Macindoe Tim: Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Macindoe Tim: Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 19 July 2012. Volume:681;Page:3774. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West) 
: 
 This is an important day for our country and for our history. It is an especially important day and a very positive one for young people who are at risk of leaving school without qualifications who are struggling to find work who are unlikely to acquire a range of vital life skills without much more active intervention and support and who are ultimately in clear danger of being welfare-dependent possibly for a lifetime. That is the reality for far too many young New Zealanders under existing legislation and circumstances. That reality is a tragedy for them it is a constant worry—or at least it certainly ought to be—for all who love and care for them it is a huge cost to our economy and it is a major blight on our society. I am proud to be part of a Government that is determined to tackle this issue at its core. This is one of the most important and compelling issues that made me want to commit myself to a political career. For me therefore this is a very significant day.  
I am proud to have played a full part as a member of the Social Services Committee in developing and working on this bill the Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill to the point where its significant provisions are about to be passed into law. Contrary to the confused and dogma-ridden assertions of Opposition members this bill is not punitive; it is liberating. This bill does not bash beneficiaries. It shows very clearly that we believe in them and that we want the very best for them. It is not heartless and cynical; it is positive and aspirational. It is a measure that is desperately needed and whose time has well and truly come. Our Government has demonstrated this conviction by investing $287.5 million over the next 4 years into practical support and a range of programmes that will assist New Zealanders out of welfare and into work.  
Our opponents have claimed that they welcome that principle but their speeches their votes to date and their intentions as to how they will vote this afternoon show that they clearly believe the opposite. Several Opposition members have worried that young parents covered by this bill will not have access to childcare. That is false and a clear case of cynical scaremongering as $80 million was allocated in this year’s Budget for extra early childhood education childcare places and those who are the focus of this bill will enjoy a guaranteed childcare assistance payment. That is because we want the best not only for those young people but also for their children. For every one of those young people for whom the intergenerational cycle of welfare dependency can be broken life will improve considerably. They will secure the brighter future that this National-led Government wants for every New Zealander.  
Opposition members should support that goal and endorse these measures to achieve it. But instead they have resorted to dogma and negativity refusing to acknowledge the problems and instead saying to those who are in this position: “We’re sorry but for you what you have now is as good as it gets.” Well what have those defeatist merchants of doom told us? Mr Sio seems obsessed with the notion that beneficiaries will be forced into work and then will not be able to live on their wages. Well if they move into low-paid work it is true that for a time life will be difficult and that some tough choices will be needed.  
But that is the reality for them right now because their income is currently welfare-dependent. Their financial circumstances may not improve dramatically but they should improve. They certainly will not decline. Over time the future for them will be much brighter. Being back in work will be a benefit to them and to those who are dependent upon them especially in the longer term. Mr Sio also appears to believe that mothers of young children who enter paid work are guilty of neglect and bad parenting. Well that notion is as ludicrous as it is offensive.  
Members opposite also bleat repeatedly as they have throughout this debate that there are no jobs. Well if that is true in some areas then nothing will change. That is what the unemployment benefit is for. No one can be forced into a job that does not exist. But those who receive the unemployment benefit must be prepared to make the transition when work becomes available to them. In many cases that claim simply is not true. In recent times we have seen that many who have been asked to reapply for the unemployment benefit have instead cancelled their benefit. More people than ever before are currently in work and many of those who were asked to reapply actually did not do so because they had already found work or in some cases they had gone overseas. Many vacancies are now advertised and for reasons that escape many of my constituents quite a number of them are never taken up. Nobody is appointed to them. Many employers especially those providing seasonal work cannot attract workers. Sometimes the issue is not the absence of a job but a reluctance to take it and that too must change.  
I salute the hard work of our Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett and thank her on behalf of all New Zealanders who want to get ahead in life for her courage and determination in facing up to this challenge and for steering this bill through to its expected enactment today. I acknowledge Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga and my colleagues on the Social Services Committee. We have worked hard on this bill. On this side of the House we care passionately about the issue and all who are trapped in welfare dependency. We want so much more for them and this bill contains vital measures to help them to break the cycle and to fulfil their potential. I am proud to have played my part in progressing this bill. I am happy to be held accountable for it and to be judged on its success. That is how confident I am that this bill will achieve its objectives.  
I have always argued in favour of a welfare system for New Zealand that responds as generously and as compassionately as possible to the many thousands of people of all ages who need that support. Many of them have been dealt one cruel blow in life after another. Their stories are often distressing and it is our collective obligation to assist them. How privileged we are to be able to do that. That is what Michael Joseph Savage and his colleagues had in mind back in 1935 and perhaps even Richard John Seddon and others before them. But welfare has got out of hand and now penalises and traps many of those whom it ought to liberate.  
This bill is an important step in refocusing the system and getting our beneficiaries back on track. That cannot happen soon enough. I encourage everyone in that position to embrace the opportunities that this bill presents to them and I offer them the assurance that this Government believes in them and backs them to the hilt. Kia kaha.