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Whangarei’s Children’s Team goes live today, a milestone welcomed by Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.

“Children’s Teams are a new, community-driven way of engaging with and supporting vulnerable children and families,” Mrs Bennett said.

“I’ve visited Whangarei several times in recent months and am impressed with how enthusiastic and committed the community is to making a difference for their children.”

The Associate Minister for Social Development, Tariana Turia today announced the establishment of an Expert Advisory Group on Family Violence in New Zealand.

“The Expert Advisory Group on Family Violence is being formed to provide independent strategic advice to assist Government to determine key priority actions to address family violence in New Zealand,” says Minister Turia.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has welcomed the latest actuarial valuation of the welfare system, which confirms policies are well-targeted.

The June 2012 valuation shows the current lifetime liability [1] is $86.8 billion.

Leaving aside the effect of interest rates adding $13.4 billion, we have actively reduced the liability by $3 billion due to fewer people being on benefit. 

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has joined in celebrations with social workers in Wellington today to mark National Social Workers Day.

“Social work is an incredibly demanding and difficult area, and social workers do a superb job supporting vulnerable children and families,” Mrs Bennett said.

“I also want to acknowledge and thank all social workers who work with district health boards, schools, non-government organisations, and other organisations. Their contributions are significant.”

Outstanding arrest warrants are being cleared through a policy to sanction beneficiaries who are on the run from Police.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says this imaginative policy has already seen 161 arrest warrants cleared within six weeks of operation.

“Arrest warrants don’t just go away by themselves; they have to be dealt with and by prompting action through the benefit system, that’s happening faster.”

The Government has finalised a whiteware purchasing agreement which will provide a good deal for both beneficiaries and taxpayers.

“In this year’s Budget I announced we would work to get better value for beneficiaries and taxpayers in the way we help people purchase fridges, freezers and washing machines,” Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said.

Hardship grants are available to beneficiaries and people on low incomes to purchase whiteware products. These grants have to be repaid.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett was delighted to get unanimous support from Parliament for the Vulnerable Children Bill at first reading.

“This legislation is part of the wider Children’s Action Plan, with more than 30 initiatives to prevent child abuse and improve the lives of our most vulnerable children,” says Mrs Bennett.

“I’ve deliberately kept politics out of this and I’m delighted Opposition parties have found a way to support this work in exactly the same vein.”

The Vulnerable Children omnibus Bill proposes two new Acts: the Vulnerable Children Act, and the Child Harm Prevention Orders Act.

It also amends the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 and the KiwiSaver Act 2006 and makes consequential amendments to a number of other Acts.

This Bill is about protecting vulnerable children, and putting that priority ahead of the needs of adults.

These changes are bold and by their nature, controversial.

The Government is considering options contained in an independent report to strengthen the Child, Youth and Family complaints process.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has asked officials to investigate a recommendation to expand the capability of the Children’s Commissioner to assume a greater independent monitoring role of CYF.

“I commissioned an independent report to investigate whether any changes to the complaints system are needed to ensure independence.

The Foundation-Focused Training Opportunities (FFTO) programme is to be replaced from 1 January 2014 with an expanded range of more effective education and training programmes to help beneficiaries and young people get into work, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Social Development Minister Paula Bennett announced today.

FFTO programmes consist of 26-week foundation-level training courses for beneficiaries funded by Vote Social Development and administered by the Tertiary Education Commission.

FFTO will be replaced by the following:

The Pasefika Proud Campaign is seeking to build violence free families by drawing on the strengths of Pasefika peoples and their culture.

At the campaign launch today, Associate Minister of Social Development Tariana Turia said the Pasefika Proud campaign is about changing behaviours – about prevention rather than dealing with violence in a crisis. The campaign will run for a minimum of two years, driven by the Pacific Media Network and funded by the Ministry of Social Development.

Changes to the living alone payment coming into effect today will ensure better support for superannuitants and veterans’ pensioners who live alone.

When a superannuitant or veterans’ pensioner suffers the loss of a spouse or partner and now lives alone, they are entitled to the living alone payment to help with the costs of running their household.

