Henare PeeniPart 2 AssistanceHon PEENI HENARE (Associate Minister for Social Development): Tēnā koe Madam Chair. Thank you for this opportunity. As we move into Part 2 I am mindful that time is against me on this one but Part 2 of the bill outlines basic eligibility criteria and requirements. If we can classify them in two parts they are main assistance and of course supplementary assistance which won't be anything new to the committee. It's important as we've moved on from Part 1 and we move into Part 2 that we set out what those eligibility criteria are and the requirements for the myriad of services and assistance that our general public and Kiwis are eligible to receive. Of course those main assistance provisions are the job seeker support the sole parent support the supported living payment and the list goes on.But I do want to just pick up on one point that was made before we finished Part 1 and that was saying that just simply changing the name was willy-nilly and tinkering around the edges. I actually think that as has been stated by the Minister from the beginning of this entire process those reset buttons needed to be pushed so that we can have a clean slate to then build a system that is far more responsive to the needs of New Zealanders wherever they might be and whatever assistance they might need.So it's important then that we get some of those terms right in and around the services that our people are able to receive. You know some of those might sound trivial or be of no consequence to the other side but we believe on this side of the Chamber that these are the kinds of languages and the kind of nuance that we need to see in this particular legislation and I take it back to my point around the systematic change to make sure that we give those who are actually delivering these services on the ground the ability to empower our people for true transformational change.Part 2 of the bill also talks about the rates of payment for each assistance type. The bill also carries forward a provision from the Act that will enable the Minister to approve and establish welfare programmes for the purposes of granting special assistance and we know that those come in various forms.Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.Hon PEENI HENARE: Thank you Madam Chair. Sadly I was interrupted by the dinner break but we have just not long entered into Part 2 and I was covering off some of the broader detail of this particular part.Just to wind up my contribution to allow the committee to enter into debate on the matter I just wanted to touch on a few things that will be amended or are proposed to be amended in this particular bill in relation to Part 2. This part includes minor and technical changes outlining that parents who have lost the support of their partners due to imprisonment receive the sole parent rate of jobseeker support if their youngest dependent child is over 14 years. The 50 percent benefit protection for people with dependent children who are subject to a 13-week non-entitlement period applies when the benefit has not yet been granted. The Ministry of Social Development's discretion not to pay disability allowance or to pay it at a reduced rate when a client is already receiving similar assistance only applies to an overseas pension or a periodical allowance if it is made for the same purpose. The maximum rate of the emergency benefit is the rate of the equivalent working-age benefit under the Act. This part also repeals an unused and outdated provision which allowed an emergency benefit to be granted on the condition that the applicant complied with the requirements to undergo medical or other treatment.Tacked on to my contribution before the dinner break I think that provides a general overview of Part 2 in categorising the benefits that are available and also the supplementary support that people in Aotearoa New Zealand can get. I'm looking forward to some robust debate as Part 2 progresses in the committee.