9. HONE HARAWIRA (Māori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
In light of his statement during the Budget speech that “Protecting the most vulnerable is a priority”, what strategies are in place to address situations for families on benefits who continue to experience very high poverty rates?
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) Link to this
In the Budget the Government made a decision to absorb much of the shock of the recession for those most vulnerable to the sharper edges of the recession by borrowing an extra $30 billion over the next 4 years to maintain entitlements to income support, increase front-line public services in health, education, and justice, and invest billions in infrastructure projects that will support employment. In the longer term, the only way to combat the poverty the member refers to is a healthy, growing economy that lifts incomes, creates jobs, and gives those outside the workforce an opportunity to get back into it. Budget 2009 was the first step in that direction, but we have also supplemented those measures with a range of more targeted policies, such as the Community Response Fund and the insulation fund.
Does the Minister see a correlation between poverty and offending, and what advice has he received from the Minister of Justice to address issues relating to poverty?
The member will be familiar with the actions that the Minister of Justice has taken to bring together a range of people with an interest in justice to address the drivers of crime. The Māori Party played a constructive role in that process. We look forward to working more with the Māori Party on the kinds of issues the member has raised.
Hon Ruth DysonWhat consideration did the Minister give to the most vulnerable in our society, those yet to be born, when he supported the decision to reverse the mandatory fortification of vitamin B in our bread, which could have saved between 20 to 30 babies each year, every year, who will now be aborted because of his decision?
Apart from taking deep personal offence at the implication of that question—I gave it full consideration.
There are any number of opinions about the relationship between poverty and criminal offending, and I think most members of Parliament would be of the view that the kind of solutions that fix both are the solutions we are after.
Hekia ParataIn addition to the extra $1 billion that the Government will be spending on the main benefits this year, we have put aside extra money to help families in trouble, whether or not they are on benefits. There is $79 million more for special needs grants and $153 million more for temporary additional support, special needs grant limits have been doubled, and we have raised the other emergency grant limit from $200 to $500. This is extensive support, and if Labour members think there should have been more, they should have provided it when they were in Government, just like, after 9 years, they should have put folic acid in bread, if they thought it really mattered.