Sepuloni Carmel: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSepuloni Carmel: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 19 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1770. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]9.CARMEL SEPULONI (Labour—Kelston)to the Minister for Social Development: Does she have confidence in the ability of the Ministry of Social Development to exercise financial due diligence?Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Social Development):Yes.Carmel Sepuloni: What confidence does she have in the ministry’s ability to responsibly manage taxpayers’ money given that in 2013-14 six ministry officials spent an average of over $30000 on “other expenses” for international travel including a ministry official’s nearly $50000 taxpayer-funded 5-day trip to Melbourne?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: I say first that that member needs to do a bit more homework because in fact that particular $50000 payment was for a 2-year postgraduate study for the chief legal counsel of the Ministry of Social Development. I think that that was money was well spent.Carmel Sepuloni: Why should the ministry fork out nearly $30000 for “other expenses” for the Minister’s private secretary’s trip to London Paris New York and Honolulu in May 2014?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: The Ministry of Social Development is involved in a great deal of reform. We have welfare reform a reform of Child Youth and Family and I would expect that we would be looking to countries overseas for their answers to some of the issues that this country is facing. I would say that if we are learning from other countries that again is money well spent. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! A little less interjection through the answers would be helpful and the questions.Carmel Sepuloni: Does she agree with the response from the Ministry of Social Development’s chief executive officer about the $3.1 million increase in external contracting the $3.4 million increase in advertising and public relations costs and the trebling of funding of international travel being a drop in the bucket compared with the overall ministry’s budget; if so why?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: First of all I am not exactly sure what the chief executive said nor in what context but what I am sure of is that this chief executive is responsible for a budget of about $23 billion delivers services and support to over a million New Zealanders across the spectrum and manages about 10000 staff. I am sure that he came along expecting the Opposition to ask him questions about things that New Zealanders are really worried about like the unemployment rate support for solo parents and support for people in our communities who are disabled and sick not to ask him about minute expenditure that is well explained in public relations campaigns that respond to concerns around teenage sexual violence and also around campaigns to help elderly with enduring powers of attorney. Those are the sorts of things that were explained to the member in the annual review yesterday.Carmel Sepuloni: How can she claim that this misspending is minute or not significant when it amounts to $5.4 million and the Ministry of Social Development’s programmes that it was forced to defer in the last Budget due to lack of funding came to only $7.2 million?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: I did not say that this money was misspent; in fact I disagree entirely with that proposition. I am surprised that the Opposition thinks it is not worthwhile responding to huge public concern in the wake of the Roast Busters case to actually make sure that there is an education programme on giving young teenage New Zealanders tools to protect them against sexual violence. That was one part of the expenditure that that member was criticising yesterday. As I say a campaign that gave good information to our seniors on the meanings on the concerns around an enduring power of attorney was another one of those increases in expenditure that the member raised yesterday. I am surprised that the Opposition does not think that they are worthwhile.Carmel Sepuloni: Is the reason she thinks her ministry’s extravagant expenditure is OK that she thinks that all those people without work are living pretty good lifestyles because of their as she says “little bit of dole cash crop and kai moana.”?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: What I would say in answer to that question is that the member needs to stop playing to the media and actually do some homework and make sure that the accusations she makes are correct because of the three accusations that she put to the chief executive yesterday three were incorrect.