Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:618;Page:14298] 
3.  
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: Does he still dismiss suggestions that Work and Income had a policy of transferring hard-to-employ people from unemployment to sickness benefits; if so why? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 Yes because there is and has been no such policy. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: How can the Minister blatantly dismiss any such suggestion when we have had a circumstance as proven by a written question to his colleague Mr Barker last year on 31 October that revealed that over 36.1 percent of those on sickness benefits were in receipt of the unemployment benefit immediately prior to being placed on a sickness benefit and how does he answer those sorts of facts? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The original question from the member concerned a policy that might see the transfer of hard-to-employ people from the unemployment benefit to a sickness benefit. I am giving him an unequivocal guarantee that there is no such policy and that this Government is committed to ensuring that people who are on those benefits are put in a position whereby they can undertake work where that is possible. We are very actively following that policy. 
Georgina Beyer 
: How does the number of people transferring from the unemployment benefit to a sickness benefit compare to the total number of people leaving the unemployment benefit? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Over the last 6 years a total of 1.1 million people have left the unemployment benefit. To assist the member’s understanding of that I will explain it means that the same person can go back and forwards off the benefit either through cancellation of a benefit or transfer to another benefit. Of those people 73000 or less than 7 percent have transferred to the sickness benefit. Over the same period 52000 people have transferred from the sickness benefit to the unemployment benefit meaning a net transfer of 21000 from the sickness benefit to the unemployment benefit. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Does the Minister seriously expect any sort of integrity to attract to his name when he tries to explain away the fact that over 36 percent of the people on the unemployment benefit fell sick and then went on to a sickness benefit; what fools does he think the people of New Zealand are? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I think the people of New Zealand are extraordinarily wise. I guess that is why we are the Government. I do not have that figure in front of me and all I can say to the member is that the figures I have just read out show that over the period of this Government 73000 people have moved from the unemployment benefit to a sickness benefit and 52000 people have gone the other way. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I seek leave to table an answer given by Rick Barker in October of last year that sets out that over 36 percent of the people on the unemployment benefit fell sick and another answer from the same Minister that details the sickness benefit application numbers. 
Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House.