Stewart Barbara: Motions — Family Support Tax Credit—Increase 
Stewart Barbara: Motions — Family Support Tax Credit—Increase 
[Volume:638;Page:8327] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 The Hon Brian Donnelly and I will be splitting this particular call. New Zealand First welcomes the increase in payment of $10 per week per child that comes into force on 1 April. We welcome it for a whole number of reasons. The first is the poverty factor. Recently a number of reports have raised the issue of increased poverty affecting New Zealand families. This increase in payment will do something about it. In this House we all say that the Government should address the role of poverty and this is part of one of the measures. 
I looked at a 2006 Ministry of Social Development report on the issue and it states: “Having a low living standard limits a person’s ability to participate in wider society curtails their quality of life and can have negative long-term consequences across a wide range of social and economic outcomes.” The same study noted that between 2000 and 2004 there was an increase from 16 to 17 percent of families with a market income defined as having low living standards. Under this increase 360000 families will benefit. That is a significant number. So the increase in payments from 1 April will help improve the living standards of lower-income working families and will have flow-on effects for their health and their well-being which is something that we in this House all want. For example $10 a week is the equivalent of additional loaves of bread or litres of milk which for a lower-income family will definitely make all the difference. 
When we look at improvements in the living standards of lower-income working families it follows on logically that we need to improve our appalling child poverty statistics. It is absolutely essential that every child in New Zealand has the fundamentals he or she is entitled to: adequate food being able to participate fully in education—and all the factors that surround this such as school trips school books and school fees—going to the doctor when their parents believe it is necessary and being able to afford the necessary medication. The list goes on and on. For children a good start is so essential. 
The second reason we support this increase in payment is that we want people to be encouraged to move off a benefit and into paid work. It is claimed that the family tax credit is there to support families moving off a benefit and into work and to ensure that those doing paid work are better off as a result of being in the workforce. That is a laudable aim and it is something we want to see. We can only hope that the increase in the payment as of 1 April does result in more people moving off a benefit and into paid work. We know that families with parents working are far better off than families where parents are at home and receiving a benefit. It is also necessary to ensure that people are better off by being in the paid workforce and we have already heard that the increase in the minimum wage from 1 April will also help. 
New Zealand First recognises the importance of the early years and we will always support policies aimed at the optimum development of children. We say that a good start is essential and that actions speak louder than words. What we are seeing today is action and we definitely support that.