Turei Metiria: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTurei Metiria: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 18 August 2015. Volume:707;Page:5843. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]6.METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Metiria Turei: Does he stand by his statement to this House that Bryan Perry’s inequality report Household incomes in New Zealand is “the definitive study in this area and it is correct”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Yes.Metiria Turei: Does the Prime Minister agree with the report’s finding that 45000 more children are living below the 60 percent after - housing costs standard poverty line?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I agree that Mr Perry has put out the latest report. It does show that increase. It also shows a plethora of different measures for poverty. He also goes on in the report to say that there is no evidence yet to support the view that inequality is widening out.Metiria Turei: So is the Prime Minister suggesting that the fact of 45000 more children living in poverty in just 1 year does not matter?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No.Metiria Turei: Beyond the hardship measures that the Prime Minister is concerned with is he saying to this House that he is committed to resolving the poverty suffered by those additional 45000 children as set out in Bryan Perry’s report?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think it is worthy of noting that there are literally hundreds of measures in the report. The member has quoted one and that in part is because the median income has risen. But yes the Government remains committed to helping all New Zealand children.Metiria Turei: Does the Prime Minister agree with the author of this report the most definitive study in this area that because the incomes of the bottom third of New Zealand families have not moved but housing costs for those families have increased substantially there are now 45000 more children living in poverty than before?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: As I said before there are many many different measures in the report. There are many different ways of looking at it and cutting the numbers in different reports that are in there. What is clear and what the report says is that it is not clear yet that there is a trend of rising income inequality in New Zealand. Some of the data that the member mentions is a result of the median income rising.Metiria Turei: Given that the Prime Minister’s economic plan has failed to prevent 45000 more children now living in poverty will he consider working with me and others on a cross-party consensus on child poverty alleviation policies?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No. I am happy to stick with the plan that the Government has got which is actually working in my view. This is increasing benefits—the first time a Government has done that for 43 years. It is also around measures for a strong economy because actually as we know when people ultimately can find employment and can move into employment their average household income rises. It is one of the reasons why through a strong economy and the welfare reform measures this Government has undertaken we now have the lowest number of people on the equivalent of the old DPB since 1988. The measures are working. There are many ways of cutting the numbers in Bryan Perry’s report.