11. GORDON COPELAND (Independent) Link to this
to the Minister for Social Development and Employment
Does the Government have any plans to address the issues of fatherhood, marriage preparation, and marriage enrichment to ensure that more children are raised in a safe, loving, and caring home?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Acting Minister for Social Development and Employment) Link to this
The Labour-led Government wants to ensure that all Kiwi kids, living in all sorts of families, live in safe, loving, and caring homes. Since we became the Government, we have set a task, for example, of raising 130,000 out of poverty. We have done that through our income-related rents policy and the Working for Families policy, and by reducing health costs. We have had a real impact, of course, on families, which has made life safer for those young people. We have been investing $1.6 billion to increase the amount of support available for Working for Families to children, which means that three out of four New Zealand families are now enjoying that support, and that undoubtedly is making life better for those children.
Why does the Government continue to ignore family form, when the evidence demonstrates that, on average, a home headed by a married couple produces the best outcomes in terms of health, education, and income level, and by far the lowest involvement in the criminal justice system?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
At the risk of giving the member a sociology lesson, I think that the evidence actually shows that as long as the family form maintains a safe, caring, nurturing environment with clear boundaries for behaviour, then whatever the family form is, those children will be in the proper kind of environment, and that is the evidence that this Government follows.
Is the Minister aware that a sample of 7,000 young people involved with the youth justice system each year indicates that just 12 percent are living with both their mum and dad, 28 percent with only one parent, and a massive 60 percent with neither their mum nor their dad; and does this not provide ample evidence that family form, especially the presence of a mum and dad, is all-important?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I think everybody in the House would say that it is preferable if children can remain with their biological parents. However, unless the member has a bill intending to force people to stay together, we have to deal with the facts as they are. That is why I say that we reinforce good, positive relationships within any family form that exists in New Zealand.
I seek the leave of the House to table a Youth Court paper setting out the statistics that I quoted in my supplementary question.