Hague Kevin: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHague Kevin: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 19 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18719. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]6.KEVIN HAGUE (Green)to the Minister for Social Development: Does she agree with Professor Jonathan Boston that there are New Zealand children living in “houses that don’t have heating in caravans that don’t have running water and in families that simply don’t have enough food of the right kind every day”; if so will she guarantee these children have immediate access to the State support they need?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development):I agree that some children in New Zealand are living in conditions that are unacceptable but I do not agree with Professor Jonathan Boston when he likens the living standards of our children to the slums of India. If he thinks that this Government is going to follow the policies of India and think that that is in any way acceptable then I would completely disagree particularly when one looks at the mortality rates. The mortality rates for under-fives in India is 56:1000 and in New Zealand—Kevin Hague: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This is a question on notice and the Minister is speaking about Professor Boston’s comments about India which was not the topic of the primary question at all. I have asked the Minister to address specifically some specific comments of Jonathan Boston which she has not done.Mr SPEAKER: The Minister has certainly specifically addressed the first part of the question. There is a second part to the question that I am still waiting for the Minister to address but it is unhelpful when members are not getting an answer they like to then interject on the Minister before the Minister completes the answer. If the Minister then completes the answer and it requires further addressing by all means raise the question. I call on the Hon Paula Bennett to complete the answer.Hon PAULA BENNETT: These children do get access to State support. There is access through a very generous benefit and welfare system. There is access to hardship grants on which we spend over $260 million a year. There is access to Warm Up New Zealand: Healthy Homes. There is access to numerous types of support for these children including breakfast in schools.Kevin Hague: Given that the Minister does not appear to agree with Professor Boston does she now agree with Otago University experts Dr Jean Simpson and Dr Liz Craig whose research shows that one New Zealand baby dies each week from conditions associated with low income?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I agree that there are some children in New Zealand who are not living in the types of conditions that we would want them to. That is why in this Budget when we first had money available to be giving out we gave it to families. That is why we have prioritised those children. That is why we see a commitment to those children through the Children’s Action Plan through breakfast in schools and through more money for rheumatic fever for warming up homes for the many many—Kevin Hague: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am reluctant to do this but once again the Minister is not responding to the question at all which—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Then I will help the member. If the member simply asks the question rather than the original paraphrase about whether the Minister does not appear to agree with something and simply asks the question whether the Minister agrees with two Otago University experts about the death rate of young babies in New Zealand—if the member blatantly asks that question without any peripheral information then I can perhaps try to assist the member to get an answer to his question. I will invite the member to ask his question again.Kevin Hague: Thank you. Does she now agree with Otago University experts Dr Jean Simpson and Dr Liz Craig whose research shows that one New Zealand baby each week dies from conditions associated with low income?Hon PAULA BENNETT: What I do agree with is that there are children living in this country who are not living at the sorts of standards we think they should be. However we have one of the most generous welfare systems in the world. We have availability of State housing. We are warming up those houses. We have breakfast in schools for all schools that want that and that is new under this Government in partnership with those outside. We also have help for rheumatic fever. We have more assistance for free doctors visits than ever before and that is why in this Budget we were able to give more than $500 million for further access for families and children.Dr Russel Norman: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My colleague Mr Hague took your advice and rephrased the question in the manner in which you agreed—Mr SPEAKER: And I invite Mr Hague to ask the question again.Hon Member: That’s pathetic.Mr SPEAKER: Order! That sort of comment from the Government benches will result in somebody leaving the Chamber.Kevin Hague: Does she now agree with Otago University experts Dr Jean Simpson and Dr Liz Craig whose research shows one New Zealand baby each week dies from conditions associated with low income?Hon PAULA BENNETT: For me to make a judgment call on that I would have to look at the evidence behind the research. What I do agree with is that there are children in New Zealand who are living in conditions that we do not think are acceptable. However we have one of the most generous welfare systems in the world. They have access to more health facilities for children under 13 now than ever before and our investment is very much on those children but we cannot make judgments on everyone’s choices all of the time either.Kevin Hague: Does she deny Dr Simpson’s and Dr Craig’s findings that babies born into the most economically deprived families are five times as likely to die a sudden unexpected death in infancy and several times more likely to die from pneumonia than babies in the least economically deprived families?Hon PAULA BENNETT: No I would not deny that at all but what I would say is that the Greens’ solution is to throw more money at those families and think that that will be the solution. I would say that it is far more complex than that. It is intergenerational. It is about violence it is about drugs and alcohol and it is about intergenerational welfare dependence and those things matter also.Kevin Hague: Does the Minister believe the experts when they tell us that poverty is the cause of New Zealand’s high rates of Third World conditions compared with other developed nations?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I think it is all relative.Kevin Hague: Does the Minister agree with the Public Health Association the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine and Parliament’s own Health Committee that her Government invests less than half the OECD average on young children; if not why not?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I have not seen that to make a comment on it. What I will say is that we have one of the most generous welfare systems in the world. What it comes down to is that if you are on $50000 a year with a family in this country you are paying pretty much zero tax. In fact what you get back exceeds what you pay out in income tax. I think that those are the sorts of policies that make a difference.Kevin Hague: If the Minister does not agree with the expert analysis of Professor Boston epidemiologists Jean Simpson and Liz Craig the Health Committee the Public Health Association the College of Public Health Medicine not to mention the Children’s Commissioner’s expert advisory group and many others can she name one expert who agrees with her and is prepared to say that the Government is doing enough to eradicate child poverty?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I agree with the fact that having a full-time work test for parents receiving benefits starting when the youngest child turns 5 as Professor Jonathan Boston suggested is perhaps something worth looking at.Kevin Hague: I seek leave to table the document “Hospital Admissions and Mortality with a Social Gradient” from 2014.Mr SPEAKER: The source of the document please.Kevin Hague: It is a publication of the Social Health Monitor. In theory it would be available to members but it is an academic journal.Mr SPEAKER: The easiest way to resolve this is for the House to decide. I will put the leave. Leave is sought to table this particular document. Is there any objection to it being tabled? There appears to be none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.