Ardern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Ardern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Sitting date: 28 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4770. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
5. 
JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development 
: Does she stand by her statement in relation to the report on household incomes released last week that “I tell you what New Zealanders say: ‘Thank goodness for a National Government that has managed its way through it and is now seeing real progress’ ”? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development) 
: 
 Certainly and that is because under National’s responsible management in tough economic times benefit numbers for example have reduced by 27000 in the last 2 years since their peak in 2010. We have also seen some of the lowest interest rates which are making a difference for a lot of New Zealanders. And three-quarters of income earners now pay no more than 17.5 percent in tax. I do not think that any of those things would have happened under Labour. 
Jacinda Ardern 
: Does the increase in the number of children living in material hardship from 15 to 21 percent and in the number living in workless homes from 16 to 25 percent constitute real progress; if so how? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: I think the point I was making last week and the point I make again today is that we have had some of the toughest economic global times and they have affected some of our lowest incomes and our children. We have to work our way out of that over a period of time but with targeting and concerted effort in that area. This Government is making that effort. I think New Zealand is better off because of a National Government and it would be worse off under a Labour one. 
Jacinda Ardern 
: Is the global financial crisis the sole cause of an increase in hardship decreases in real incomes job losses higher housing costs higher outgoing-to-income ratios and those on higher incomes doing better than they were 3 years ago; if so how? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: I think there are a number of factors and we also can equate into that the Christchurch earthquakes which have taken up a lot of resource and caused a lot of hardship to a lot of New Zealanders. But equally what we saw for 9 long years was no real attention put on the one in five children who was not achieving at school. A lot of those who were teenagers then are parents now actually and do not have the education behind them to get the right jobs to move ahead. They were ignored under Labour for all of that time. We are picking up the slack now but there is a lot of work to be done. 
Le’aufa’amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor 
: What action if any is the Government considering to reduce the cost of living for households? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: I am sure that the Minister of Finance could do a better job than I can at this. There has been a huge amount of effort put into those families who need it. We have seen lower tax rates. We have seen GST changes and them being compensated. We have seen lower interest rates for those families which is actually making a genuine difference in their household income each week. I think that is making a fundamental difference. 
Jacinda Ardern 
: Does she agree with the Prime Minister that Working for Families was communism by stealth when according to the household incomes report it was one of the only things to cushion families from the sharpest edges of the recession? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: I always agree with the Prime Minister. 
Jacinda Ardern 
: Will she adopt a target to reduce child poverty rates by 30 percent and to halve severe and persistent child poverty within 10 years? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: The Government is looking at the draft report that has been put out by the experts group today. It will have a full report out in December. I have also asked it whether it will work with us alongside the white paper which is due out in the middle of October. We have already been working alongside that group. So I am not prepared to make a call at this stage on what we will and will not be accepting.