Benson-Pope David: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate 
Benson-Pope David: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:640;Page:10192] 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 It is a real pleasure to be able to stand in this House and talk about the policy initiatives that are due for implementation this weekend. I will spend a bit of time on the ones we have introduced earlier in the year and also mention some important new initiatives for the whole of this country that have already been introduced in the 7½ years of this Labour-led Government. 
First of all of course as a number of my colleagues have already mentioned we have the introduction of the enhanced KiwiSaver programme next Sunday which was announced in the Budget. I think it is essential that we do revisit the comments that Dr Cullen made at question time earlier today. Most New Zealanders including those in the workplaces around my electorate have already realised that not signing up to KiwiSaver—or not staying in it because signing up is already the default for everyone—is an absolute no-brainer. What a surprise it is to us that National Party members oppose the enhanced KiwiSaver. We are not quite sure—indeed we are not sure they are sure—what their policy is on the first phase of KiwiSaver but they are quite clearly not supporting “KiwiSaver II”. Why? Well I suppose it is because it expects employers to make a contribution and we know the focus of some of the sad policies that we see from the Opposition. 
Of course as of a few days’ time we also have the 20 hours’ free early childhood education. It has been fascinating to see the evolution of that discussion. We have not heard any policy from Opposition members. We know they oppose the $285 million new policy extending the availability of early childhood education to younger children but they do not have a replacement for it. We know they oppose the paid parental leave initiatives that this Government has introduced and we know— 
Darren Hughes 
: Why? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: They have not told us why but they certainly oppose them. We know that Opposition members oppose the development of better primary health care which has the final cohort of the population ages 25 to 44 coming in next week. We know they oppose that because they have told us. They have also told us that they oppose the $3 prescriptions that have been so welcomed by our community. 
Let us look back to a little earlier in the year. Earlier in the year as of 1 April we had the final phase of the Working for Families package which is now contributing $1.6 billion this year to the incomes of New Zealand families with children. That is about 360000 families and the uptake has been just fantastic. We know that National Party members oppose that. What they want to do is to put money into the hands of their mates and have flat-rate tax cuts which we know put more money into the hands of the people who earn more money. That does not target the inevitably limited resources that any community has into the area of greatest need. They stand up and pretend to shed crocodile tears about the National Party’s concern for low-income people. Well there are not many people who have studied the political history of this country who cannot see through that absolute sham. 
We also know that this Government in one of its first steps reindexed the floor of superannuation. We increased national superannuation to 65 percent at age 65 in the year 2000 when we were first returned to the Treasury benches and we know that in 2001 we also introduced the Superannuation Fund to ensure that that political commitment will be able to be funded. What was the attitude of National Party members? Well National previously cut the floor of superannuation and those members certainly were not suggesting any reinstatement. Dr Brash is on record as saying that inevitably they would have to review the floor of superannuation anyway or the age of entitlement. And as for the Superannuation Fund the very vehicle that guarantees the ongoing partial funding of national superannuation the National Party continues to oppose that. 
Earlier in the year as I said we introduced the last stage of the phase-in of Working for Families. We are now starting to see thank goodness in the latest census the sort of achievement and the sort of movement in people’s income that we had expected as a result of that policy. We know that those changes distribute around $366 million to families with children in this year. That is new money in addition to the earlier three phases making up the $1.6 billion I referred to earlier. We know that around 360000 New Zealand families—that is around three out of four New Zealand families—are better off as a result of the Working for Families package mostly made up of tax credits of various kinds. 
What does that mean? What it means for Natelle of Whakatane is this. Natelle is a sole parent and she has one child. She had been receiving the domestic purposes benefit for 14 months. When her Work and Income case manager outlined to her the benefits of Working for Families during their meeting she was motivated to find a job. She found a part-time position with the assistance of her Work and Income case manager working 20 hours a week in a childcare centre and was able to cancel her benefit in March of this year. With her part-time wage and Working for Families assistance Natelle now earns $117.52 more a week than she did when she was receiving the domestic purposes benefit. So she is pretty pleased to be working and she is enjoying the financial benefits of the targeting that this Government’s policies have brought to the workforce. 
I must say that it is exactly that sort of initiative coupled with the in-work payment that is part of the Working for Families package that is causing the very significant reduction in the numbers of domestic purposes beneficiaries right now. I am pleased to tell the House that that trend continues. We know that those policies have lifted around 70000 children out of income poverty this year in addition to the 60000 lifted out of income poverty and food poverty of course in the period between 2001 and 2004 prior to the implementation of Working for Families because of the changes in employment huge decreases in unemployment and the policies of this Government. We hope that those reductions in child poverty will move New Zealand from its current 2001 ranking of 18th out of 24 in the OECD to the top half of the OECD by the end of the next assessment period—most likely we believe into the top quarter. That is very good news. 
I had the pleasure yesterday in Hamilton of speaking to a meeting of the Mayors Task Force for Jobs. I said that in the 7½ years of this Government unemployment benefit numbers have fallen from 161000 in 1999 to under 24000 now. That is a better than 83 percent reduction. The reason I mention Hamilton is that that reduction means that 137000 former beneficiaries are now in work thanks to the policies of this Government. That was pretty poignant in Hamilton which has of course a population of 131000. But even more pleasing is the fact that between 1999 and today the number of young people aged 18 and 19 receiving an unemployment benefit has dropped by 93 percent. In 1999 when National was still in power 17514 18 and 19-year-old New Zealanders were receiving an unemployment benefit. Today that figure is not 17514 it is not 17000 it is not even 1700; it is actually 1227. So if anyone wants to look at the performance of this Government he or she should look at the figures for unemployed 18 and 19-year-olds because they have dropped from 17500 to 1227. The previous speaker may well want to go away and cry but that is not just a reality for 18 and 19-year-olds. 
I talked about the total figures. Let us talk about the John Key myth of the long-term unemployed. When National was in power 70000 people had been on an unemployment benefit for over a year. That number now is 10000. What an extraordinary achievement. Maori unemployment is no different. Under National 44500 Maori were receiving an unemployment benefit. That number is now 8238. And members should listen to this if they are interested in young people. The number of Maori aged 18 and 19 receiving an unemployment benefit under National in 1999 was 6276. The number is now an extraordinary 477. That has been done because of good economic conditions good policy and good support from our support partners—and I thank New Zealand First—and also because of the extraordinary work of groups such as the Mayors Task Force for Jobs. It is an achievement that this community should be very very proud of.