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Paula Bennett

NationalJanuary 17

Bennett trumpets drop in DPB numbers

The number of sole parents on the domestic purposes benefit dropped by 5000 last year - a drop Social Development Minister Paula Bennett is attributing partly to her new policy requiring sole parents to get jobs when their youngest child turns five.
Bennett trumpets drop in DPB numbers
Bennett trumpets drop in DPB numbers
NationalAugust 16

Bennett slammed over child poverty claim

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has been accused of being flippant about child poverty by saying measuring poverty was difficult because children moved in and out of poverty on a daily or weekly basis.
Bennett slammed over child poverty claim
Bennett slammed over child poverty claim
NationalJune 20

Backlash over child killer baby ban plan

Government support parties have railed against a move to give courts the power to stop child abusers and killers from procreating or being placed in charge of children.
Backlash over child killer baby ban plan
Backlash over child killer baby ban plan
NationalMay 9

Promiscuity claim gets cold shoulder

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says questions should be asked about older men "preying'' on young women, rather than about the promiscuity of women.
Promiscuity claim gets cold shoulder
Promiscuity claim gets cold shoulder
NationalApril 20

Minister defends welfare reforms

Unemployed graduates will get less help from Work and Income, and sole parents and sick people will get more, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says.
NationalApril 19

Welfare backstop 'a beast': Bennett

Unemployed graduates will get less help from Work and Income, and sole parents and sick people will get more, says Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.
Welfare backstop 'a beast': Bennett
Welfare backstop 'a beast': Bennett
NationalDecember 21

Government not to blame for abuse: Bennett

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett angrily dismissed suggestions she or Prime Minister John Key could have acted to halt horrific child abuse suffered by a 9-year-old Auckland girl whose mother was jailed yesterday.
NationalDecember 16

National's Bennett on verge of losing seat

Paula Bennett is on the verge of losing her Waitakere electorate seat.
National's Bennett on verge of losing seat
National's Bennett on verge of losing seat
NationalNovember 2

Bennett, King debate welfare

National and Labour have agreed on one thing: work is the answer to getting people off benefits.
NationalSeptember 7

Row over funding child study

Labour says Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has been caught in "a bare-faced lie'' after denying she had cut funding for a 21-year study into Auckland children's development which was commissioned just three years ago by her department.
Row over funding child study
Row over funding child study
NationalAugust 29

Bennett hopes for swift return to work

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett hopes to be back at work this week after recovering from respiratory problems that put her in hospital over the weekend.
NationalAugust 28

Paula Bennett hoping to leave hospital today

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett hopes to be discharged from hospital today after being admitted with bronchitis and pneumonia.
NationalAugust 17

Intrusion on teens a 'moral obligation' - Bennett

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says comments she made that special beneficiary payment cards were "highly intrusive" were in response to a different proposal to one being adopted by her party.
Intrusion on teens a 'moral obligation' - Bennett
Intrusion on teens a 'moral obligation' - Bennett
NationalJune 12

Questions over $100,000 benefit households

The possibility of benefit fraud is being investigated following a report that shows some households appear to be receiving more than $100,000 a year in welfare payments.
NationalMay 3

Govt to put $55 million into youth job training

There will be $55.2 million over four years in the upcoming budget to get young people into jobs, Prime Minister John Key announced today at Trentham military training camp in Wellington.
NationalMarch 23

Changes to Family Start announced

Early intervention programme Family Start has "drifted" and will be required to measure outcomes and focus more on preventing abuse and targeting families in the most need, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says.
NationalMarch 7

Quake not figuring in beneficiary number drop

The number of beneficiaries decreased by nearly 10,000 during February, but the Government says the impact from the Christchurch earthquake is yet to hit.
NationalMarch 3

Recovery centres opening from tomorrow

Eight recovery assistance centres will open, six of them tomorrow, in areas hardest hit by the Christchurch earthquake, Social Development Minster Paula Bennett says.
NationalAugust 13

Week in politics: More to welfare reform story than massive numbers

There it sits, a very large and seemingly very juicy statistic buried in the back pages of this week's discussion paper on welfare reform; a figure which screams for attention as indisputable evidence that the present benefit system must get the chop or, at a minimum, serious restructuring.
South OtagoAugust 6

Minister and youth workers in talks

Paula Bennett travelled to Balclutha yesterday to meet youth workers and talk about Clutha's approach to youth development.
Minister and youth workers in talks
Minister and youth workers in talks
DunedinMay 28

Scrutiny of second-hand dealers

The actions of some Dunedin second-hand dealers could come under scrutiny from the police after a sting by Work and Income agents uncovered a possible beneficiary scam.
Scrutiny of second-hand dealers
Scrutiny of second-hand dealers
NationalMay 21

Harder line needed with social services spending: minister

The Government will take a harder line on social services spending and communities will be trusted to provide information on what is working and what isn't under a new funding scheme, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says.
Harder line needed with social services spending: minister
Harder line needed with social services spending: minister
NationalApril 30

Minister calls for apology over TV story

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has called for an apology from TV3 over a story on its evening news programme last night querying whether she had offered money to a beneficiary who laid a privacy complaint against her.
Minister calls for apology over TV story
Minister calls for apology over TV story
NationalApril 29

Bennett denies offering beneficiary money

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has denied she offered money to a beneficiary who laid a privacy complaint against her.
Bennett denies offering beneficiary money
Bennett denies offering beneficiary money
NationalMarch 29

Govt crackdown on unwilling workers

Welfare reforms announced by the Government today are expected to ramp up the pressure on beneficiaries to return to the workforce.
Govt crackdown on unwilling workers
Govt crackdown on unwilling workers