Logie Jan: Social Security (Clothing Allowances for Orphans and Unsupported Children) Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is subject to correctionLogie Jan: Social Security (Clothing Allowances for Orphans and Unsupported Children) Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 23 October 2013. Volume:694;Page:14228. Text is subject to correction.]JAN LOGIE (Green): I too am pleased to rise and offer the Green Party’s support for the Social Security (Clothing Allowances for Orphans and Unsupported Children) Amendment Bill proposed by New Zealand First’s Tracey Martin. It is a good bill though I must say that there are shades of Dickens in this in that the House needs to be debating the merits of a clothing allowance for orphans and unsupported children.Tracey Martin: There is.JAN LOGIE: There is. But what this bill does is it makes a simple change which is appropriate for a member’s bill to remove an inconsistency between funding for foster children and funding for unsupported children and orphans. Currently caregivers of foster children receive a quarterly allowance for clothing for those children paid at a rate set by the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development. Caregivers though of unsupported children and orphans are currently not paid this allowance. This allowance for foster children is often used to apply for clothing such as school uniforms and just everyday clothing—important thing that that is.So supporting children especially those who need a bit of extra attention and care as a result of having been through loss or family breakdown is really important to the Green Party. I would just like to say that the clothing allowance fits within the context of a family’s ability just to manage the financial pressures of caring for children but specifically I think that clothing has a meaning that often may not be recognised particularly for children who have been through really tough times. Some of those children will have developed coping mechanisms through what they have been through that may not be working so well for them now in their current life. There may be behaviours around anxiety and anger—just a whole range of behaviours that are often quite a challenge for them and those around them. Having family to care for them through that transition and working through those issues really can help but it does not lessen the challenge for them or their new carers.Although I am a really strong advocate for second-hand clothing and I love op shopping I recognise that if young children and young people are not in that group of young people it adds a layer of difficulty for them in terms of fitting in and feeling that they have a place to belong in the world when their clothes are not the same as their peers. So the clothing allowance is particularly important to give them and their family a bit more choice around how they are seen in the world particularly as they are dealing with some of those challenges in terms of behaviours.It is also really important to acknowledge that this bill arises in part from the inadequacy of current wages and benefit levels. It sits within what I consider a context of absolute meanness—a situation where 8614 people about half of whom are grandparents who care for over 12000 orphans and unsupported children are currently being work tested. That needs to be acknowledged in this debate. Grandparents who have spent years raising troubled grandchildren are being told to get back to work sometimes just months from retirement. Some grandparents nearing retirement age have been required to attend job training courses where they are asked what school they attended and what their long-term career goals are.That is the context that this bill sits within. It is a context of absolute meanness it is ridiculous and it is worthy of a Dickens novel. But it is nice to have a moment of hope within that of a little thing that we can do as a House to make the lives of those families a little bit easier. So we are very very happy to be able to support that and we hope that it inspires the Government to a little bit more kindness in the future.