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: 08 May 2013. Volume:689;Page:9780. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]9.JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) to theMinister for Social Development: Does she stand by her recent statement that “there are children who are living in poverty and are doing it hard in this country”; if not why not?Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health)on behalf of theMinister for Social Development: Yes she does stand by her statement. She also stands by her statements today where she welcomed the household labour force survey which shows more New Zealanders are in work. It is very good to also see the continuing growth in the New Zealand economy which will provide more opportunities for more New Zealanders.Jacinda Ardern: Why is her Government content to measure and set a target for reducing rheumatic fever but it refuses to measure and set targets for poverty a key determinant of this disease or is she happy to stick with her position on this issue that “There is not a Government measurement for poverty ha ha ha ha!”?Hon TONY RYALL: I would certainly have to check the quote that that member wants to attribute to the Hon Paula Bennett but I can certainly say that the Minister has always made it clear that she does not believe there is one measurement of poverty in New Zealand. What the member should also know is that the Minister is very strongly supportive of the rheumatic fever programme because under that member opposite’s Government the rheumatic fever rates increased relentlessly particularly during the term of the Minister Annette King.Jacinda Ardern: How many measures of poverty are there and is the Government willing to pick at least one or even five of those measures?Hon TONY RYALL: This Government is determined to take a far more serious approach to dealing with poverty than participating in some argument about what the rate of poverty measurement is etc. We do not think we should be spending an inordinate amount of time debating that issue. We would rather put our focus on toactually dealing with the issues and this Government’s focus has been on providing opportunity through things like education and jobs and on ensuring that we get the best out of the many hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on social services delivery in New Zealand.Jacinda Ardern: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I asked the Minister how many measures of poverty there were and whether he was willing to work with one or a range of those measures. I did not get that response.Mr SPEAKER: Would the member please repeat the question.Jacinda Ardern: How many measures of poverty are there and is the Government willing to pick one or up to five of those measures?Hon TONY RYALL: I would repeat what I said earlier on. The Government is not going to get into this argument of how many measures there are or on what there is and what there is not. Our focus is not on spending a whole lot of time arguing about how we are going to measure it. Surely the focus must be on—Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. If he is refusing to answer the question about the measurement of poverty then he should sit down—that is it.Mr SPEAKER: The member who asked the question asked for it to be repeated. It has certainly been adequately addressed this time. Are there further supplementary questions?Jacinda Ardern: What is the argument against measuring child poverty?Hon TONY RYALL: I think the argument against what that member is arguing in terms of the measurement of poverty is which measure one might want to choose and how much focus you put on a single measurement. I would rather the focus was put on dealing with the issues instead of on some argument about what measure is going to be used. This Government is focusing on the Better Public Services targets that our Prime Minister has set which we think will make a real improvement to the situation of many of New Zealand’s children who do live in poverty and who do live in hardship and that is our determination.Jacinda Ardern: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I still did not feel it was an adequate answer. The question was—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That question was very adequately addressed on that occasion. Has the member got a further supplementary question?Jacinda Ardern: I do.Mr SPEAKER: Then I suggest you use it.Jacinda Ardern: Do the Better Public Services targets require measurement?Hon TONY RYALL: Yes.Jacinda Ardern: If the Minister’s belief is that the argument against measuring child poverty is that there are too many measurements will the Minister accept the Children’s Commissioner’s recommendation that the Government measure against five measures of child poverty; if not why not?Hon TONY RYALL: The Government is considering a number of the recommendations made by the authority that the member has just referred to. We think this is a very important issue. We put a lot of time and effort into dealing with poverty and we consider it far more of a priority than the members opposite who have given their spokesman the opportunity to ask questions in this House on only three occasions this year.