Watts SimonSIMON WATTS (National—North Shore): I rise on behalf of the National Party and as the member for the North Shore to speak on the first reading of the Social Security (Subsequent Child Policy Removal) Amendment Bill. National opposes this bill. We oppose this bill because the amendments will not reduce the risk of poverty nor will they enhance child development nor—most importantly—will they give our children our mokopuna the best start in life. Instead the impacts in the amendments will impact a large number of people. Some 5400 sole parents will have their work obligations changed and these amendments will cost nearly $4 million to implement $4 million that will come from Ministry of Social Development baseline budgets—$4 million that will be cut from front-line services. The proposed amendments are obviously Labour Party election promises and the sad irony here is that they will simply not deliver the outcomes we need as a nation. Paid employment is the best way for our families and our children to transcend hardship and poverty. I acknowledge that this is a difficult and complex area but Government has a role to put in place the frameworks to support individuals families and those within our communities to make important life-changing transition from welfare to work. Poverty and hardship is a significant problem and one that is growing for a large number of New Zealanders many of whom are our most vulnerable. Real change can positively impact the social fabric of our local communities but failure will impact our front-line health services our education systems our schools our social services and our police and justice services and most importantly failure will impact the aspirations of our children. Our social security system needs incentives that align with the outcomes of a future New Zealand not just for this generation but for generations that follow. In my electorate of the North Shore we have some people within our community—as there are across the country—that have a permanent dependency on our welfare system. In my home electorate of the North Shore my local community expect that this House takes action on the things that they can't influence—the things that will make their lives better such as creating more time for parents to spend with their children to aid their development. They don't want more government in their lives; they want a path ahead cleared of the debris that slows them down so that they can get where they are going and bring their families with them. We must put our families at the centre of our policy solutions around social services and put in place the stepping stones to allow them to make a better future for themselves and their families. What people who are suffering from hardship and poverty need is hope but hope is not a strategy in and of itself. What we need is a realistic pathway to move from welfare into paid employment something that is recognised by the OECD as the most effective way to reduce the risk of child poverty enhance child development and give our children the best start in life. When I walk the streets of Belmont of Campbells Bay of Castor Bay of Devonport and of Sunnynook—communities who aspire to be great—I hear our communities are concerned about the slow pace of action to address the key issues facing this country issues for which there are solutions but are lacking action by this Government to implement and they are becoming impatient. We must act with an increased sense of urgency to implement tangible change that reduces long-term benefit dependency something these amendments will fail to do. Madam Speaker thank you.