9. RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister for Social Development and Employment
Has she received any recent advice on New Zealand’s social trends?
Hon RUTH DYSON (Minister for Social Development and Employment) Link to this
Yes, I have. I have been advised that the gap between rich and poor households has closed for the first time in 20 years. The proportion of people with low incomes is also considerably lower. The earnings per person was higher in real terms in 2007 than it was in the mid-1990s, and overall poverty fell from 19 percent in 2001 to 13 percent in 2007, using the Social Report measure, representing a total of 190,000 fewer New Zealanders in poverty in the last year.
Russell Fairbrother Link to this
Has she has received any advice that explains why the gap between lower household incomes and higher household incomes has closed?
Yes, I have. The fact that incomes for lower and middle income households has grown more rapidly than others is attributed mainly to the Working for Families package. This is, of course, why National’s Bill English says their message to the public before the election is to keep Working for Families intact, because they do not want to be seen as taking money off people. However, after the election, if National is the Government, it will give it “a bit of a sort out”.
Gerry BrownleeDoes she recall giving a recent speech in which she said: “We must cater for the diversity we know exists. By this I mean the range of relationships, from single, couples, triples, blended de facto, and so on. That’s where we are going with social policy.”, and in the recent advice she received on social trends in New Zealand, was there a description of the relationship she describes as a triple; if so, what was that advice?