King Annette: Urgent Debates — Ministry of Social Development—Job Cuts 
King Annette: Urgent Debates — Ministry of Social Development—Job Cuts 
[Volume:655;Page:4813] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of a matter of urgent public importance 
. Yesterday the chief executive officer of the Ministry of Social Development announced cuts of up to 200 jobs as part of restructuring demanded by the Government and Miss Bennett. We have been told that the cuts will save around $22 million a year. At the same time the Prime Minister announced that tens of millions of dollars will be spent on a venue for “party central” for a knees-up for the Rugby World Cup. Millions of dollars will be spent on a party at the same time as $22 million is to be cut from the social development budget. Those cuts will affect children and families and they come at a time when unemployment is rising rapidly. 
Only a few months ago the Minister for Social Development and Employment said unemployment was just a blip. Today on National Radio the Minister said—I think she has changed her mind—that we would be dreaming if we did not think unemployment was going to increase. The Minister is the one who has been dreaming. She has been dreaming for month after month. It is time she opened her eyes and looked around. It is time she stopped being the “Minister for Slogan Development”. It is time she stopped the photo shoots and the media stand-ups and started to stand up for families young people and children in our country. 
She knows that the number of people on the unemployment benefit over the next year will increase by 164 percent. There will be a 164 percent increase in the number of people who will be thrown on the dole over the next year. Miss Bennett should stand up for the young people in this country. It is no good having a photo shoot and making a speech. That is no substitute for real policy. Unemployment for young people in this country has already reached 19 percent for those aged between 15 and 19 years and 11 percent for those who are between the ages of 20 and 24 years. Those figures are well above the rate for other joblessness. 
The Minister should wake up and look at what is happening to our young people. Young people had a chance a few weeks ago under a programme called Enterprising Communities but it was dumped by Miss Bennett. The programme was scrapped by Miss Bennett. She said no research had been done on it she did not believe that it worked and it did not lead to jobs. I can tell Miss Bennett that 3000 jobs would have come out of that programme if there had been continued investment in it. Let me put that into perspective. 
Hon Paula Bennett 
: Rubbish! 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The member says that is rubbish. Those are the figures that would have been given to her. Those 3000 jobs are more than we will get from constructing a bicycle lane and more than we will get out of a 9-day working fortnight. The number of jobs resulting from those initiatives will not come to 3000 even if we add them together. 
Enterprising Communities is one programme that could have given an opportunity to young people and with the swipe of a pen Miss Bennett got rid of it. That is despite the Mayor of Otorohanga telling her that it works and despite the fact that she signed a memorandum of understanding with that mayor and with other mayors in the Mayors Task Force for Jobs saying that young people were her priority and focus. That is balderdash! If young people were her priority and focus why would she wipe out a scheme that in Otorohanga alone saw unemployment for young people drop to zero? The programme saw a 75 percent reduction in youth crime and she said it does not work. Miss Bennett managed to find $30 million for boot camps for around 80 recidivist young offenders but she chopped the funding for keen young people who want a job and who want to get on with their lives and to have an opportunity. 
At this stage 1100 people a week are being thrown out of work in this country. I read a news report in March this year from TV3. It stated that in one month alone 2000 people had lost their jobs. The number of people who lost their jobs was 2000 a month in March but 1100 people are now losing their jobs every week in this country. 
I ask Miss Bennett to stand up for our children. The closure of 12 Child Youth and Family centres around New Zealand is nothing but short-sighted foolhardy and shameful. The Government can spend $50 million on a bicycle lane around New Zealand but it cannot spend a few miserable dollars to keep open service centres that provide services to children young people and their families in this country. The termination of social workers who are dedicated to preventing child abuse educating people on detecting child abuse and working on the front line in the area of child abuse is bizarre. We are now told that all social workers will do that job. We now know that in addition to social workers’ case management they will also have to go out and educate go to schools meet with Plunket and do a whole range of other activities because they have plenty of time to do them. 
Who has it right? The Prime Minister said yesterday that he agreed with Christine Rankin—the person he has described as somebody who knows an incredible amount about abused children in New Zealand—when she said that social workers in Child Youth and Family are already too busy and that people are having to wait 6 weeks for service. He said he agreed with that statement but Miss Bennett is saying that social workers have plenty of time to pick up more roles and that it does not matter if they are already busy. In fact she does not believe that social workers are already busy. I am very concerned about the impact this change will have on children and young people in New Zealand. 
