12. JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Youth Affairs
Does she stand by her statement that the Prime Minister’s Job Summit “demonstrates the power of working together to find creative solutions and it demonstrates the power of taking immediate action.”?
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister of Youth Affairs) Link to this
I am afraid that the member has misquoted me; that quote was with regard to the Job Support Scheme. With regard to the Job Support Scheme, I certainly say that it demonstrates the power of working together to find creative solutions, and that it demonstrates the power of taking immediate action.
Why then, given the Minister’s belief in, and response to, the development of new policies around joblessness—and, as she stated, the power of taking immediate action—has she not announced a plan or invested in any new initiatives to address the problem of youth unemployment, despite an extra 10,300 20 to 24-year-olds becoming unemployed in the March quarter alone, and almost one in five 15 to 19-year-olds being unemployed?
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
I am pleased to stand up and talk about what we are doing on youth unemployment—
Mr SPEAKERHon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
The member asked about youth unemployment, and I am very happy to stand up and talk about that. The Mayors Task Force for Jobs is a good example of a budget allocation being increased for assistance. McDonald’s and Work and Income have just signed an agreement for a partnership that will bring in 6,000 new jobs over the next 3 years. At the Job Summit Work and Income talked to TradeMe, and they have an agreement that at the end of each week the jobs from TradeMe are downloaded and go directly to young people that need jobs. I tell members to watch this space for more that we will do.
Will the Minister adopt any ideas other than those generated by McDonald’s, such as those ideas generated by the Youth Jobs Summit I hosted last week, including greater investment in skills and training, lifting the cap for tertiary education, and introducing a guaranteed employment or training scheme for the long-term unemployed under the age of 25 years, given that the Minister sees the power of working together to create creative solutions?
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
The member keeps getting the quote wrong, but we will just go with that. The Opposition has been very critical of the Job Summit as being a talkfest, but faced with the success of the Prime Minister’s Job Summit and the 13 regional job summits, which more than 1,700 people attended, Labour is starting to change its tune. Unfortunately, Labour’s Youth Jobs Summit was a bit of a fizzer: contrary to Ms Ardern’s press release, only 20-odd delegates were not Labour Party people. Actually, those delegates were seen to be complaining at the lack of—
I seek leave to table the full list of those who were registered and attended the Labour Youth Jobs Summit, which includes over 60 delegates—
Leave is sought—[ Interruption] There will be some silence in the House. I know that today has been very testy, but there will be a little decorum. Has the member sought leave to table a document?
When leave is sought to table a document, once the document is established there is no need to add further to it. The member will do well to learn that.
Hon Darren HughesI am sorely tempted. Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sorry to interrupt but can I just confirm that the member will be tabling a document that gives the names and addresses of all the attendees?
Simon BridgesCan the Minister give an example of initiatives that demonstrate the power of working together to find creative solutions and of “taking immediate action.”?
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
I certainly can. At the time of the Job Summit, Work and Income and TradeMe began talking about how to better connect people to the jobs that are advertised out there. They agreed that TradeMe would send Work and Income a weekly list of all of their vacancies broken down by region. Work and Income would then forward those vacancies directly to unemployed beneficiaries for them to follow up. As a result, we are seeing more jobs filled by people on the unemployment benefit.