Tolley AnneHon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Social Development): It is a pleasure to stand in the House today especially on a day on which the Prime Minister has announced a significant investment of $321 million into social investment in this year's Budget. I have to say it is a bit of a laugh to hear people trying to on the one hand claim that social investment was actually their idea and on the other hand show that they have absolutely no concept of what social investment is about. Social investment is about using good analysis for a long-term investment in people—done early in their lives—so that you can improve the lives of New Zealanders. That is what this Government is all about.If you want to have an example of that then have a look at the very good figures that are out today showing that more and more New Zealanders are actually taking part in the workplace. If you look at those who are reliant on a benefit long term in our communities—and there are far too many of them and they are leading very very difficult lives—about three-quarters of those people actually went on to a benefit before the age of 20. That is why the social investment model shows that you just have to work. The highest priority is to work to stop young people going on to a benefit.When the welfare reforms were put into place by my colleague Paula Bennett a young person going on to a benefit could expect to be on a benefit for up to 17 years. Through the hard work that we have been doing as a Government in social investment we have brought that liability back to 14 years. Yes the liability is there for the taxpayer—that is an accounting term—but the greatest liability is for those young people because without a life that is independent and where they can make choices and have the opportunity to succeed their lives are wasted for themselves and for their community.That is why we announced today that we are maintaining Better Public Services (BPS) result 1 which is to reduce that long-term welfare dependence. We are still focused on reducing the numbers but we are more focused on reducing the long-term liability because that represents the wasted lives of too many great New Zealanders with great potential who just need a chance. We know again from good data analysis that a child who is born into a home that is long-term dependent on a benefit is much more likely to go on to depend on a benefit themselves.That is why it is so exciting that since 2011 we have seen 60000 fewer children living in benefit-dependent homes—60000 children do not have to live in a home that is dependent on a benefit. That means that their lives are considerably influenced by the fact that their parents are working independently of the taxpayer and that they have many more opportunities in their lives. I want to pay tribute to the Work and Income staff members who have worked so hard with individual people and their families to make sure that this happens. I also have responsibility for BPS result 4 but during a question in the House we covered the changes to that.I want to take the last minute and a bit that I have to talk about the great people in my electorate who have responded to the urgent needs in Edgecumbe following the breaking of the dam and the floodwaters—in fact the tsunami of floodwaters—that raced through the township of Edgecumbe. Fifteen-hundred people mainly local but from all around New Zealand came to help those people in Edgecumbe. They donned protective clothing they put masks on and they worked to strip houses of all their furniture—all their whiteware went out on to the footpaths. It stunk. It was hot—because the Bay of Plenty has a fantastic climate it was hot. Sewage had mixed with all the silt and had washed through the houses.It was really unpleasant work but Ngāti Awa—I want to pay tribute to them because they led this army of volunteers. It makes me proud to live in a community of people who not only opened their homes to people who were evacuated but who then rolled up their sleeves and got to work in the community to clear out those homes and they are continuing to support those people in Edgecumbe who have lost their homes. Thank you to all of them.