Last week in this Chamber John Key said that members on this side of the House do not care about abused children. I was nursing my new grandson when I heard that gratuitous comment. I do not believe there is a single member in this House no matter which party he or she is in who does not care about child abuse in this country. We do care; we care deeply about child abuse. 
In my view the Prime Minister sunk to a new low in defence of the appointment of Christine Rankin. It was in that context that he made his gratuitous comment. He could have said that we need to do more in the area of child abuse. He could have said that we should work together on this complex issue. He could have said that child abuse is a priority area and the Government is committed to addressing it. But to stand in this Chamber and attempt to make cheap political points at the expense of decent members of Parliament who care about child abuse is shameful and the Prime Minister should apologise to all members in this House. 
All of us in this House know that child abuse has been a deep dark secret in families for generations and it is only now that we are seeing the light of day being shone upon it. It is only now that people are prepared to come forward and report child abuse because they are aware of it they know it is wrong and they are prepared to step forward. I was with Pita Sharples on Mangere Mountain with a candle when we were trying to promote awareness of child abuse and taking a leading part as members of Parliament to show the effects of child abuse. 
In my view child abuse is a complex issue and one we need to work together on. It means we have to work with non-governmental organisations the police neighbours family members and social workers—the very social workers who have been cut from their jobs in the changes the Minister made in Budget 2009. The social workers are there to raise awareness about child abuse and to put child abuse at the top of the agenda because last year 12116 children were abused in this country. John Key said yesterday that raising awareness of child abuse is no longer necessary. I was staggered when I heard him say that. He said we do not have to make people aware of child abuse because they are reporting the cases. What naivety! Does the Prime Minister not understand that people report child abuse because they are aware of child abuse? Of course we want to prevent child abuse but we have to make people aware of it. 
Let us discuss the issue of family violence alongside child abuse. In the last decade or so we have seen huge increases in the reporting of such terrible crimes. Why? Because people are aware of family violence. They have been educated about it and they feel confident that they can report it. We cannot cut the area of awareness but that is what Miss Bennett and her Government have done. They have cut social workers out of a very important role. We need greater awareness more reporting and more prevention. 
Mr Key said he was going to do something about abused kids. That is great. We will work with the Government on it. But we also need to do something about stopping the abuse—not after the kids have been abused but actually to stop the abuse. We need to make sure we do not cut parenting programmes such as has been done in this Budget. We should not cut budgeting services such as has happened in this Budget. We support stressed families because we know that if we do not then there will be an increase in child abuse and family violence in this country. 
Why can the Government not see that the short-sighted approach it is taking will lead to more violence in our homes and more child abuse? I believe that the reason for the Government’s approach is that it is a greater priority for it to spend millions of dollars on one-off projects for the benefit of the Prime Minister the Minister for Social Development and Employment or any other Minister who has a pet project rather than to concentrate on the bread and butter issues that face our country here in New Zealand. 
Cuts to services for unemployed people and our most vulnerable at this time are unfair and unjustified. The social development and employment portfolio needs a strong Minister a Minister up to the task but sadly we know that John Key does not have confidence in the Minister. She has already lost one portfolio. The Prime Minister said she asked to lose it. When the Prime Minister stands up and says “Didn’t she do a good job on  
Morning Report 
?” and everybody rolls their eyes and laughs if I were that Minister I would be very worried about what the Prime Minister thinks about my performance. 
I believe that Miss Bennett has not shown that she is capable of taking New Zealand forward in terms of employment policy. She has not shown to be capable of giving the leadership that is needed at this time. No one says it is easy but all we have had in the last 6 to 7 months has been slogans and comments about how she is a foot stamper and how she can make things happen. I ask the Minister when things will start happening. When will she do something for children and young people in New Zealand? When will she do something for unemployed people in New Zealand? When will she get over the photo shoots in magazines and get on with the hard work? That is what is expected of a Minister in charge of such a big portfolio. 
We are very sorry to see cuts in the area of social development that will have an impact on families and children. Spending 22 million miserable dollars on them would have a great effect. The Minister has not shown that she is capable of standing up to the Minister of Finance and fighting for children young people and their families. We will reap the rewards of that sort of lack of care. 
I am delighted we have the opportunity to debate this issue today. We feel strongly about it and I know that members of this House feel strongly about child abuse in this country. I just wish that the Government would be a little less arrogant and would listen to what people are saying about the needs of unemployed and vulnerable people in this country.