Turei Metiria: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTurei Metiria: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 29 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:338. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green)to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his reported statement that “he was proud of the Government’s record in tackling child poverty”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):Yes.Metiria Turei: Is the Prime Minister proud of his tax policies in light of Unicef’s finding today that his tax cuts for high earners achieved nothing for New Zealand kids in poverty while cash payments to poor families in Australia during the global financial crisis helped to reduce child poverty by 30 percent while also stimulating the economy?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think that the member’s assessment of the report is actually incorrect. Looking at Australia the reason that its child poverty rates have reduced by 6 percent is that it has actually had a strong economy. I think it is implausible actually to claim that a one-off $900 stimulus payment made in one particular year would have an impact on child poverty rates when it was paid after when some of those rates were being measured. So I think the member’s reading of the report is quite incorrect.Metiria Turei: Why did the Prime Minister cut taxes for the wealthy during the depths of the global financial crisis yet do nothing to improve the outcomes—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member has a right to ask the question so it can be heard. Would the member please start—[Interruption] Order! Would the member please start the question again.Metiria Turei: Why did the Prime Minister cut taxes for the wealthy during the depths of the global financial crisis yet do nothing to improve the outcomes for New Zealand’s poorest children something that 18 other OECD countries managed to do despite being hit harder by the crisis than New Zealand?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Rather than the member actually criticising the Government’s tax programme which I think has been at least one contributing factor to a stronger economy she should of course be congratulating the Government because it is that stronger economy that has seen child poverty rates reduce. It is that strong economy and a continuation of a strong economy that will lift more children out of poverty. And actually this Government has done a lot when it comes to making sure that the most needy children get support. That includes borrowing through the financial crisis for Working for Families for accommodation supplements and for interest rates relief. It includes expanding the Food in Schools programme—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: As Metiria Turei had a right to have her question heard in reasonable silence so the Prime Minister has a right to answer the question without the uproar I was experiencing from my left.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: It has included a wide range of things like the insulation of homes. A strong economy is the No. 1 way to lift youngsters out of poverty. The Government is exploring a range of different measures it can also potentially implement to help those in the most severe form of material deprivation. But in the end a strong economy is the thing that will help the most number of New Zealand children.Metiria Turei: Is the Prime Minister disputing the findings from Unicef’s international report comparing OECD countries and how they managed with child poverty rates over the global financial crisis which clearly describes New Zealand’s child poverty rates as stagnating under his watch as a direct result of his failure to invest in children including serious criticisms of his tax cut regime to the very wealthy? Does he dispute Unicef’s findings?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: What I dispute is the member’s analysis. What the report quite clearly shows actually is that child poverty rates reduced under this Government—yes at not as fast a rate as we would all like but this country was much more—Hon David Cunliffe: Stagnated.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well no one wanted to listen to you during the campaign; I cannot see why they would want to listen to you now.Metiria Turei: Does it concern the Prime Minister that one of the three indicators in the report where New Zealand children are doing worse is food supply—that is even more New Zealand families report not having enough money from payday to payday to provide enough food for them and their children?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Again what I think you can take from the report is that firstly the number of children living in poverty in New Zealand is reducing under this Government. Secondly if you go and look at the countries that had the biggest increases in child poverty under the measurements in the report they were countries like Iceland Greece Ireland Spain and Italy—countries that follow the kinds of economic plans proposed by the Greens which is to spend a lot to tax a lot and to pretend actually that a strong economy is not the solution to helping youngsters out of poverty. This Government is working on a very extensive programme and it has done so over time and actually I think overall our record given the circumstances we inherited from the poor economic management of the previous Labour Government has been quite strong.Metiria Turei: Will the Prime Minister adopt child poverty reduction targets given that one of Unicef’s top three recommendations is for the New Zealand Government to implement better data on child poverty because how can you possibly manage what you do not measure?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: If the member’s logic is correct then we should just ignore the Unicef report because it says that it does not have good information to measure these things.