Ngaro Alfred: Annual Review Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeNgaro Alfred: Annual Review Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 28 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:2964. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ALFRED NGARO (Chairperson of the Social Services Committee):I rise to take a call on the services for citizens. The focus of the appropriation debate for this year has been to try to sort of ensure that we increase our ability to have debate that focuses on the issues that are very important. I just want to make mention of the comments by the Hon Annette King that talked about Māori and Pasifika in particular—a generation that she has commented on and that she feels that we are locking out. I want to hold the previous Government to account for those very words because when you talk about that—let us talk about Māori for instance. When it came to Treaty claims—members opposite do not like this because it came after a whole lot of issues around the foreshore and seabed. So they are all silent. They are very quiet because they will know that when they talked about issues for Māori they did not deliver. Issues that were delivered on health education and welfare—you do not want to go there because you know that is a fact. The truth is this. The truth is this—[Interruption] The rest of New Zealand will hear this mike not those voices over there so I will just keep talking because that is the truth of what is happening here.The second thing I want to point out—let us talk about issues for Māori. Let us talk about Treaty claims. How many Treaty claims were resolved by the Labour Government and would have benefitted health education and welfare which are focuses for this debate?Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. Are Treaty claims part of this debate?The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch): I am just dealing with this. I am just asking the Clerk specifically whether it comes in here because Māori affairs are covered later on. I have asked specifically whether Treaty claims come under this. I am just seeking some advice. [Interruption] Let me just answer. Before I answer the question about Treaty claims the Business Committee has changed the format for this debate. It has come up with a format as to how we are going to debate the seven themes. The seven themes are identified and the total debate is 7 hours. That is what we are doing. In answer to the point of order about whether Treaty claims are part of this they are not unless you can relate Māori aspirations or Māori involvement back to the headings that I mentioned before—education health housing and social development. If you do that that is fine. You cannot specifically talk about the Treaty claims settlement process.ALFRED NGARO: As I was alluding to in my speech I talked about the impact of those claims—not particularly the claims themselves but the impact that they have on Māori education health and welfare. Again I see under this Government what we have done. That is right: there have been over 42 Treaty claims that benefit health education and welfare. That is what this Government has done. So I hold to account the words that have been spoken over there.Let us talk about Pasifika because I love it when those members want to stand up and speak about this about Pasifika. Let us talk about the whole aspect of education and the achievements. What have been the achievement rates for education in particular? I will tell you what. They are education rates that the Labour Government would be ashamed of. Under a National Government we have increased early childhood education participation. We have increased the retention rates and the completion rates at university. That is what we have done. [Interruption] Again I remind Opposition members that the only mike that is heard by the public is this one not their one. So this is what we are doing as a Government. These are the things absolutely. This is what we are achieving. The reality is that it is the facts that speak the loudest—it is the facts that speak the loudest to this.These are the things that we have done that are important to welfare for our communities and that are truly making a difference. Vulnerable children services are absolutely critical. Under Budget 2014 $16.4 million went around child protection services and the Social Workers in Schools programme is now available to 142000 children. Child abuse statistics—and this has got to be critically important: the abuse statistics for children who are in our community who are vulnerable. We know that in June 2014 those statistics fell by 12 percent. Let us give that a number—2306. Why? Because those are the statistics. That is what is proving different.I want to announce to the public who may be listening to this that this appropriation debate is about what this Government has done previously in the Budget to make a difference. These are the facts that we are talking about. Let us talk about welfare reform because this really hits at the heart. The old adage that keeps coming out of the previous Labour Government is the same old thing which is paying out: they tax and they spend. Under the current Government 1600 people are moving off welfare and into work each week—1600 out of welfare and into work each week. That has got to make a difference. Why? Because the fact is that we are creating more opportunities. Let us talk about the facts again. March 2015 recorded the lowest benefit numbers of any quarter in 6 years. [Interruption] That is right. You can yell and you can shout. But here are the facts just to remind you: a 3.7 percent—or let us give it a number 11060—decrease from March 2014. That is making a difference.Welfare reforms have reduced the expected future time on main benefits by an average of 1.2 years for sole parents and 2.8 years for youth beneficiaries. I just want to be able to clearly say that what this Government is actually about is showing that it cares. Through its welfare reforms it is giving opportunities to get out of dependency and into the work opportunities that are out there. Over the past 3 years the number of young people on the youth payment at age 17 expected to still be on a benefit at age 19 has dropped by 19 percent. These are the things that are really important out there—19 percent.So you can talk and you can bandy it all around but here is the thing that really hurts you the most. For all the condemnation for all that 2 weeks ago what did the polls say? They said that 49.1 percent of New Zealanders still have confidence in this Government. That has got to really hurt the Opposition. For all that it has tried and all the effort and all the fighting and all the banter 49.1 percent still say that they have confidence in this Government to deliver whether it be on welfare education or health.