5. METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) Link to this
to the Minister for Social Development and Employment
Does she stand by her statement to the iwi leaders meeting last week that “nothing can be more important than dealing with child abuse”; if so, why did she also tell the meeting that “the Government doesn’t have all the money for it right now.”?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Police) Link to this
Yes, and that is why recently the Minister and her colleague the Minister of Police witnessed the signing of a child protection memorandum of understanding between Child, Youth and Family Services and the Police, which will see them working more closely to assist the victims of child abuse.
How much will it cost to implement a whānau finder and family group conferences for young children—the two proposals the Minister asked iwi leaders to help fund?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
A clear and rational review of the Minister’s speech will show that she has said that those are ideas that she has had and she would like to get some feedback from the iwi leaders group. I am sure she would be very interested in hearing from that member.
Did the Minister not bother to lobby her Cabinet colleagues for the funding for these services when Cabinet was approving, for example, the $2 billion for the “Holiday Highway” from Pūhoi to Wellsford?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
I think I have made it perfectly clear that the ideas that the Minister has shared with the iwi leaders group are in their formative stages.
Did the Minister bother to argue, when Cabinet was approving a $4 billion tax cut for the wealthier families in Aotearoa, that perhaps that money might be better spent on child abuse prevention, which apparently nothing can be more important than?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
As that member should know, all discussions in Cabinet are confidential. I also say to that member that the State does not have—[ Interruption] The Opposition might find this funny but I do not. The State does not have a monopoly on caring nor on taking action. The Minister has, quite wisely, asked the iwi leaders group whether they would like to give her feedback on her ideas, which they have.
When the Minister developed her policy to work test sole parents did she take into account the fact that just in recent years there have been four reported cases of serious child abuse—two of which resulted in the death of the child—because the child had been left with unsafe adults while the mother was working?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
Fifty percent of sole parents and 68 percent of partnered women with children are in paid work. Being in paid work does not make a mother an irresponsible parent.
How can the public have any confidence in a Minister who goes cap in hand to iwi leaders with no costed proposals—but she still wants iwi to fund them—claiming that nothing is more important than dealing with child abuse, when clearly her Government will prioritise many more things that it considers more important than protecting New Zealand children from violence, abuse, and death?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
Quite clearly that member was not present at the iwi leaders group when the Minister spoke. Any sensible and reasoned review of the Minister’s speech would show that the allegations made by that member are quite wrong.
Katrina ShanksHon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
In addition to the memorandum that I referred to earlier, last year we announced the first wave—the Never, Ever Shake a Baby campaign, which supports the Auckland District Health Board’s shaken baby prevention pilot and the non-governmental organisation First Response—placed Child, Youth and Family social workers in hospitals, and introduced multidisciplinary meetings before discharge, better data and monitoring systems, and an independent experts forum. As part of Budget 2010 we announced funding for extra Child, Youth and Family social workers in hospitals, teen parent intensive case managers, seven supported houses for teen parents, and development of parenting support for teen fathers. Last week we launched Home for Life.