and seventy thousand New Zealanders have spent most of the last decade on welfare. We simply cannot continue to spend $8 billion a year to support 12 percent of the working-age population. These reforms are aimed at addressing the causes of dependence and at having people work-ready with greater support for young people some sole parents widows and women alone. 
Mike Sabin 
: What other work has been done to date on welfare reform? 
Hon Member 
: Heaps. 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Heaps as my colleague says behind me. It started with Future Focus in 2010 which we have seen a huge success with. We are now following up with this bill which as I say has its focus predominantly on youth but also on some of those on the DPB. The third bill is yet to go through this year but is well on its way I am pleased to advise the House. That bill will include significant changes that will completely reform the way that welfare is delivered. 
Jacinda Ardern 
: Can she confirm based on her own department’s projections in the Budget that even after the implementation of her $287 million reforms the number of people on the DPB will be higher than when she started as Minister? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: There is no doubt that there have been tough times and that we have seen people needing to use the welfare system and to go on a benefit and I will proudly stand here and say that we provided a system that was needed by New Zealanders. What I can tell the member is that there will be considerably fewer people on the DPB than there was for most of the time when National was in Government. 
Grant Robertson 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Members on both sets of front benches may have missed it but the deputy leader of the Labour Party called a point of order.  
Grant Robertson 
: I am hard to miss so I do not know about that. Although the Minister towards the end of the answer did eventually make a comment about the number of people who would be on the DPB compared with—I think she meant—when Labour was in office she did not actually answer what was a very specific and straight question about the number of people on the DPB after the reform process. That was the very specific question that was asked. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The question asked whether the Minister could confirm something—two figures—and the Minister did not disagree with the proposition put to her but explained the reason for it. If the question had asked how many people are on the benefit at such-and-such date and how many on another date then I would expect the Minister to answer that given the nature of the question. Where it is asking a Minister to confirm I am not going to insist on any particular answer.