Sepuloni CarmelBUDGET DEBATEDebate resumed from 1 June on the Appropriation (2021/22 Estimates) Bill.Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): It's a privilege to stand up and speak in the Budget debate today. What I am most relieved about is that a central part of the Budget 2021—[Interruption]SPEAKER: Order! Order! Far too much noise. It's very impolite.Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: —was with respect to the welfare system and making some crucial adjustments and changes to ensure that those who are having to access support from the welfare system are able to do so with a level of dignity. And what was great to see is that by and large there was support from across the House bar perhaps ACT but including National and I think that is recognition of the fact that the changes particularly the benefit increases were long overdue needed to be done and actually I think reflects a public sentiment and empathy that has grown towards those in the welfare system an understanding of the fact that actually yes they deserve to get a little bit more.Yesterday I heard a speech from an Opposition member of Parliament—I think it was Simeon Brown—talking about the mother of all Budgets". He made the point that in 1991 he was only just born. His point was that he felt it was of no relevance and he felt that it was important just to continue to look forward. But I would argue with him on that. We do need to look to our past to understand why we are in the situation that we are currently in and we need to look to our past to see where mistakes were made and in any way possible look to rectify those.In 1991 the "mother of all Budgets" hit us. There were massive slashes to benefits at the time. Many of us can remember it for our personal reasons; mine was that I had parents who lost jobs at the time. They had always worked. They had always wanted to work. And then all of a sudden with not their own choice but because of the economic conditions of the time they were no longer able to—and then on top of that hit with cuts to benefits which saw them further impoverished not just because of the economic conditions but because of the political decisions that were made during that period of time. And they were unwise political decisions. They had impacts on generations after as well and we should not forget that. To finally be able to increase benefits to a reasonable level a level that was in line with what the Welfare Expert Advisory Group have recommended—in fact a level that went beyond what the Welfare Expert Advisory Group have recommended for those with children—is actually a relief for me as the Minister for Social Development and Employment and I know is a relief for many people in the House.But it wasn't just about the increase to income support although that is incredibly important; it was also in the Budget about ensuring that we continue to put investment towards supporting those in the welfare system to be able to work. We are very much focused on that. Last Budget we put $200 million towards front-line work-focused services through the Ministry of Social Development. The year before we had put money into work-focused case management. We recognised when we came into Government in 2017 there had been a decline in the work-focused case management because of the fact that there was more of a focus on hardship which is important but the levels of staffing had not been lifted to be able to ensure that anyone who walked into those Work and Income offices could also get the support that they wanted for employment and upskilling. And they do want it. This came out when the Welfare Expert Advisory Group were going around the country and consulting. The vast majority of people who are on benefit want to work and they want support to get into work. So that investment is as important as the income support or benefit increases that we've put in place.But it wasn't just about the front-line work focus. We've mentioned a number of times in the House and I will continue to shout this one from the rooftops how proud we are that we have finally reinstated the training incentive allowance. It was one of the meanest moves actually by the previous Government in 2009 as one of their first actions to cut the training incentive allowance and cut off that additional support for sole parents for disabled people and for carers of disabled people to be able to get that additional money that would support them to get level 4 to level 7 qualifications. Now why we wouldn't want sole parents and disabled people and carers of disabled people to be able to access higher-level degree study is beyond me. Of course we want that to happen. So when that cut was made it seemed like one of the most mean-spirited cuts and I will say this particularly given those cuts were made by a woman who said she got the training incentive allowance herself. So I am proud that we get to reinstate this opportunity. There will be many women out there disabled people carers of disabled people—in fact there will be about 16000 over the next four years—who will take up this opportunity to enrol at levels of study from level 4 to level 7. And not only will they be better off but their families will be better off.One of the points I want to make—or the last point I want to make—on the training incentive allowance and the reinstatement of it is that we should not forget that all of the research shows that a child's level of academic achievement will be determined by or one of the main determinants will be the mother's level of academic achievement. So when we're looking for generational change and ensuring a whole-of-whānau wellbeing it is this type of investment that actually makes a very meaningful difference. So I am very proud of the fact that we've been able to reinstate that and I look forward to hearing the stories of the sole mothers and the disabled people and the carers who actually take up that opportunity to upskill and train.Another area that we haven't had a chance to traverse to the extent that I would like with regards to the changes to the welfare system is with respect to process. So we've talked about the increases in income support we've talked about the increased investment with regards to work and supporting people to work but also there are process changes that have needed to take place in our welfare system. Of many recommendations that have come through the Welfare Expert Advisory Group on this one of the key ones that we managed to get across the line at Budget 2021 was with respect to the expectations and the processes around medical certificates. This is raised all the time by beneficiary advocates by people with health conditions and disabilities themselves and even by health practitioners—the fact that through the welfare system we've had an expectation that if you have a health condition or a disability you are for the first two months every four weeks to go and get a medical certificate and present it to prove that you still have that health condition or disability and thereafter every 13 weeks.This doesn't work for people who have conditions that are clearly not going to change in a four-week period and I think this was recognised back in 2017 when the process was changed for people who have cancer. The process was changed for them because there was so much media around the fact that people were undergoing radiation and chemotherapy and still expected to go and get this medical certificate on a four-weekly basis and it was deemed to be unfair. But it wasn't changed for other people with health conditions and disabilities in the welfare system when they may have been in similar circumstances. So we have changed that. We will take the advice of the health professionals with regards to how often they need to produce a medical certificate to prove that that a health condition or disability still exists and the flow-on effect means that those people are not going to be having to pay for GP visits to get that medical certificate unnecessarily because of this unreasonable bureaucratic process. But it also means that we will save ourselves about 20000 visits to GPs a month clearing up that space for people who are actually sick to be able to go to the doctor. And how many of us here have wanted to make an appointment with the doctor the next day only to ring in and find no you can't get in to see your GP for three or four days? So this will assist with that.I'm very proud of the changes that we have made to date with regards to the welfare overhaul. This was not a beginning; it comes off the back of many changes stretching back to the Families Package that we introduced early in 2018. We have made some significant moves and I don't have time to rattle them all off but Budget 2021 provides some key milestones and I look forward to continuing this work continuing the overhaul and the transformation of our welfare system for the better outcomes for New Zealanders."