Lee Melissa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLee Melissa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 17 October 2013. Volume:694;Page:14004. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.MELISSA LEE (National) to theMinister for Social Development: What reports has she received on the progress of the Government’s welfare reforms to date?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development): We are seeing more people coming off benefits as a result of the Government’s efforts to support more people off welfare and into work. Benefit numbers are at the lowest they have been since 2008. In the September quarter the number of New Zealanders on benefits fell by 5388 people to just over 304000 which is the third straight quarterly drop. A year ago there were almost 321000 New Zealanders on benefits. This has fallen by 16500 people since September 2012.Melissa Lee: How is the Government’s new work bonus payment supporting people to transition into work?Hon PAULA BENNETT: The new work bonus payment allows people who are not work tested and who go off that benefit and into work to keep their benefit which reduces by $100 a week. In just the 6 weeks since the new work bonus policy was introduced 706 people have come off benefit into work seeking out and landing jobs even though they have no requirement to work. As I said this means that they can keep their benefit for longer and it is easier for them to transition to a wage.Melissa Lee: How are the changes making a difference for people in the regions?Hon PAULA BENNETT: We have seen significant drops over the last year in particular for sole parents in the Bay of Plenty where that number is down by 524. In Canterbury it is down by 721 in the central region it is down by 500 in Waikato it is down by 689 and in Auckland it is down by nearly 3000 people. As for job seekers in Auckland there are 4500 fewer people; in Canterbury the number is down by 2162; and in Mrs AnneTolley’s own East Coast it is down by 815 people which is really significant.Sue Moroney: Given her assertion that 2000 people every week have their benefits cancelled even though they have no job to go to can she guarantee that those 2000 people and their children are not falling further into poverty?Hon PAULA BENNETT: The number of people who leave for reasons other than finding work has not changed. It was the same in 2007 as it is now.Sue Moroney: I didn’t ask that.Hon PAULA BENNETT: Well it is significant. What we have got is people leaving for the reasons of getting into a relationship changing benefit categories or going into study so they change benefits. Those numbers have not actually changed in the last 13 years. They leave for many different reasons. Some will do so as I said for relationship reasons and other reasons. What has changed is the number of people who are leaving to go into work and as I have expressed that has gone up.Sue Moroney: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was very straightforward. I asked for a guarantee—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I apologise to the member. I was concentrating on another matter. I did not hear the question to know whether it was addressed. I invite the member to ask the question again.Sue Moroney: Thank you. Given her assertion that 2000 people every week have their benefits cancelled even though they have no job to go to can she guarantee that those 2000 people and their children are not falling further into poverty?Hon PAULA BENNETT: The assertion of the question is that we cancel 2000 benefits each week. Those people cancel them themselves right? They say they no longer require a benefit because they are in a relationship because they have gone into study or because they have transferred on to another benefit. This may help the member: since welfare reforms 37 percent are cancelling into work compared with just 30 percent in 2007.