10. Hon Sir ROGER DOUGLAS (ACT) Link to this
to the Minister for Social Development and Employment
Why, despite spending $160 million on the Youth Opportunities package, has the unemployment rate for 15 to 19 year olds increased since she became Minister?
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development and Employment) Link to this
The $160 million for the Youth Opportunities package was aimed at 18 to 24-year-olds, in particular. Job placements through Job Ops, Community Max, industry partnerships, and Youth Guarantee were particularly for those who were on the unemployment benefit and aged 18 to 24. It is clear that that has worked. We have seen a decrease in the number of 18 to 24-year-olds on the unemployment benefit, from a peak of 23,800 in January 2010 to about 16,500 now in June. We have seen the number of 18 to 24-year-olds come down in the last 18 months, and that is due mainly to the sort of package that has gone in.
Hon Sir Roger Douglas Link to this
Given that youth unemployment has hit the roof since youth rates were abolished, as is obvious in this chart here, which demonstrates when youth rates were abolished and how the youth unemployment rate has gone up, when will she act—when it goes through the roof or when it hits the sky?
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
As I said to the member, we have been concentrating on those who are 18 to 24. We would like to see 16 and 17-year-olds in education or training, hence the attention we have given them. What the member might like to look at, though—and this is quite interesting—is that the unemployment rate for 16 and 17-year-olds from June 2010 went from 28.5 percent to 33.6 percent, so we have seen a dramatic increase in the rate for 16 and 17-year-olds. However, the number of 18 to 19-year-olds has been static from June 2010 to June 2011, at 20.7 percent. So there is most definitely a difference between the 16 and 17-year-olds and the 18 and 19-year-olds.
Hon Sir Roger Douglas Link to this
Could the Minister confirm that the reason she has not acted is that last week’s National polling showed that it is more popular for her to keep sitting on her hands than actually doing what is right?
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
I shall not go to that member’s level of personal sort of attack, but I will say that there has been a real focus on unemployed people in New Zealand. We have seen that kind of work going on as far as those Youth Opportunities are concerned. You know, we are seeing that 90 percent of those who have done a Job Ops programme have not gone back on a benefit, and that is most certainly a step ahead.
Mr SPEAKERBefore I call the Hon Sir Roger Douglas, I do not want to be unfair, but I say to the Labour front bench that I just wish you could see yourselves. That was so discourteous.
Hon Sir Roger Douglas Link to this
Given that the Minister appears unable to see the link between the abolition of youth rates, and youth unemployment, as shown on this graph, could she advise whether this is caused by the fact that she truly does not understand the link between the two or by deliberate blindness?
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Far be it from me to be the one who protects the Government, but I think you recently ruled out as not being appropriate supplementary questions things that had far less assumption and a lot less irony in them than that did.
The point I would make is that I have not actually ruled them out; I have normally let the Minister deal with them, but if the questioner appeals to me for assistance, I normally point out that the question was actually not in order. But I would rather not deprive the Minister of the opportunity to utilise such a question.
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
This Government has put a huge investment into working with those young people who are on the unemployment benefit and who really felt the effects of the global recession and a tight labour market. We are seeing positive results from that. We have fewer 18 to 24-year-olds on the unemployment benefit than we had 18 months ago. What we are doing is working. We now need to concentrate more on those 16 and 17-year-old “neets”—hence the weekend’s package—and, as I say, we are cautiously optimistic.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Far be it from me to relitigate in my current circumstances, but yesterday you ruled out a question when there was a suggestion that a Minister lacked confidence. You intervened yourself. On this occasion there was an intervention when a Minister was accused of being deliberately blind or similar and you did not intervene.
Hon Simon PowerIf I have done that, I apologise to the member—if I have been inconsistent. I will normally rule out only part of a question. If I recollect correctly, it may have been only part of a question. But I normally do that only if it is pretty highly offensive. I did not think that was too highly offensive. I allowed a question today—I did not rule out a question today—from the member’s own leader, when he suggested that a Minister was conning the public. I did not rule that out, yet it is out of order, obviously. But I do not want to be intervening all the time, so unless it is highly offensive, I tend not to rule them out.
Catherine Delahunty