Ardern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeArdern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 29 May 2013. Volume:690;Page:10485. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) to thePrime Minister: Does he stand by his statement “We would prefer that we were a more equal society with less inequality”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): I stand by my full statement which was: “We would prefer that we were a more equal society with less inequality but what the report actually goes on to quite clearly demonstrate is that the vast bulk of the changes that have taken place is due to the global financial crisis.” I went on to say in the same statement: “Fortunately the Government has an economic plan that is seeing the economy grow and enabling people to get into work. This Government is focused on welfare reforms to get people into work. This Government has been quite prepared to put up [hundreds of millions of dollars] to insulate homes in New Zealand.” Now in Budget 2013 we are putting an additional $100 million into that targeted at low-income households. We are protecting entitlements during the recession. We are supporting more kids from low-income families into early childhood education. We are putting millions of dollars into tackling rheumatic fever. This Government is increasing vaccination rates for young kids. This Government is putting billions of dollars into education to give the youngsters—Jacinda Ardern: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. There was a reason I summarised that quote and I am sure there would have been a full stop in there from what the Prime Minister was quoting from.Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is not a point of order.Jacinda Ardern: Why is it not the Government’s view that it should set a target to reduce child poverty when he has set targets for instance for rheumatic fever which poverty contributes to?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Broadly I think the view is that there are many ways you can actually define and measure poverty so the Government would rather have a series of programmes.Jacinda Ardern: Does he agree with the Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty that there are five measures of poverty and will he accept its recommendation to use all of them?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: In relation to the last part of the question no we will not be.Jacinda Ardern: Does he agree with the expert advisory group’s co-chair Jonathan Boston that very little of what the Government has done to date directly addresses the challenges of low incomes?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No I do not actually and the reason for that amongst a whole lot of other things would be firstly if one looks at the inflation rate in New Zealand under this Government it is running at under 1 percent. If one looks at the average hourly wages they rose 2.1 percent in the last year. If one looks at the changes we have made to the minimum wage we have increased it to $13.75 which is half the average hourly wage of $27.50. It is interesting to note that the OECD database shows that half the average hourly wage—which is the proportion we have—is in fact the highest in the developed world. The Government during very difficult times has supported Working for Families accommodation supplements and income-related rents. We have had to do that actually by borrowing but we have still supported the most vulnerable New Zealanders.Jacinda Ardern: Did he read both the expert advisory group’s report and his own Government’s response given some commentators have said: “… National’s approach is about as ‘in line’ with the report as the atmosphere on Mars is ‘in line’ with that on Earth.”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Yes and that was a statement made by John Armstrong in his column this morning. Quite frankly after the polls we have had in the last few days I cannot wait to read his column in the weekend.