Bennett floats solo parent study loan

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has asked her officials to look into setting up a loan to help solo parents cover their extra study costs.

The suggestion came during a phone call yesterday to one of the solo mothers whose details the minister released after they spoke out about her decision to cut the Training Incentive Allowance for tertiary level courses.

Ms Bennett spoke yesterday to Jennifer Johnston, of Invercargill.

The other mother, Natasha Fuller, of Hamilton, rejected an offer to speak to the minister.

Ms Bennett did not apologise for releasing the details, but she said after her call she wanted to investigate the loan idea.

The mothers have argued the $1000 course costs component of the student loan scheme is not sufficient to cover all their costs, compared to the $3800 allowance.

Ms Bennett said Ms Johnston had put forward a "compelling argument" and she had asked her officials to look at the implications of it - including the possibility of extending the existing provisions for loans to beneficiaries for that purpose.

She said she explained to Ms Johnston that she could not make any promises.

Any change, either to the student loans scheme or the loans available to beneficiaries, was a major policy decision.

Issues of cost and fairness also had to be considered if one group was to be given more entitlements than others.

Ms Bennett spoke to the Invercargill mother-of-three after two days of fierce public debate following her decision to release details of Ms Johnston's income support.

Ms Bennett stopped short of apologising for releasing the details, but she did apologise to Ms Johnston for the public backlash it had prompted against the mothers.

They have faced concerted, often vitriolic, criticism on internet sites and talkback radio over the amounts they received in benefits.

Ms Bennett said: "The only regret I have is that, in some quarters, I think it has been an absolutely horrific debate . . . very personalised and ugly. And I certainly don't support that."

She said Ms Johnston had invited her for coffee when Ms Bennett was next in Invercargill - "I said I'd take the coffee."

Ms Johnston said Ms Bennett was "very sorry for the fallout it caused us".

"I actually had to apologise to her, as well, for anything that reflected badly on her - because I was pretty angry yesterday.

I don't bear her any ill will."

She said Ms Bennett had listened carefully but made it clear that she could not promise anything.

"I run a family, she runs a department, but my family has a budget just like her department does and . . . I have to make decisions that are unpopular. Sometimes my children will come to me and say, `Mum, how about we do it this way?'

"Sometimes I can compromise and sometimes I can't - that's the reality of having a budget.

I don't know what will come out of our conversation, but at the very least I know my minister heard my concerns."

She brushed off concerns about privacy, saying it not hard to find out what level of benefits a woman in her situation would be entitled to.