McClay Todd: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
McClay Todd: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 11 December 2012. Volume:686;Page:7317. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
2. 
TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What measures has the Government taken to support vulnerable New Zealanders through the aftermath of the domestic recession and global financial crisis? [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Now look I just asked the House to be more reasonable. The Minister has not even opened his mouth and the honourable— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I wasn’t interrupting anything. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I am still on my feet. The honourable shadow Leader of the House is interjecting in an unacceptable way. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 Despite difficult economic times the Government has focused on assisting those most in need through the recession. We have adjusted all welfare payments for the cost of living. New Zealand superannuation has been increased by $194 a fortnight or 22 percent since 1 April 2008. We adjusted all benefits to compensate for the rise in GST. We have also invested significantly more in specific programmes designed to help New Zealanders off welfare and into work because that is the single most important step households can take to help themselves. We have also embarked on a broad-ranging process of reform to reorganise the way that government interacts with those who are most vulnerable so that we can encourage them on to a path of independence rather than trapping them in dependence as our traditional structures have. 
Todd McClay 
: What are some examples of Government initiatives focused particularly on improving the lives of vulnerable children? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: There is a long list but these measures are focused on those who suffer the most deprivation which is actually a different group—a smaller group—from those who find themselves in a situation of a low-income household. The initiatives include though the Better Public Services results targeted on increasing infant immunisation rates which are now higher than they have ever been in New Zealand a reduction in assaults on children and increasing participation in early childhood education particularly for those from the most vulnerable households. This comes on top of extending the programme to improve the living conditions of tens of thousands of New Zealand children by insulating and heating 230000 homes which will include the insulation of all 70000 State houses by the end of next year. That is not to mention the rheumatic fever programme and further funding for free under-sixes doctors’ visits. 
Todd McClay 
: What recent reports has the Minister seen on the position of New Zealand’s most vulnerable children? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The Children’s Commissioner’s expert advisory committee today issued its report on solutions to child poverty including 78 recommendations. We will pick up some of the ideas that we believe will work and some of the issues that the report covers are already being addressed. For instance there is merit in the suggestion of community hubs and in a warrant of fitness for homes that access Government subsidies. The Government is already ensuring that beneficiary teen parents are in education and being helped into work. In fact all 2600 teenage mums under the age of 18 now have an organisation alongside them supervising their progress. However we will not support universal child payments. Families on the lowest incomes are in the greatest need and any new spending needs to be targeted on them. 
Todd McClay 
: What is the Government’s overall approach to addressing some of the issues raised by the Children’s Commissioner’s advisory group report? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Our approach is to work to protect those who are genuinely the most vulnerable by targeting more of the Government’s resources on those people and those families rather than spreading resources thinly across all New Zealanders through universal programmes. We are also focusing on mobility—that is assisting people out of the dependence in which they can often be trapped to take the steps such as through education through skills through supported childcare and through assistance into employment towards independence so that they do not remain in poverty.