Heatley Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHeatley Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 26 September 2013. Volume:693;Page:13781. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.Hon PHIL HEATLEY (National—Whangarei) to theMinister for Social Development: What recent announcements has she made about the cost of long-term welfare dependency?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development): Today the latest annual valuation of the welfare system has been released. The June 2012 valuation shows that the current lifetime liability is $86.8 billion. Leaving aside the effect of interest rates adding $13.4 billion we have actively reduced the liability by $3 billion due to fewer people being on benefit particularly the unemployment benefit and the domestic purposes benefit. This is a strong indication that changes that this Government has made to the welfare system are working well and that efforts to reduce long-term welfare dependency are making a difference.Hon Phil Heatley: What does the valuation tell us about young people?Hon PAULA BENNETT: We now know that youth spend an average of 18.9 years on benefit if they go on as teenagers costing $239000 over a lifetime. The average young beneficiary has a 43 percent chance of being on benefit in 15 years’ time and 25 percent of youth are expected to be on a benefit 40 years after the valuation date. Sixty percent of those beneficiaries currently aged 30 to 39 came on to benefit as a teenager. This clearly shows that this Government’s focus last year on youth in the new Youth Service was exactly where our focus needed to be.Hon Phil Heatley: What is the Government doing to actively target young people most likely to be on welfare long-term?Hon PAULA BENNETT: As I have stated we have focused welfare reforms on young people. It is where our focus needs to be. In Budget 2011 an extra $287 million was targeted at young people on benefits. This included child assistance for teen parents and it included the card. It was about money management it was about getting them into budgeting services it was about making sure that they are in education and it is making a difference. Budget 2012 included another $188 million for reforms that provide more support. The investment approach has changed the entire focus of the welfare system and it is ensuring that we are putting support where it is needed most.Sue Moroney: Is sending people without jobs off to Australia to get jobs the best strategy she can manage to reduce long-term welfare dependency?Hon PAULA BENNETT: That would be a no. There is actually a lot of work here and there is a lot of—Sue Moroney: That’s where they’re going.Hon PAULA BENNETT: Well actually most of them are not. The numbers that are going to Australia have reduced. The member might want to look up the facts to be assured of that. We are seeing more than 1500 a week going off to go into jobs. That is just those who are going into jobs. Another 2000 are going off to go into different directions and because relationships have changed but actually 1500 are going into jobs which I think is pretty extraordinary.