What
What progress has been made on the coalition Government's commitment to
expand the Limited Service
Volunteer
Thank
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Great question. Mr Speaker, last Friday,
I attended the sod turning of a
new youth development facility allowing
the construction to get under way.
The
the construction to get under way.
will be completed later in the year and will support vital youth
development programmes
development programmes like service academies and the
New Zealand cadet forces. I wish to thank, Mr Speaker,
the honourable Scott Simpson
and the chair of the Foreign Affairs defence
committee, Simon O'Connor who came
to celebrate it and to acknowledge
the apology from the
MP who was with us throughout the morning but had to
depart early before
ceremony took place. What further plans does the Coalition
government for
for limited service volunteer
In this term of Parliament, the Coalition
Coalition Government will be doubling the number of trainees
going through limited service
volunteer courses from 800 to
1,600 persons annually. This
new facility is a significant first step in
that uplift with
uplift with many more announcements to come. Can I take
the opportunity to thank my immediate predecessor,
the honourable Mark Mitchell
who fought hard for it with
the members who cut funding and
numbers and closed down the youth
development facility. Mr Mitchell's work
has were vieded us with a great
springboard for achieving
our arguets. It's
springboard for achieving our
shame that he didn't win the leadership.
shame that he didn't win the
Order, order, order. How successful is the limited service volunteer
as a patron myself of the Limited Services Volunteer Scheme, I've seen
first hand the amazing work done
by Defence Force personnel
in partnership with the ministries of
Social Development and the
Ministry of Education,
of Education, in developing these young people. The scheme is hugely
successful and participants
come away from the course with
increased
confidence, motivation and desire to work. Based on 2016 figures,
confidence, motivation and desire to
LSV trainees completed the course and
LSV trainees completed the course
16 weeks after graduation. That's why it is
why it is in the Coalition agreement.
why it is in the Coalition agreement. What other
Social Development initiatives involving
the Defence Force will the Coalition
Speaker, along with the doubling of the limited service
volunteer scheme, the Coalition
agreement secured the launch of a pilot of the
youth employment training and
education initiative
education initiative involving the Defence Force and targeted at youth
between the ages of
Defence Force and targeted at youth
education, employment for training. This Government will not abanden
the 92,000 NEETS
92,000 NEETS as the previous government did. We will
operationalise
operationalise these policies because this Coalition government is
determined to help
young New Zealanders turn their
lives around and to succeed.
Zealanders turn their lives around and to succeed. Question No.
Zealanders turn their lives around and to succeed. Question No. 2, the
honourable Simon Bridges.
honourable Simon Bridges. To
Does she
Does she stand by all of her Government's policies
Does she stand by all of her
Yes.
Yes. Does
Yes. Does she agree with the Minister of Justice that there
is