Wong Pansy: Estimates Debate —  
Wong Pansy: Estimates Debate —  
[Volume:610;Page:7184] 
PANSY WONG (NZ National) 
: 
 What a wasted few minutes! So this Labour Minister will take credit for the decrease in the unemployment rate—which is because of good weather and a low exchange rate—but as soon as it comes to the increase in the number of beneficiaries then somehow that is out of the Government’s hands. I would like to remind this Minister that the questions I raised just now were listed in the select committee’s report and the Labour members were part of that committee. It was the Labour members who got so frustrated—which I can understand—by the Minister doing nothing. That is what they put down in the report—for the issue of the increase in the invalids and sickness benefits to be addressed with urgency. All they can get from that Minister is that he really has no solution so he blames the National Party. 
I am very proud of my colleague Katherine Rich who came up with a well-researched logical good piece of documentation concerning the social welfare issue of getting rid of the dependency attitude in the second generation. The honourable Minister should look to that document for solutions and stop blaming the National Party which would be very happy to fix the problem. 
But before the interruption of the Minister’s speech I was commenting on the scary thought that the Minister—I presume—influences the ministry which then says that it wants to implement policy to ensure that the Ministry of Social Welfare’s staff members would not even subconsciously operate on a biased base. That is the type of action we came to associate with autocratic regimes overseas in which people were told they were not even allowed subconsciously to operate with certain attitudes. But I can assure the public that denial and trying to control the mindset of staff members will not solve the issue of the increase in beneficiaries. 
 The other issue in the select committee report that I want to raise is the issue relating to caseload management. Apparently the reduction of caseload management is an important priority for the Department of Child Youth and Family Services. It currently works on the basis of one staff member to 160 clients and the aim is to reduce the ratio to one staff member to 120 clients. If the Minister is so keen to take a call I would like him to take a call to explain why at the same time that there is a target of reducing the staff-to-client ratio this department can spare Shannon Pakura the chief social worker to operate out of the Associate Minister of Maori Affairs’ office. She is in a $100000-a-year job and can apparently spare a day to work in the office of the Associate Minister of Maori Affairs. 
I think the Minister should take a call and explain that to the public. What sort of message is that sending to the staff at the Department of Child Youth and Family Services who on the one hand were told to reduce the staff-to-clientele ratio and to reduce the caseload backlog and who on the other hand learn that a senior manager who is on $100000 a year can spare a day for a secondary job in the office of the Associate Minister of Maori Affairs? How can the Minister expect his departmental staff to get the message that they have to work harder? I think that is not sending the right message.