Turei Metiria: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTurei Metiria: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 20 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3444. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.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: How can he be “proud of the Government’s record in tackling child poverty” when he said this week that it is probably numerically correct that the number of children in poverty has grown under his watch?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: As we know with this there are many many measures but what I can be absolutely sure of is that there are 42000 fewer children for instance living in benefit-based households over the last 3 years. I can be sure that we have done a great deal for those children who live with hardship including free GP visits and prescriptions including the work we have done with charitable organisations that for instance provide breakfast in schools including the work we have done with social workers including the work we have done with Children’s Teams and including the work we have done on insulating homes. During the worst of all times this Government actually maintained benefits and entitlements for New Zealanders. There were plenty of people who wanted to slash them; this Government supported them.Metiria Turei: How many if any of the 260000 children currently in poverty will no longer be in poverty as a result of the Budget tomorrow?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I do not have an exact answer for that and even if I did have I would not give it to the member a day before the Budget. What I can say though is that the fastest way out of poverty is through work and this Government is doing two things in that regard. One is it is underpinning with its policies strong economic growth and strong job creation. We know this because there are 42000 fewer children living in benefit-based households than there were 3 years ago. The second thing that this Government is doing is invoking the investment approach when it comes to people who are on benefits—making sure that they have got skills making sure that they have got training and making sure that they have access to the opportunity to look after themselves. Again I am actually very proud of what this Government is doing to help people to help themselves.Metiria Turei: Why did the Prime Minister abandon the thousands of children who turn up to school hungry every day by voting against my bill to feed them lunch at school and even stood in this House and denied that those children existed?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well I reject the last part of the member’s question. I think she overexaggerated those numbers and I think we demonstrated that on the day.Metiria Turei: Why is the Prime Minister abandoning young New Zealanders in their 30s for whom homeownership has plummeted under his watch faster than it has for any other age group?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Again I reject that proposition. If the member cares about young people in their 30s getting a home why did the member not support the HomeStart package that we have? Why does the member not support Resource Management Act reform? Why does the member not actually support the work we are doing with special housing areas? I know: because the member likes to jump up and down and complain but when it comes to actually doing anything she has never done anything because she has never been in Government.Metiria Turei: Why is the Prime Minister abandoning young parents by refusing to fix Working for Families so that young parents who lose work hours or who fall on hard times do not also lose the $60-a-week in-work tax credit lifeline that they rely on?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: As the member knows that policy which was introduced by Labour—and I think in this instance was correctly positioned that way—ensured that there was always a gap between welfare and work. And if there are not those incentives all of the academic evidence shows you actually that there will be less incentive for people to move off welfare into work. I think that if you have a welfare system in New Zealand it is a sign of a decent society that looks after people. But it is also a system based on obligation and actually we owe it to the millions of New Zealand taxpayers who work hard to pay their taxes that people who are on welfare feel the obligation that they should go out and work if they possibly can.Metiria Turei: Will the Prime Minister at least agree—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Would the member ask her supplementary question.Metiria Turei: Would the Prime Minister at least agree that an economy that is not working for everyone—that includes young New Zealanders under 40 who are struggling to buy a home who are struggling to get decent paid work who are trying to raise their children in increasing financial insecurity—is an economy that is simply not working?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Far from not working the economic credentials and performance of this Government over the last 7 years even in contrast to like-minded countries demonstrate that this Government has been performing well. We live in the real world and in the real world there has been a global financial crisis and many other issues. Actually some of these issues when it comes to either people on benefits or children living in benefit-based households have been very longstanding complex issues. They will not actually be resolved overnight but the work that this Government is doing breaking down the silos and the barriers that are there is working pretty well. I think the member actually speaks with great ignorance when she rejects what the Government is doing there.