3. Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) Link to this
to the Minister for Social Development and Employment
Does she stand by her statement to the House: “I can assure the non-governmental organisations out there that the money from Pathways to Partnership is staying there”; if not, why not?
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development and Employment) Link to this
Yes. This Government is committed to exactly the same spend as Labour was over the next 3 years, despite the worst economic conditions in decades. With help from the sector, we have developed a different way of delivering the fund for the next 2 years as a response to the recession.
Why did she allow over $100 million of Pathways to Partnership funding to be stripped from her budget and locked away in a contingency fund under the control of the Minister of Finance, and therefore not allocated to non-governmental organisations as she promised in her Budget statement; and why did she not tell the non-governmental organisations that “staying there” did not mean with them?
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
I am actually very pleased to say that that $104 million has been put into a contingency fund, just as we announced last week. Forty million dollars of that is for this year; it is for the Community Response Fund. The other $64 million will be spent next year. Actually, that is a really good news story for those non-governmental organisations.
Jo GoodhewHon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
I will just reiterate this one more time, because this is a good news story for those non-governmental organisations out there that are struggling. One hundred and four million dollars has been put into a contingency fund that will be spent via the Community Response Fund. That will be distributed by the communities to organisations that are seeing an increase in demand and a decrease in their non-Government funding.
Why has the Minister cut funding to the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges, Barnados, Family Start programmes in South Auckland, the Anglican Family Care Centre, Family Wellbeing Services, counselling and rehabilitation services, and the Open Home Foundation, to name some, as set out on pages 119, 120 and 121 of the social development Budget documents; and how does this start-stop approach enable non-governmental organisations to plan for the provision of services, let alone provide them?
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
I cannot say it any more clearly: the money that was put aside by Labour is being spent, and all of that money is there. As far as individual organisations go, contracts come up for renewal on 30 June. They are all being looked at. This is a ministry that is spending $19 billion this year alone.
Why did Budget 2009 deliver little to vulnerable families and instead effectively cut Pathways to Partnership, cut training incentive allowances to sole parents, and cut much-needed scholarships for low-income students, if the Government is keeping its word to address what she and John Key called a “growing underclass”?
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
This Government makes no apologies for looking at each line and making sure that New Zealanders are getting value for money and that money is being distributed well and fairly. That money has not been cut. I think the member is scaremongering.