Alexander Marc: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Alexander Marc: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:619;Page:15244] 
12.  
MARC ALEXANDER (United Future) 
 to the  
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: Does he continue to stand by his statement that assessment for the independent youth benefit is “taken seriously”; if so why? 
Hon RICK BARKER (Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 Yes I do. In each individual case there is a careful assessment of the young person’s personal circumstances. In particular there must be a serious reason why he or she cannot live and be supported by his or her parents. 
Marc Alexander 
: How does the Minister reconcile the statutory obligation to “determine if there has been a breakdown between a child and their parents” with parents not even being told of the allegations made against them and therefore not having any chance to put their side of the story due to the Privacy Act? When I questioned ActionWorks in Christchurch it openly admitted that it did nothing to check the facts of the youths’ story. 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: A clear process has to be undertaken before an application is granted. Independent advice is sought generally from the group Special Education. There is an interview with the individual child or young person and an interview with the parents caregiver or other adult person before an assessment is made. I cannot comment on the specifics referred to by the member. 
Georgina Beyer 
: Is an independent youth benefit ever granted in a situation where the parents indicate that they are still supportive of their child? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: Yes. If after a thorough assessment by an appropriately qualified professional it is determined that there are good reasons why the child can no longer remain with the family an independent youth benefit may be granted. It is mandatory that the assessment process includes consultation with parents or guardians and if that is not possible with a significant family member or other adult. The process can and will where appropriate include family reconciliation counselling. 
Katherine Rich 
: As the Minister reportedly said that the independent youth benefit was “not given out as easily as it used to be” implying that his Government had done something to improve the present system what specific changes to the independent youth benefit can he list? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: I will list the outcomes. In August 1999 3652 youth benefits were being given out. In August 2004 2377 youth benefits were being given out. That is a decrease of 34.91 percent. We do go through the process very thoroughly and I can tell that member and the House that of all the applications considered in the last financial year 41 percent were declined. It is not an automatic right. 
Katherine Rich 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister did not address my question which was about what specific changes had been made to the independent youth benefit. He spoke about outcomes but I was expecting a list of things such as changes to evaluation eligibility and monitoring. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I will ask the Minister to respond to that part of the question that the member asked. 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: We have been very careful to make sure that the process is gone through very thoroughly and very rigorously. It is a matter of process and about balance. It is much different from what was happening under a National Government. 
Katherine Rich 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Once again I asked a very specific question about specific changes made to a particular benefit. The Minister made no attempt to address that question. Either he knows that some changes have been made by his Government or he knows there have not been. He has been quoted as saying that the benefit is harder to get than it was. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister addressed the question. The answer might not satisfy the member but that is not my job. 
Marc Alexander 
: How does the Minister justify his Government destroying families at taxpayers’ expense without assessing the truth of the allegations spun by youths wanting to opt out of being parented when the Ministry of Social Development never checks where those kids end up living and under what conditions does not check with the schools to see whether they are turning up and has never charged parents as a result of the allegations? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: That member could not be more wrong. There is follow-up. After 8 weeks there is a requirement to follow up with the individual child and to check on his or her circumstances. The situation in such cases is that there is family breakdown. There are difficult issues to resolve and different emotions to resolve and the Government’s objective is to keep those young people at school for as long as we can and keep them on the straight and narrow so that they can get on with their lives. 
Marc Alexander 
: What will the Minister do to ensure that the independent youth benefit is not just this Government’s way of giving easy money to enable 16 and 17-year-olds to avoid being parented given that in the first half of this year 205 out of 328 applications for the independent youth benefit were granted yet those whose applications had been declined simply came back with even more concocted allegations until they did get it and have been double counted having been counted as having been declined when they actually succeeded? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: The overall figures speak for themselves. Of the total number of applications of which there were 7664—this is for the financial year 2003-04—the number of declines was 3120. The current number—applications that were granted eventually—is 2377. A declining number of applications are granted. I want to make it clear to the member that it is actually more difficult to get this benefit than it has ever been. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I just want to say to the member that his last two questions were far too long. I will listen to this one quite carefully. 
Marc Alexander 
: Why does the Minister consider his officials to be competent when in answer to my written question they admitted that they “do not collect any information on how many applicants for the independent youth benefit were declined or cancelled due to false information nor of any prosecutions as a result of false information.”— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is sufficient. 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: There is a failure to collect information. It is not a question of incompetence. I have high regard for the competence of the officials. They are specifically trained and specifically tasked to do this work. I have confidence that they are doing it to the best of their ability.