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E nga mana, e nga reo, e te iwi o te motu, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa

I’d like to acknowledge your Chief Executive, Linda Surtees, my parliamentary colleague and your MC, Ron Mark, all of the foster carers, social workers, NGO representatives and CYF and MSD staff here today.

Good morning everyone and thank you for the invitation to speak with you and to officially open your conference. 

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has released an interim report from an independent expert panel which shows that the Child, Youth and Family system is not delivering effectively for vulnerable children and young people, and that transformational change is required at the agency.

The expert panel has started work on a multi-year future operating model for the agency which addresses the findings in the report by prioritising the needs of children. This includes developing proposals for a new advocacy service to represent the voices of vulnerable children and young people.

A Bill which will enable the establishment of New Zealand’s first child sex offender register has passed its first reading in Parliament says Social Development Minister Anne Tolley.

Under the Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Register) Bill, Police and Corrections will be able to better identify and manage child sex offenders in the community.

Registered child sex offenders will be required to provide a range of up-to-date personal information, which will allow Police and Corrections to assess, monitor and manage any risks to public safety.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says nearly 600 studying sole parents are accessing higher accommodation support following changes on 1 July.

Sole parents who take up full time study are now eligible to receive the same rate of accommodation support they would on a main benefit. The new rate applies once students apply for their next period of study.

“598 applications have been approved in the first two months and the majority of these students are now receiving between $60 and $225 per week, depending on their circumstances,” Mrs Tolley says.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has officially launched the Hamilton Children’s Team, the fifth of ten approved Teams to be rolled out across the country.

Children’s Teams ensure that at-risk children have an individually-tailored support plan and single point of contact to work alongside the child and their family and other social services, as well as health and education agencies.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says the State of Care report from the Children’s Commissioner provides a valuable resource for the independent expert panel leading a radical overhaul of Child, Youth and Family.

“I welcome the release of this report, which makes for grim reading for those involved in child protection, and have met with the Commissioner to discuss his findings,” says Mrs Tolley.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says the South Dunedin Social Sector Trial is showing positive results helping young people off benefits and into employment and training.

“The latest figures from Dunedin show the Work and Income Youth Link team has helped 210 young people, aged 18-24, off a benefit between March 2015 and the end of July, with 170 going into employment and 40 into study,” Mrs Tolley says.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says a Bill is being introduced into parliament today which will enable the establishment of New Zealand’s first Child Sex Offender Register.

“This Bill is part of a programme of work, led by the Vulnerable Children’s Board, that aims to keep our young people safe from harm,” says Mrs Tolley.

The Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Register) Bill will allow Police and Corrections to establish the register for convicted child sex offenders aged 18 or over at the time of committing their offence and who are:

Justice Minister Amy Adams and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley have today launched a new work programme to ensure government agencies respond better to family and sexual violence.

“Despite crime rates in New Zealand falling to a 35-year low, family violence remains unacceptably high,” Justice Minister Amy Adams says.

“We need to do more to prevent and address family violence in New Zealand.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says a bill extending the successful Youth Service to better support 19 year old parents and other unemployed 18 and 19 year olds at risk of long term welfare dependence has passed its first reading.

Youth Service provides intensive wrap around support for young people, getting them help with paying bills, budgeting and parenting, and supporting them into education.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says the five millionth KickStart breakfast since the Government expanded the programme will be served this week.

“KickStart has served five million breakfasts across the country since the Government expanded the programme in 2013,” Mrs Tolley says.

“There has been a 45 per cent increase in the number of schools taking up the programme since the expansion, with 109,170 breakfasts now served every week.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says the latest benefit figures show the number of people receiving welfare is the lowest for any June quarter since before the Global Financial Crisis.

There were 285,349 people on a benefit at the end of June 2015, a drop of 8,237, or 2.8 per cent, compared to a year ago. This is the lowest June quarter since June 2008.

“I’m pleased to see the strong downward trend is continuing as Work and Income supports more people into work,” Mrs Tolley says.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says 81 per cent of historic claimants who have been made fast-track offers to date have accepted the offer to settle their claim.

People with unresolved claims of historic abuse in state care have been given the option of a fast-track settlement, or to continue with the normal process.

“We want to ensure people who have backlogged claims relating to historic abuse are able to choose the settlement process that suits them,” Mrs Tolley says.

Health Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley say GPs can now lodge work capacity medical certificates electronically, replacing time-consuming paper certificates.

“It is important to ensure coordinated care for patients and to develop stronger links between services”, says Dr Coleman.

“Work capacity medical certificates contain information about a person’s medical condition, capacity for work, how long they are expected to be unable to work and their ability to undertake work related activities.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has announced the appointment of a Youth Advisory Panel to ensure the voices of children are included in the review into Child, Youth and Family (CYF).

The panel includes eight young people, aged 15 to 23, all of whom have had experience with state care. The panel was chosen with the assistance of the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC).

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy say lower North Island farmers struggling as a result of recent flooding are now able to access Rural Assistance Payments (RAPs).

RAPs can be activated after a medium-scale adverse event and cover essential living costs when farmers’ income is affected by the event with a payment equivalent to Jobseeker Support.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has announced that a further $4.3 million in funding for capability development support has been provided to a range of social service providers.

Eighty-eight providers and collectives which deliver services to vulnerable New Zealanders have benefited from the funding.

It supports organisations to achieve better results by working together and building stronger systems for governance, planning and financial management.

Studying sole parents could be up to $165 a week better off from today when the Accommodation Benefit rises to match the Accommodation Supplement, Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says.

A change to regulations means sole parents who take up full-time study will be eligible to receive the same rate of accommodation support as they would on a main benefit.

A new streamlined labour market test process in Queenstown will benefit employers trying to fill low-skilled vacancies, say Social Development Minister Anne Tolley and Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has announced that the Temporary Accommodation Assistance (TAA) programme for Canterbury residents affected by earthquakes is to be extended.

The TAA supports homeowners with additional costs such as rent, board, or motel stays, when they are in temporary accommodation while waiting for repairs to their homes to be completed. Up to $330 per week is available for these temporary costs.

“Over $50 million has been paid to Canterbury homeowners through this programme since 2011,” says Mrs Tolley.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has introduced a bill extending the Youth Service to 19 year old parents and other 18 and 19 year olds at risk of long term welfare dependence.

Youth Service provides intensive wrap around support for young people, getting them help with paying bills, budgeting and parenting, and supporting them into education.

“The Youth Service has been very successful, with 86.5 per cent of clients engaged in education, training or work-based learning at the end of March 2015,” Mrs Tolley says.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has announced extra support for Whanganui after extensive flooding over the weekend.

“I’ve activated Enhanced Task Force Green (ETFG), a temporary employment programme which will employ local beneficiaries to help with the clean-up operation,” Mrs Tolley says.

“Whanganui and the surrounding areas have been hit hard by severe flooding and the Government is pitching in with additional support for the flooded region.”

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has today released New Zealand’s Fifth Periodic Report under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“This report provides an opportunity to acknowledge the progress New Zealand has made on children’s rights, as well as identifying areas we need to keep working on,” says Mrs Tolley.

“The report highlights a broad programme of work that is currently underway to improve the lives of New Zealand children.

People wishing to return permanently to the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau will now be able to do so after age 55 without it impacting their eligibility for New Zealand Superannuation, Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says.

The Social Assistance (Portability to Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau) Bill passed its third reading in Parliament today, providing greater flexibility for superannuitants choosing to live outside of New Zealand.