Tolley Anne: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTolley Anne: General Debate[Sitting date: 18 March 2015. Volume:704;Page:2359. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Social Development): Well there ends the lesson. I am sick and tired of being lectured to in this House by that member Metiria Turei who makes things up who has no facts to back up what she says and who accuses our Prime Minister of being mean. In fact the country went to the polls last year and gave National huge support—an enormous mandate—to keep on with the reforms and to expand the reforms that it was in the process of making to all New Zealand families. The reality of that is that New Zealanders understand that this is a Prime Minister who cares about New Zealand families. This is a Government that has done a great deal for New Zealand families not the least bit making sure that there is a strong growing economy that is providing more jobs for people and we are seeing more people in work now than we have ever seen before.But let us talk about this issue of food in schools and let us look at the accusations that this Government led by John Key is mean. The reality is that now currently this Government is funding fruit in schools. We expanded the programme that the Labour Government put in where half of it was being spent on administration. We have expanded it so that there is fruit going into every single school—and vegetables I have to say—throughout the country. Fonterra is providing milk to schools and fridges to put the milk in so that there is fruit and milk in schools. This Government is working with a programme called KickStart Breakfast which is working with Sanitarium and Fonterra. Just last month we delivered the 3400000th breakfast. Every school in the country is able to take part in that and the Prime Minister is absolutely right—just under 800 schools are taking part in providing that breakfast. That is being funded by this Government along with other companies.KidsCan is also providing food support to schools. And it is really interesting that in the talk that KidsCan had with me it said that it is providing lunches to about 300-odd schools but that it does so in a discreet manner. It does not want those children to be stigmatised. It just makes sure that the schools can deliver the programme. So up comes a politician who is making a political point with photos and media and there we are—we have those children stigmatised which is totally against the respect that KidsCan was showing those children. KidsCan has also been funding raincoats and the Government has funded that initiative with half a million dollars. And it is also funding nits. We put $900000 into treating nits because that was recognised as a problem.I just want to share with the House when we are considering as part of this Government’s programme reform of the Resource Management Act. This Government put $900000 into relieving children of nits. Part of that funding went to providing specifically designed handbasins to wash the children’s hair in at school. It was a fantastic idea and schools were delighted. Let me tell you that in the 17 Hawke’s Bay schools it took 6 months to get a resource consent through to install those handbasins—6 months. In Hawke’s Bay 17 schools waited while that resource management consent went through their local councils. That is ridiculous.Stuart Nash: What councils?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: Hastings and Napier. The members that represent those areas should be banging on those councils’ doors—6 months to get resource consentsto put handbasins in so that KidsCan could roll out the nit programme. Since it has done that of course we have seen a huge response to that and it has made a huge difference to the lives of those children. They have discovered all sorts of skin diseases as a result of it there are nurses working with them and it is a very good programme.So the point is that this Government is providing enormous help to those families and for that member to stand up in this House and accuse our Prime Minister of being mean and of supporting kids for only a political purpose is I think outrageous because he has shown enormous leadership on this and has made sure that the Government is stepping in to help hundreds and thousands of New Zealand children throughout schools.None of that takes away from the responsibility of parents. We know that because the economy is growing the average wage is growing. The Minister of Finance said that in the House today. The average wage is growing faster than inflation so families should be taking care of children—that is their first responsibility—but where they cannot this Government is stepping in to help.