Harawira Hone: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Harawira Hone: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:677;Page:659] 
4. 
HONE HARAWIRA (Leader—Mana) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development 
: Does she agree with the comment in today’s New Zealand Herald that she is stripping away the rights of beneficiaries that she herself had as a sole parent; if not why not? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development) 
: 
 I think it is important that we hear the entire statement which said “Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has defended herself against claims she is a hypocrite for stripping away the rights of beneficiaries that she herself had as a sole parent.” It is that member of course who made the statement and I totally reject it. Maybe he should look in his own backyard. 
Hone Harawira 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I was advised by the Clerk of the House that the word “hypocrite” was— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The member will resume his seat. If a member chooses to use the word in relation to themselves that is their business. What is not in order in this House is to accuse another member of hypocrisy or being a hypocrite. But if a member chooses to use it in relation to themselves that is their right. 
Hone Harawira 
: Point taken; thank you very much. Does the Minister accept that being on the domestic purposes benefit getting a student allowance having a Housing Corporation house and getting a Housing Corporation loan when she was a young mum while overseeing the cancellation of those same benefits to other young mums now that she is Minister are reasons why beneficiaries think she is being duplicitous or does she think that comments like “I pretty much fell apart because I was exhausted. I went back on the DPB” should apply only to her and not to any other young mum? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: I must say that I am kind of surprised that the member advocates for us to go back to the early 1990s. To be clear there was nothing like what we have as far as the support that there is now for beneficiaries. For example the Government now pays around $2.7 billion in Working for Families entitlements compared with about $1.1 billion for the equivalent payments in 1999—and this is more than double. So there is more support going to beneficiaries right now. I think that member needs to look at the fact that he puts them down so much and thinks they are so worthless that they are not worth jobs and that they are not worth the level of support that this side of the House is putting around those very people. 
Hone Harawira 
: When the Minister talks about young mums going out to look for jobs does she think young mums should be allowed to go to the front of the queue of the 150000 people who are already unemployed or does she think that the young mums should be made to wait until the 150000 get jobs first and can she please tell us where the jobs are for the 150000 who are already unemployed so that young mums can then get in line for the next jobs? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: The member could look in his own patch actually. I have a newspaper article here about the forestry industry that is saying they cannot get enough workers because of the drug taking that is going on and some of those workers are not stepping up and do not actually want the jobs. I was in Kawakawa just a few weeks ago when I heard about someone who had 19 jobs and could not fill them. Two young women had gone into a job in hospitality in his own patch. Within 3 days their boyfriends came along and told them they did not want to see them working because they did not want to see them getting ahead of themselves. We are going to back those young women. We are going to back them into work and try to get them off benefits. That member may not think that they are worth it but we do.