Turei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTurei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 25 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18857. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green)to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):Yes.Metiria Turei: Does the Prime Minister stand by his rejection yesterday of research that showed 40 percent of New Zealand’s poorest kids cannot afford a raincoat given that the research was based on Ministry of Social Development data?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member is incorrectly paraphrasing me from yesterday.Metiria Turei: Does the Prime Minister also think that Ministry of Social Development data is wrong when it shows that 42 percent of New Zealand’s poorest children do not own two pairs of decent shoes because their families cannot afford them?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I cannot talk about the veracity of their data but what I can say is that the Government has been supporting the least well off New Zealanders through a variety of programmes as I described yesterday similar to the ones we are doing with KidsCan.Metiria Turei: Will the Prime Minister commit to reading even just a few pages of Bryan Perry’s 2013 Ministry of Social Development report which explains the basic items poorer Kiwi kids are regularly going without because of the cost such as their own bed their school uniforms all the way from their jumpers to their shoes and healthy food?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I have read part of the report and I have had Bryan Perry in my office. The very interesting thing when you have him in your office and talk to him is he is absolutely adamant that income inequality in New Zealand is not widening and has not widened. So if the member is now quoting Bryan Perry I congratulate her because he is actually right but it defeats her own argument.Metiria Turei: I seek leave to table two documents. The first is pages 196 to 200 of Household incomes in New Zealand: Trends in indicators of inequality and hardship written by Bryan Perry from July 2013 showing the non-monetary indicators of hardship and deprivation.Mr SPEAKER: And the second? Is that the two documents?Metiria Turei: The second document is page 9 from the Solutions to Child Poverty in New Zealand showing also the level of deprivation—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am assured that both of those documents are publicly and freely available to members.Metiria Turei: Does the Prime Minister agree or disagree with the new Ministry of Health findings that 27 percent of Māori children do not go to the doctor when they need to often because their parents cannot afford the cost of transport to get them to the doctor?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Again I cannot talk about the veracity of that quote. Often they are misquoted by the member. But what I can say is that this is the Government that provided free doctors visits for children under the age of 13. That is a tremendous step for any Government to take.Metiria Turei: Why did the Prime Minister say to the House yesterday that the Government had borrowed $5 billion to support vulnerable New Zealanders during the global financial crisis when in fact it borrowed $5 billion to pay for tax cuts for the very wealthy; and when will he stop blaming poor New Zealand children for the country’s debt?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member is quite wrong. But what the member is demonstrating which she is in agreement with the Labour Party on is that they want to tax New Zealanders a lot more. Fair enough but that is going to slow the economy down cost jobs and put more people into welfare.Metiria Turei: Does the Prime Minister believe it acceptable for him to be wilfully ignorant of his Government’s own evidence of serious child poverty and deprivation suffered by 25 percent—one in four—of all New Zealand children?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member is wrong.Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! This is a point of order and it will be heard in silence.Hon Trevor Mallard: Thank you Mr Speaker. I just want to seek your assurance that the interjections from the Minister for Social Development that gave you the assurance that you needed to reject the tabling of documents will show in Hansard.Mr SPEAKER: The member will have to wait and look at Hansard but I doubt it. If there was not any response to the interjection I would not expect them to show.Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: What is the point of order?Hon Trevor Mallard: The point of order is that you responded by saying you had received an assurance that they were in the public record. That was done by way of interjection while Metiria Turei was taking a point of order.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I knew they were in the public arena. [Interruption] Order! We are not going to have a repeat of yesterday. When I am on my feet I expect all members to be silent and that includes the Hon Trevor Mallard. I was listening very carefully to what those documents were. I am absolutely confident that they are within the public arena. They are easily available. In fact I think I have had one of them across my desk relatively recently.Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: Again can I just check before I take this point of order that this is a fresh point of order—Hon Trevor Mallard: It is a fresh point of order.Mr SPEAKER: —and not in any way relitigating a decision I have already made.Hon Trevor Mallard: No I am not. I have not relitigated any decision.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Then the member will get to the point. Thank you.Hon Trevor Mallard: My point of order is will you withdraw the assurance you gave the House that you had received—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat and if I get another point of order like that the member will be leaving the Chamber for the balance of question time.Metiria Turei: Will the Prime Minister take full responsibility for the fact that there are 45000 more children living in severe poverty since he became Prime Minister?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: For a start off that is not correct. What I will take responsibility for is that we have got one of the fastest-growing economies in the OECD. At the worst of times we borrowed billions and billions and billions of dollars to support New Zealanders in need and we have got a system in New Zealand that is fair and highly redistributive and that is the way it should be to protect the most vulnerable New Zealanders.