compared to last year when the economy grew more than
compared to last year when the
My
My question is to the Minister
people on benefits are
people on benefits
Mr
Mr Speaker, I'm advised MSD do not record whether people are homeless
because you do not need an
address to get a benefit. Of course,
if someone was to present to
Work and Income and tell them that
they were homeless, they would work with
them to address this situation because
as I said in the House
yesterday, Work and Income staff are absolutely
passionate about helping people get
back on their feet and live
successful lives.
back on their feet and live successful lives. How many of the
60,000 children she says
are no longer on benefits
60,000 children she says are no
Well, Mr Speaker, we don't know. We don't keep track
of where those children are
don't keep track of where those
Order! I'm now very quickly losing patience with the
considerable interjection and conversations
occurring across the
aisle. Supplementary question,
Supplementary question, Metiria Turei. Thank you, Mr Speaker. How
many beneficiaries who have
been subject to financial sanctions are
subject
subject to financial sanctions are
said in my answer to the primary question
said in my answer to the primary
not record whether people are homeless because they don't
need an address to collect a benefit.
What it be easier to collect those statistics if beneficiaries
accurately reported where they
were living and with
accurately reported where they were
Work and Income do require some information, particularly from
sole parents, they want to know who
they are living with in order to
establish that they are
sole parents or not.
establish that they are sole parents or not. Why does she not
instruct MSD to keep records of beneficiaries
and their children who are
homeless when she knows that poverty
and homelessness are two of the most
pressing social issues facing
New
member is assuming that because we don't have figures that we don't
that Work and Income don't deal with people who have those issues. Of
course working with a case manager,
if a client declares that they
have nowhere to live and they are in
dire financial circumstances, the
staff at Work and Income work with
that person in order to help them get
good accommodation and
live
They don't necessarily report those numbers through to the minister.
They don't necessarily report those numbers through to the minister. How
many of the 60,000 children
she says are no longer on benefit
dependent households are now
in households who live above the poverty
households are now in households who
Speaker, I have said in answer to questions both in the House
and written questions before that we
of course, people leave the benefit and go into employment, they
go overseas, some of them go on to be
superannuitants, some of them go
into jail, some of them die. We
don't necessarily follow them as
they leave a benefit. However I have
conducted some
conducted some research prewelfare for the two years prior to
the welfare reforms, and I am
awaiting
the two years following the welfare reform to see
exactly what happens to people who leave the
benefit. But it is clear even at this early stage
that well over a third of the
people who leave the benefit are still
in work two years later.
who leave the benefit are still in work two years later. So the
minister does accept
the analysis which shows that two years
after coming off a benefit only
those beneficiaries are now in paid
was right. But Superu research shows
variety of things that people go on to do in their lives,
variety of things that people go on
some of them go into work, some of them go into a different household
situation where they don't have
to work and are supported by someone
else. As I say, some go overseas,
some go into training, there's
a whole variety of things that people
do.
whole variety of things that people do. Is the minister concerned
after housing costs the population
poverty rate in 2016 is exactly
the same as it was at the time of
the global financial crisis and so has not
changed during the time of the
National
changed during the time of the
would have to look at the figures that that member is referring
to.
My
My question is to the Minister
with the Prime Minister's statement about the Government spending
about the Government spending
Mr
Mr Speaker, the PM was making the comment that we're more