“We know it’s tougher living alone when you can no longer share basic household costs like groceries or the power bill,” Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said.

Talofa lava.  Malo e lelei.   Fakaalofa lahi atu.   Ni sa bula vinaka.   Kia orana.   Ia Orana.  Taloha ni.   Kia ora tatou katoa.

Fifty years ago this week, an African-American Baptist Minister, addressed a crowd of 250,000 people assembled in the March of Washington and spoke out about a nation that was failing to live up to its promise as a home for all God’s children. 

Talofa lava.  Malo e lelei.   Fakaalofa lahi atu.   Ni sa bula vinaka.   Kia orana.   Ia Orana.  Taloha ni.   Kia ora tatou katoa.

Fifty years ago this week, an African-American Baptist Minister, addressed a crowd of 250,000 people assembled in the March of Washington and spoke out about a nation that was failing to live up to its promise as a home for all God’s children. 

The Pasefika Proud Campaign is seeking to build violence free families by drawing on the strengths of Pasefika peoples and their culture.

At the campaign launch today, Associate Minister of Social Development Tariana Turia said the Pasefika Proud campaign is about changing behaviours – about prevention rather than dealing with violence in a crisis. The campaign will run for a minimum of two years, driven by the Pacific Media Network and funded by the Ministry of Social Development.

Legislation to ensure that both parties in relationship welfare fraud are held to account passed its first reading in Parliament today.

“We know the overwhelming majority of beneficiaries are honest and follow the rules,” says Associate Social Development Minister Chester Borrows.

“Yet those very few who chose to defraud the system place a very real cost on a system which should be there to support our most vulnerable citizens.”

A mobile app designed to encourage young fathers to interact with their children has been launched today by Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.

The ‘Peekaboo’ app, developed by Plunket, Vodafone and the Ministry of Social Development, is available in English and Te Reo and will be free for download from both the Apple and Android stores from September 1.

“Launched to coincide with Father’s Day, the app is a homegrown, educational tool that brings parents and their young children together,” Mrs Bennett said.

Thousands of New Zealanders have come off welfare and into work thanks to the Government’s Job Streams wage subsidy employment package.

“Introduced a year ago, Job Streams offers beneficiaries a flexible pathway into work through two distinct initiatives - Flexi-Wage subsidies and Skills for Industry training programmes,” Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said.

“The simple, work-targeted focus is making a real difference for Jobseekers.”

Hundreds of beneficiaries are taking up the new work bonus payment by leaving welfare to take up work opportunities.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says this incentive payment is for beneficiaries who go into work despite having no work expectation on them.

It means instead of the benefit simply stopping, it is phased out incrementally so people keep a proportion of it as they transition to a wage.

“In the last two weeks of July alone, 239 people took advantage of the work bonus payment as they proactively found jobs,” says Mrs Bennett.

The Government has committed funding for a further 19 community projects aimed at reducing bullying amongst young people under a second round of the Te Punanga Haumaru fund, announced Associate Social Development Minister Tariana Turia today.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has announced measures to better support children as they move out of State care and into independence.

“While on my U.S Eisenhower fellowship, I was impressed with savings accounts set up for children in care and saw an opportunity with KiwiSaver.”

“New Zealand children in care generally don’t have family who can sign them up to Kiwisaver, but being enrolled will help them later in life and send a message that their future matters,” says Mrs Bennett.

Associate Social Development Minister Chester Borrows has slammed opposition claims that welfare fraudsters are treated more severely than tax fraudsters.

“The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has a duty to take care with taxpayer money. When they find evidence someone has fraudulently taken money they are not entitled to, they will prosecute, and make no apologies for that,” says Mr Borrows.

I think the most important work I will ever do as a Minister is the work contained in the Children’s Action Plan.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett is introducing legislation with sweeping changes to protect vulnerable children and help them thrive.

More than fifty children have died in the last five years because of extreme abuse; we know many of their names.

“We’ve all had enough, it just has to stop,” says Mrs Bennett who launched the ten-year Children’s Action Plan last year.