Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development): Mr Speaker, talofa lava. I believe the decisions this Government has made will support New Zealanders to get back on their feet after the impacts of COVID. These announcements include the COVID-19 income relief payment, which will support families who have experienced a job loss due to COVID-19; the wage subsidy, which has supported 1.6 million New Zealanders; and the $150 million we are putting into expanding the Ministry of Social Development's employment services. Alongside this, our Government has committed to an overhaul of the welfare system to ensure it is fair and non-discriminatory. That's why, on 1 April, we indexed main benefits to increases in wages, increased benefits, lifted abatement threshold, and removed the discriminatory sanction that penalised sole parents. Max Rashbrooke, editor of Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis, summed up his piece by saying, "the COVID-19 payments, far from being an insult to the already unemployed, are not just a sensible way to cushion the blow of a colossal economic shock: they could be a step on the way towards a welfare system that genuinely, and generously, helps us collectively insure against the social risks that are far too large for any one individual to manage." 