Gudgeon Bill: Social Security (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Gudgeon Bill: Social Security (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
[Volume:624;Page:19569] 
BILL GUDGEON (NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First supports this bill with the provisos that I read out from our minority report in an earlier debate. At present section 70A of the principal Act provides that in certain circumstances the rate of the benefit payable to sole parents may be reduced in respect of each dependent child. The amendments in this bill provide for an additional reduction of the benefit by $6 for beneficiaries’ continued non-compliance. In certain circumstances currently specified in section 70A(3) of the principal Act a beneficiary who would otherwise be liable under section 70A to have his or her benefit reduced is not liable. 
The amendments create two further exemptions from liability. Firstly the benefit is not reduced if the director-general is satisfied that the beneficiary or any of the beneficiary’s children would be at risk of violence if he or she complied with any of the relevant requirements. Secondly the benefit is not reduced if the director-general is satisfied that there is a compelling circumstance for the beneficiary’s failure to carry out any of the relevant requirements and that even if he or she did carry out the action there would be no real likelihood of child support being collected. 
It is of great concern to New Zealand First that a number equivalent to the attendance at Wellington’s rugby stadium have been born into this situation—35000. What is this Labour Government’s solution to this fact? Would a continuing decrease in beneficiaries’ allowances solve this problem? What would this Government’s response be if all of the 19000 mothers pleaded that their safety was being jeopardised? Is there an alternative or will there be another select committee hearing at a cost to the taxpayers? New Zealand First considers it important that both parents are the only option in relation to all responsibilities for their children’s upbringing and this includes finance. Hopefully the financial reduction under section 70 signals the importance of paternity and hopefully the additional reduction proposed in this bill will reinforce that message. 
Let us face the fact that this legislation will only scratch the surface because the deterioration of the family unit is the reason for many of the social outcomes we are experiencing today—35000 children and 19000 mothers. Not all the blame is on the mothers. There are fathers who are evading their responsibilities of taking care of these children and there are mothers who are in the same situation. Why has it got like this? That is the question I want to ask. Why is it that we in Parliament have to create legislation to support people in this situation? Why is an education programme not in place to teach people about their responsibilities and what they should be doing? 
New Zealand First supports this bill because of the need to support people in this situation. But as I have said before if we give a person a fish he or she will eat for a day; if we teach people how to fish they will eat for the rest of their lives. So it comes back to education again. I am sure there is a solution which New Zealand First would support to reduce those numbers and to place the responsibility where it should be—with fathers and mothers in their homes. Our reason for supporting this bill is the need to get people stable on their feet and carrying out the responsibilities that all parents should be meeting. New Zealand First is hopeful that that will take place and that the financial reduction will have the effect of getting people thinking in the right direction. But I can see that this will never happen because of the irresponsible people out there who are in this situation. 
So what is our responsibility as parliamentarians? It is to teach to change and to ensure that taxpayers’ money is put into areas where it is really needed.