Key John: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Key John: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:626;Page:21137] 
9.  
JOHN KEY (National—Helensville) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: Of the 196230 families who had registered for the Government’s Working for Families package as of 1 April 2005 how many families were not automatically enrolled because they were not previously on a benefit and of that group how many have in fact taken the step of voluntarily enrolling? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 Of those families with an estimated 385000 children receiving family income assistance on 1 April about 81000 received assistance through the Inland Revenue Department rather than the Ministry of Social Development. About 14000 of these were new to the system and had not received assistance previously. On top of this—[ 
Interruption 
]—if the member would be quiet for a moment—there were 3500 new accommodation supplement recipients. About 8000 more people were getting childcare assistance. I think about 60000 more families most of them self-employed will take their assistance at the end of the year in a lump sum. What the member needs to know of course is that all of the 260000 families will have their circumstances changed as a result of this package. As a result of that it is very important for them to understand that they use the website or call the phone number so that they can understand better how their income will change. 
John Key 
: If over 180000 of the 196000 people currently enrolled on Working for Families were automatically enrolled because they were on a benefit while at the same time the bulk of those who are working are not eligible until 2006 or 2007 why would the Government embark on a $15 million advertising campaign a year ahead of time in election year 2005? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: It would be helpful if the member had actually listened during this question and question No. 6 as well because I said that 81000 received their money through the Inland Revenue Department not through the Ministry of Social Development 14000 were getting family assistance about 8500 are getting the accommodation supplement and childcare assistance about 60000 self-employed people will need to have their circumstances worked out before the end of the year and all 260000 families will have their circumstances changed and will therefore need to be in contact with the phone number or the website to understand how that works. 
Moana Mackey 
: How many more families are expected to apply for assistance from 1 April 2006? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: An estimated 136000 hard-working families—nearly 30 percent of all families with children—will receive an in-work payment from 1 April next year. About 25 percent of them will be new recipients who do not receive its predecessor the child tax credit. We also expect 28000 people to become eligible for family support through abatement changes. All of this assumes that John Key does not get the chance to axe this part of the Working for Families package; thank goodness his tax cut package is a remote possibility. 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: In view of the fact that 87 percent of qualifying families are automatically enrolled why has the Labour Government budgeted $18 million for mass promotion of the Working for Families package and are the display hoardings we are seeing around the country carrying the Labour Party logo and stating “You’re better off with Labour” funded out of the Working for Families package; if they are can the Minister assure the House that this complies with the Auditor-General’s guidelines for expenditure on electioneering with taxpayers’ money? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Working back through the question I can say that the Auditor-General has of course approved all the expenditure in relation to the Working for Families package as the member well knows. “You’re better off with Labour” is not of course funded through that package. The amount is not $18 million; it is $15 million. I could go through the other factual errors but it would take too long. 
John Key 
: How does the Minister reconcile spending that equates to $1000 per family on advertising to households when the Inland Revenue Department already knows who they are the fact that they are eligible and their phone numbers and addresses; and is this just a case of taxpayers having to fund more of Labour’s election campaign? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Over the next 3 years $2.6 billion will be distributed to low and modest income households in this country. Unlike that member whose party specialised in not telling people about their eligibility so that only 19 percent of eligible households got the accommodation supplement we will ensure that every single dollar goes to those households and we will ensure that National never has a chance to institute its tax cuts which would mean those households getting nothing. 
John Key 
: Is the reason that working families have to wait until 2008 to get an extra 67c a week the fact that this Government thinks it is a higher priority to spend millions advertising to beneficiaries their entitlement to a scheme they are already enrolled in? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: In 2008 indexing after a 3-year period will come in. But right now—as we sit here today—New Zealand households are getting sums like $43 for childcare. They are getting sums for accommodation supplement they are getting family support they will get in-work payments from 1 April next year and they will get further adjustments next year. Mr Key can eat his heart out—those tax cuts do not wash with the public at all.