Ardern Jacinda: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Ardern Jacinda: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 01 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:1802. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) 
: 
 Sometimes I wonder whether or not Mr Lotu-Iiga and I sit on the same committee the Social Services Committee and hear the same pieces of information and reports from the community. It is clear to me that a zero Budget is what you get when you fail and in the social development field we see the repercussions of a failed economic plan—or no plan indeed. 
Although I absolutely acknowledge the hard work that those who work in the social development field particularly Ministry of Social Development staff and Child Youth and Family staff put into their jobs and their roles they are doing it under increasing pressure. One of the things we saw in the briefing to the incoming Minister from this department was the clear message that something has got to give. The ministry is asking its staff to do more with less. The demands on them are increasing not decreasing. Something has got to give and I ask the Minister for Social Development what that thing is. What is that thing that is going to give? Already I am seeing an increasing number of cases coming across my desk of Work and Income staff absolutely stretched treating clients poorly as a result and people finding it very difficult to get the support they need. Although Mr Lotu-Iiga may claim that as a success there is actually an increasing number of cases of people who are going unsupported and in dire need but I will return to that.  
Of course there are major issues in this portfolio. It is one of the most significant that any Minister could hold not just because of sheer budget but because of the impact on people’s lives and no more so than in the area for instance of employment or unemployment as the case may be. The reason we continually refer back to the measure of those not in employment education or training is the unemployment benefit statistics do not pick up young people who are not eligible for benefits. So that is why we continually come back to the figure of 83000 young people not in employment education or training.  
What has the Minister’s response been to deal with those young people? It has been to say: “Let’s focus just on the 16 and 17-year-olds. We are going to spend $13 million just targeting 16 and 17-year-olds.” What I say to that Minister is that you are now saying we will get less and spend the same amount because currently we spend $13 million and we cater for 16 to 20-year-olds. The Government is now cutting out almost 60 percent of the young people that Youth Transition Services deals with in New Zealand and is instead funding them on a bonus payment cycle essentially incentivising the people who are tendering to work only with the easy young people—not the hardest not the most at risk but the easy wins. It is a failed policy. We have seen it before in the UK. It failed. Why are we repeating those same mistakes again?  
I move more broadly to the Government’s other response to the current situation. Just to remind Mr Lotu-Iiga we have seen 67197 more people on a main benefit now than in 2008. We have seen an increase in main benefit rates and why is that?  
Hon Hekia Parata 
: Recession.  
JACINDA ARDERN 
: Quite simply it is the economy. Of course the economy has had an impact. I see that the Minister in the chair the Minister of Education has acknowledged that the economy has had an impact. Why then is the Government’s reform focused solely on some kind of idea that there has been this dramatic change in attitude to work? There has not been yet its reforms are focused on this conception that people do not want to work. They do want to work. That is why we see queues of people lining up for a handful of jobs at supermarkets. They are desperate to be in work.  
 And also that is why in 2006 20 percent of lone sole parents had declared earnings—20 percent of DPB parents were in part-time work in 2006. What is the figure now? Well the Minister has put in place part of her Future Focus reforms. She has started work testing people earlier. And how many are in part-time work? Sixteen percent. It has decreased since she has ramped up her reforms. And why? Because of the economic environment. If you want to fix welfare fix the economy. She claims that 30000 people have come off the DPB. Well 32000 have gone on. And why? Because these are people working in low-wage jobs in the service economy. It is fragile work and it is insecure work. Fix the economy is my message to the Government and then you will genuinely help these people. 
The biggest issue though is poverty—270000 children living in poverty. Three out of five of them are in the homes of people reliant on Government support; two out of five then are in working poor families. The Government’s response is to set up a ministerial committee. I see no result from that and I see no real action from this Government.