Families Commission 'not waste of money'

The Families Commission is defending its existence this morning, after accusations it is a waste of taxpayers' money.

It has been under fire from lobbyists and bloggers, saying it has achieved nothing concrete in five years.

The Commission was the brainchild of United Future leader Peter Dunne, who saw it as a body to scrutinise legislation for its effect on families.

It costs just over eight million dollars a year to run.

Chief Families Commissioner Dr Jan Pryor says one of the entity';s main jobs is to state the obvious...because someone needs to.

She admits it is hard to measure the results, but they look at whether people are actually picking up the information the Commission provides and putting it to good use.

She told TVNZ's Q&A programme the Commission has had a direct impact on issues including parental leave and elder abuse.

- NEWSTALK ZB