Parata Hekia: Social Assistance (Future Focus) Bill — Second Reading 
Parata Hekia: Social Assistance (Future Focus) Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:665;Page:13084] 
HEKIA PARATA (National) 
: 
 Tena koe e te Mana Whakawa. Huri noa i to tatou Whare i tenei ahiahi. Tena tatou katoa. I am thankful for the opportunity to stand and make a contribution on the Social Assistance (Future Focus) Bill. I will start by complimenting the Minister in charge of the bill the Minister of Social Development who has had to depart the House. 
As speakers from both sides of the House have commented this afternoon any debate on social welfare will be fraught with emotion as it should be and quite oppositional views and it is not an easy area to change or bring reform to. The Minister has had the courage to do that while also putting up with insults as she goes about her work. So I commend her for her courage in leading work on the reform of this part of the social welfare system. As colleagues on this side of the House have said it reflects a campaign commitment that we made to reform the social welfare system as part of the context of a culture of aspiration. 
We do not think that a life on a benefit is any life at all. We think that the opportunity for New Zealanders to get into work to earn an income and to model for their children the norm of going out and participating in society and contributing to the workforce is aspirational and we want that for all New Zealanders. 
We underestimate the contribution that being in work makes to homes that have otherwise been completely dependent on a benefit. Dependency is a disease. I make no apology about stating it as starkly as that. Dependency on the State gives no life to families or to generations of families who find themselves trapped in a 2-week horizon. That is not the kind of life that I foresee as being well for my whanau for the communities I have been part and parcel of or for communities across New Zealand. As I have said life on a benefit is no life at all. 
My colleague from the Maori Party Te Ururoa Flavell made reference to some wonderful composers—Tuini Ngawai and Sir Apirana Ngata—whose songs poetry and narratives tell us how important it is that we have no dependence on benefits. They talk about it in comparison to the devil. That is the kind of linkage that our forebears have made in exhorting us not to be dependent on the State in any way shape or form. 
This bill reflects a principle of reciprocity. Yes we are committed to a caring and compassionate State. We are committed to helping those who are unable to help themselves. We are equally committed to respecting and honouring those people who are in work and whose taxes fund our compassion. This principle of reciprocity must be applied evenly. If we ask New Zealanders to give as we do then those who are receiving have an obligation to do as much as they can to move themselves into the category of giving. I support absolutely the reciprocal obligations that we are seeking here. I ask what is wrong with work testing a parent be it a mother or a father whose child reaches the age of 6. The horror with which this measure seems to have been greeted by members opposite pays no respect to parents who have children who are 6 or older or indeed younger and who are in the workforce already and through whose taxes we assist those who are not in work. Let us be fair. It should not really matter whether someone is on the benefit. If someone has a child who is 6 or older I think it is totally appropriate to apply a work test to see whether that person can rejoin the workforce. Again I point to the fact that this side of the House is committed to the idea that all New Zealanders have the opportunity to be in work. I do not see what is at all wrong with someone having been on the unemployment benefit for 12 months— 
Carmel Sepuloni 
: They’re committed to following their right-wing agenda even if it discriminates. 
HEKIA PARATA 
: It is easy as our colleague Jacinda Ardern said for both sides of the House to resort to stereotypes and throwaway insults. I do not believe that that has very much to do with which level of the continuum of politics or ideology that side of the House wants to throw out. I come from a community that experiences every day the consequences of State dependency—and they are not pretty consequences. I do not wish that to be the lifelong legacy for my relations who live in those communities. So I stand here speaking authoritatively on this bill because I know how important it is for people who are dependent on the State to have opportunities through the encouragement and support of a State that cares. 
Carmel Sepuloni 
: Only Hekia Parata knows beneficiaries. 
HEKIA PARATA 
: I tell Carmel Sepuloni that only I can speak about my own experience. I am the most authoritative on my experience contrary to that member’s view of her omniscience about everybody else’s experiences. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: I am sorry to interrupt the member but the member cannot continually interject if she is not in her own seat. 
HEKIA PARATA 
: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. As I said I can and will speak from my experience. I absolutely support the provisions in this bill because I think that they give greater hope than would otherwise be the case. We are a caring and compassionate Government and we are prepared to support people who need that support. We are— 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: 20000 more unemployed—it’s a small city. 
HEKIA PARATA 
: Look it is very easy for members opposite to throw insults when all the previous Government did was contribute to consigning people to lifelong dependency because of the saviour complex that that side of the House suffered under for so long. Unlike that side of the House we embrace and celebrate people having the opportunity to make decisions for themselves about themselves. This bill facilitates people to do that. 
I am conscious that my time is running out so before I sit down I want to particularly thank the officials. The officials had to answer very detailed questions from all members of our select committee and they did so by assiduously providing us with information that has allowed us to make what I think are very good decisions. It has resulted in a bill before this House that will help bring about the sea change that we need in New Zealand so that the culture of aspiration that this Government is committed to can be shared by all New Zealanders. I commend this bill to the House.