Ardern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeArdern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 07 August 2013. Volume:692;Page:12437. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]8.JACINDA ARDERN (Labour)to theMinister for Social Development: Does she stand by her statement that “the investment approach will change the entire focus of the welfare system so that support is invested where it will make the biggest difference”?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development):Yes.Jacinda Ardern: Can she confirm that despite her so-called investment approach the cuts to the training incentive allowance to assist sole parents in training and education remain in place?Hon PAULA BENNETT: They are still working their way through policy as to how money will be spent and allocated but at this stage yes.Jacinda Ardern: Can she confirm that her welfare reforms will now see sole parent employment contractors receive bonus payments as high as $9500 per person more than double the cost of the training incentive allowance for a whole year?Hon PAULA BENNETT: The member is drawing a few dots there and not actually having that add up. What is happening is that some are being contracted out. I do not imagine it is going to be at that cost. The average cost is about $2700.Hon Member: No it’s not.Hon PAULA BENNETT: What we have also done—yes it is. That is the average cost for us to contract it out. What we have also done of course is increase the number of case managers so that they are able to work more intensively. That is making a huge difference. We have a work-focused case management going on a lot more each week. We are seeing more people get into work and that is the reality.Andrew Little: What about the bonus payments?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Calm down young man. You will be all right. Calm down. [Interruption ]Mr SPEAKER: Order! The level of interjection from Andrew Little is excessive.Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption ]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have a point of order. It will be heard in silence.Hon Trevor Mallard: I think the suggestion of being called a young man might be regarded as a compliment but the suggestion that you should calm down is something that I think—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is not a helpful point of order. The member will resume his seat.Jacinda Ardern: Can she confirm that a woman in the exact same position she once was in now gets $100 per week less in training support is required to find more work while studying despite increasing unemployment and high childcare costs and will have recently received a letter telling her that she risks having her benefit cut if she simply misses a Work and Income appointment?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Actually none of that is true. Women on the DPB now or on the sole parent support are financially better off each week than they ever were in the 1990s when I was actually there. So if you want to go back more than 20 years and have a look at it then that is the truth of it. Actually they are getting more support to get into work their lives and the lives of their children are being changed and I am going to continue to back them into those jobs. That really makes the biggest difference for them every time.Jacinda Ardern: Given her investment approach—[Interruption ]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Would the member please start her question again.Jacinda Ardern: Can she give a guarantee that all of the 44000 people she has estimated will come off a benefit as a result of her reforms will do so because they have moved into a decent job and not because they missed a letter or a phone call from Work and Income or have been arbitrarily kicked off?Hon PAULA BENNETT: The member yet again is misrepresenting. They will not get their benefit cut for missing an appointment. They would have been given opportunity after opportunity to actually step up to their obligations and that is the fact of it. Also for the majority of them if they are sanctioned actually no money comes out of their account—or does not go in—because they can re-comply really really easily before that happens. What they are being given is more support and actually better case management than they have ever had before and we are seeing real results for people and their families on that.