Sio William: Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sio William: Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 18 July 2012. Volume:681;Page:3657. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Su’a WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 When I sat down earlier the question I had asked the Minister for Social Development was in terms of her projections and how many sole parents she expects through work testing will receive part-time work and how many sole mothers will receive full-time work within the range of hours that her bill the Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill identifies—10 to 20 hours for part-time work and 20 to 40 hours for full-time work—as noted in clause 29. I want to also ask her about clauses 31 33 and 36 which talk about the pre-benefit requirements. Sole parents will now be required to undertake activities prior to receiving the benefit. This is what we were advised by the officials as to pre-benefit activities. One was to undertake one or more of the stated pre-benefit activities—for example firstly attend and participate in an employment-related seminar or planning session; and secondly at any time before the benefit commences attend and participate in interviews to which they are referred by Work and Income and to accept any offer of suitable employment. It seems to me that if the Government is going to require people to do those sorts of things then the public has the right to be asking this Minister how many sole parents will be guaranteed jobs that they can enter into. At the moment if this is the pre-benefit activity that is designed it simply means that they are being coerced bullied and pushed into it without any guarantee that a job is going to be available. 
The experience of some beneficiaries whom I have encountered is that they simply go from employer to employer and ask those employers: “Can you sign that you don’t have a job or that you will not accept myself applying for the job?”. To me that does not provide any hope for people who want to work who want to get off the benefit and they are being pushed into jobs by this Government. There is nothing in the bill that says these sole parents or these people will get a job that will pay them a wage that can sustain their families. The fear is that if they go through this process but cannot get a job then there is a strong possibility under this bill that they would be sanctioned and they would lose the benefit that they should receive. 
Members on the other side seem to believe that a benefit for a sole mum a sole parent is a bad thing. Yet if you look again at the fundamental purpose of the Social Security Act the fundamental purpose of that Act is to provide support and help to those people who have care responsibilities. In this case sole parents have care responsibilities to children—to children whom I consider to be the future leaders of this country. But obviously if a young mum or sole mum does not have a job does not have an income how on earth are we expecting them to live and to provide for their families? We are already seeing the ramifications of the austerity measures of this Government on people who do not have homes who are living in caravans who are living in poor squalid conditions and who even live in cars I say to the Minister but who do not qualify for any Government support under this particular Government. If this Government is going to push people into jobs why does it not then obligate itself by ensuring that the jobs are there and by ensuring that if a mother is to find part-time work she will be guaranteed an income?