6. TAITO PHILLIP FIELD (Independent—Mangere) Link to this
to the Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment
Has she received any recent reports relating to the living standards of Pacific Island families?
Hon LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN (Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment) Link to this
I receive a range of reports on a number of topics relating to Pacific Island people in New Zealand. I often hear from Pacific people themselves on how this Labour-led Government’s Working for Families package is making a real difference to their families and communities. I also receive reports on how many more Pacific people are in paid work; for example, as at the end of March this year there are now 2,568 Pacific people on an unemployment benefit in the whole of New Zealand. That is an outstanding 78 percent reduction from 12,300 in 1999 when National was in Government.
Taito Phillip Field Link to this
How does she reconcile her claims that living standards have improved, given that the Social Report 2006 indicates that the proportion of families with any Pacific members with low living standards increased from 49 percent to 54 percent?
Hon LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN Link to this
The figures the member refers to are from 2004, before the Working for Families package was introduced. The Working for Families package is increasing the incomes of hundreds of thousands, and our Pacific Island families, and is lifting tens of thousands of our children out of poverty. We have made big progress. We saw an issue and we dealt with it. Yes, there is still more work to be done and we are getting on with it.
Charles ChauvelHon LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN Link to this
Since the mid-1990s Pacific peoples have improved in nine out of the 10 outcomes that the Social Report 2006 measured. These outcomes are: more school-leavers with higher qualifications, less cigarette smoking, more attainment of tertiary education qualifications, less unemployment, more employment, higher median hourly incomes, fewer populations with low incomes, greater housing affordability, and less household crowding.
Hon Brian Donnelly Link to this
Can the Minister provide some details on how the Working for Families policy has impacted on the living standards of Pasifika families?
Hon LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN Link to this
Through our Working for Families policy we have invested heavily in families, including many of our Pacific families. The package targets tax relief where it is needed most—families with young children. A Pacific family with two young children earning the median income—$58,000 a year—will now be better off by $136 per week thanks to the Working for Families package. This improvement in household incomes lifts an estimated 70,000 children over the income-poverty threshold.
Taito Phillip Field Link to this
How does she reconcile claims that living standards have improved, given that the analysis of a new Ministry of Health survey of children’s nutrition has found that an astonishing 40.8 percent of Pacific children, 22.9 percent of Māori children, and 7.7 percent of European children aged between 5 and 14 sometimes or always ate nothing before school; and, given those reports of escalating proportions of Pacific school-age children going hungry to school each day, what is the Government doing to alleviate this problem?
Hon LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN Link to this
As I said in my previous answers, Working for Families has made an enormous difference, and certainly the Fruit in Schools programme has made a terrific difference for Pacific families.