Bennett Paula: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Bennett Paula: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 09 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:2087. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development) 
: 
 It is quite something to sit on this side of the House and see the looks on the faces sitting around David Shearer. All you can see are three words going through all of the Labour members’ heads and they are “should’ve been Cunliffe”—should have been Cunliffe. Quite frankly if that is as good as it gets for Labour then it is kind of embarrassing and kind of not as good as it could be—should have been Cunliffe; should have been Cunliffe. 
Let us think about welfare reform and let us talk about where welfare is at in this country. I am going to ask for the indulgence of the House right now and I know this is going to be kind of shaky ground for a few. Let us imagine that Labour was in Government right now— 
Hon Members 
: No no! 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: —I know I know—and that it was actually looking at these teenagers who are not in employment or education or training and looking at beneficiaries and what their needs were. What do you think Labour would be doing? Nothing—nothing! What do you think? Seriously colleagues what do you think— 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Yesterday you made a point of reminding us that we do not include you in debate. This member has included you quite a number of times. I do not think you would altogether agree with some of the ways that you have been included in some of the things she has said. I think perhaps you could bring her back to the Standing Orders of the House. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I would discourage members from interrupting these short speeches but senior members should be aware of the fact that they should not bring the Speaker into the debate. 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: I thank the member for the break quite frankly because it was nice to take a wee minute there and have a bit of a breath. 
Quite frankly if one thought about what Labour would be doing for beneficiaries for the most disadvantaged in this country who need a hand the answer is quite simply nothing—absolutely nothing. When we look at the current “neets” figures it is those aged 20 to 24 who are actually worse off in this country. Who do you think was in Government when they were at school? Who do we think was actually in Government when they were at school and who left them on the scrap heap of no achievement? It was the previous Labour Government. 
We hear a lot of noise from the left about those not in education employment or training but when Labour members were in Government they did not actually perform for those young people who need it most. We saw a scattergun approach that actually made no difference when it came to the intensive support that some of these young people need. I say to my colleagues in the House that this Government will not do it. They may be hard decisions. They may not always be easy to make. Everyone may not like them. But we will most certainly make them and we will stand up next to these young people. 
We are seeing 16 and 17-year olds year after year after year left unable to achieve and without the opportunities they should be given. So we will be wrapping at least $148.8 million of support around them in the belief that we can turn round their opportunities and can see something brighter for them. And that is going to make a difference. Quite frankly a light touch across thousands who do not need it has not been working and it is time we turned our attention to actually doing the hard stuff.  
 Let us be clear. Welfare is having the biggest reforms that this country has seen for decades and the Opposition spokesperson cannot even get a main question in the House on it and when we actually have a question she gets one supplementary question and she stuffs that up. So that is how effective the Opposition is in this House at the moment. Quite frankly someone needs to look at what they are doing and how they should do it. 
Let us talk about the differences between the left and the right. Beneficiaries themselves have got to a stage where they are sick of the hand-wringing the bleeding hearts and the victimisation—the “poor them”—that comes continually from the left and they want to see the right kind of ambition and the right kind of drive behind them. They will get the kind of support they need and deserve under this Government. Change is on its way and we are already seeing the positive effects of it. Already in the month of April we saw 2000 fewer on benefits over that period. Let us put some perspective around it. In January 2010 there were 68000 people on the unemployment benefit—that being the effect of the worst recession we had seen with companies not being able to take on employees. Today we see 52400 on the unemployment benefit. That number is coming down month after month after month and it is making a big big change for those people who need it most.