3. CRAIG FOSS (National—Tukituki) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
What steps is the Government taking to tackle youth unemployment during the recession?
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) Link to this
The Government has set out from the start of this year to take the sharp edges off the recession where it can, and it has taken several steps to combat youth unemployment, which is one of the sharp edges of recession. The package, worth $152 million, announced by the Prime Minister at the weekend will create about 17,000 job opportunities for young people over the next couple of years, across a range of activities. Education and training is a key part of our economic plan, and the package will create 4,000 new tertiary training places for 16 and 17-year-olds. In addition, it includes 4,000 job placements of 6 months for low-skilled young people in businesses and about 3,000 jobs of up to 6 months in community programmes.
The number of young unemployed has climbed from 4,000 last June to nearly 17,000 this June. As the Government signalled from the start of the year and again in the Budget, we believe it is important that young people do not become completely detached from the world of skills and work. We want to make sure we do not risk diminishing the potential of a generation of New Zealanders hit by a combination of the New Zealand recession that began at the beginning of last year and the global recession that hit about 9 months ago.
Jacinda ArdernWill the funding for the $152 million package come from the $167 million that was slashed in the Budget from skills training, the scholarship schemes that helped low-income young people into tertiary education, and the Enterprising Communities fund; if so, is the Government’s approach to unemployment less about sharp edges and more about cutting and pasting?
The Government has spent some time evaluating the effectiveness of spending decisions left over from the last Government, which clearly made decisions when it thought that surpluses would go on for ever. Some of those decisions we have now reversed. In this case, we are focusing strongly on keeping young people in contact with the workforce and skills. We believe that is the right response to the recession.
There are a number of intended results. One is simply to ensure that the young people who would be on the dole, and losing a sense of discipline and losing their work habits, are in some kind of constructive activity. In itself, that will be of benefit. But in the longer term, we think it is an opportunity for those young people to pick up skills and a work record so that as this economy recovers they will be able to get real, sustainable jobs. Many of them are on the dole because they relied on jobs that were the product of 10 years of bad economic management, with too much borrowing and Government spending.
Rahui KateneThe responsibilities for a young person who is unemployed can easily fall back on the whānau. In this case, we want to contribute to supporting whānau by supporting their young people, and also provide the opportunity for Māori, iwi, and other community groups to get together and provide opportunities for their young people. Of course, that will also support the health of the family.