Forty new houses are to be constructed at the Rangers Park subdivision to provide additional temporary accommodation and help revitalise Christchurch’s eastern suburbs, Minister of Housing Dr Nick Smith announced today.

“This development of 40 new homes will be used to increase the supply of temporary accommodation for families as the rebuild gains momentum. It will enable people to maintain their work, school and community links in their local area while their repairs and rebuilds are being carried out.

It is essential that more land is made available for housing to improve supply and affordability in Auckland, Minister of Housing Dr Nick Smith said today in releasing the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment report ‘Residential Land Available in Auckland’.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has welcomed a deal which has provided two weeks paid full-time work experience in the Census call centre.

“Work and Income and Telnet agreed on a deal to recruit 222 beneficiaries for the Census call centre, providing valuable on-the-job experience.”

“Sixteen people have already been given fulltime positions as a result,” says Mrs Bennett.

The $43.7 million initiative to provide Gateway Assessments for children in care is making a difference says Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.

This life-changing government initiative to address health, mental health and educational needs in children in care is picking up serious health issues.

“Children are in State care because they’ve suffered serious abuse or neglect which can have a devastating effect on their health and development.”

There have been no cuts to government funding to the Benefit Advocacy Information Service and the Ministry of Social Development continues to fund this advocacy service in line with other similar organisations.

“Baseline funding for BAIS has increased under National, and is above funding levels it received under Labour,” say Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.

The number of people on the Domestics Purposes Benefit, Invalids Benefit and Unemployment Benefit all decreased in 2012.

"It will be a surprise to no one that during tough economic times the number of people on benefits increased. The welfare system should be there to support those who need it, and Work and Income were very responsive to those who lost their jobs and needed help," says Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett today launched the Social Media Innovations Fund with five projects to focus on improving youth mental health.

The Social Media Innovations Fund supports organisations to relate to young people through innovative projects, so they build resilience and get help when they need it.

“These projects will use social media in a smart, savvy way, encouraging young people to reach out and share their worries and concerns and stay connected to those who can help,” says Mrs Bennett.

With a focus on helping people off welfare and into work, benefit numbers have remained below predictions despite the economic conditions.

The number of people on the Unemployment Benefit was predicted to rise to 90,000 as a result of the recession, but peaked at 68,369 in January 2010.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says Work and Income, backed by the Government has maintained a strong focus on jobs.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says policy changes introduced through staged welfare reforms are seeing real gains for New Zealanders.

Future Focus, implemented in 2010 as a pre-cursor to major reforms introduced clear obligations and greater fairness to the benefits system.

Future Focus changes include requiring:

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has taken Ministerial leadership of the sexual violence sector which currently sits across several portfolios.

It’s an important step reflecting the importance of the work sexual violence service providers do and the difficulties they face.

“The sector has struggled and I think a big part of the problem is that they don’t have a single Minister to look to for leadership, so I’m prepared to take on that responsibility,” says Mrs Bennett

Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today announced Government grants of $3.11 million have been given to help build 26 new social housing units in Auckland, Nelson and Canterbury.

“These are the first grants from the Government’s new $104 million Social Housing Fund to assist families with acute housing needs,” Dr Smith says.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett leaves for Washington DC today where she is the keynote speaker at a home visiting conference next week.

“It’s a real privilege to be asked to talk about the New Zealand experience with home visiting programmes like Family Start,” says Mrs Bennett.

Family Start is New Zealand’s most intensive and expensive home visiting programme designed to help at-risk children and families.

“It’s vital we get this service right for our most vulnerable children.”

The Government is looking at changes to the way Councils charge for new sections and other developments by today releasing a discussion paper as part of its work on housing affordability and local government reform.

More than 8150 people went off welfare into jobs in Work and Income’s Southern region over the last year.

The Southern Region includes South Canterbury, Central Otago, Otago and Southland.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says the number of people on Unemployment Benefits in the Southern region dropped by 18 percent over 2012, down to 4,086.

“The Southern region has continued to show resilience in the face of a difficult job market nationwide,” says Mrs Bennett.

More than 6450 people went off welfare into work in Waikato last year.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says the number of people on Unemployment Benefits in the region dropped 3.5 percent to 3699 in 2012.

“The job market has been patchy since the global recession, but Work and Income staff have worked hard to get people into jobs.”

The Future Build Programme run in partnership with Wintec, the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation and local employers, helped 19 Waikato beneficiaries into jobs.

More than 4800 people went off welfare to take up jobs in Work and Income’s Central region over the last year.

The Central Region covers Kapiti, Horowhenua, Wairarapa, Tararua and the Manawatu.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says the number of people on Unemployment Benefits in the region dropped by 7.8 percent over the year in 2012, down to 3,765.

The Crown today signed a Social Development Accord with Te Hiku o Te Ika as part of the iwi Treaty Settlement.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says this Accord commits the Crown and government agencies to work with Te Hiku to improve social outcomes for the iwi hapū and whanau.

The Ministry of Social Development is the responsible agency for implementing the Accord which was signed by Prime Minister John Key.

“Ten Government agencies will be working alongside Te Hiku to determine what intervention is needed before doing the work together.”

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has acknowledged Carl Davidson’s contribution to families as Chief Families Commissioner.

Carl Davidson steps down from the position he has held since August 2010 to focus on his own family and work in Christchurch.

Mrs Bennett says Carl Davidson has done an outstanding job as Chief Families Commissioner, bringing a level of professionalism to the organisation and elevating its role publicly.

“I thank him for his valuable contribution and wish him well in the future.”

Housing Minister Phil Heatley and Auckland Mayor Len Brown today announced the appointment of a seven-member Board with a strong mix of community, urban development and business skills to lead the Tāmaki Redevelopment Company.

The Tāmaki Redevelopment Company is New Zealand’s first urban redevelopment company and aims to transform Tāmaki (including Glen Innes, Point England and Panmure) in Auckland over the next 20-25 years through co-ordinated economic, social, and housing initiatives.

Housing New Zealand has suspended 75 former tenants from applying for a state house since the introduction of its suspensions policy a year ago, Housing Minister Phil Heatley said today.

The policy, introduced on 30 November 2011, allows Housing New Zealand to suspend former tenants from applying for a state house for one year after their tenancy ends, as a result of serious breaches of their tenancy agreement.

Hundreds of new houses are to be built at Hobsonville Point as part of the Government’s moves to bring more affordable new housing on to the market, Housing Minister Phil Heatley announced today.

Housing Minister Phil Heatley has congratulated Housing New Zealand’s Canterbury tenancy services team on its success at the annual Australasian Housing Institute Awards in Sydney.

The Canterbury team received the Australasian Centre Practice Award for Professional Excellence in Housing and was highly commended for its achievements at a time when team members were themselves affected by the major earthquakes that occurred between September 2010 and December 2011.