﻿Mr SPEAKER: Question No 10, Jenny Salesa.
JENNY SALESA (Labour—Manukau East) to the Minister for Tertiary Education,
Skills and Employment: What is the total number of 15 to 24-year-olds
not in employment, education, or training according to the Household Labour Force Survey
released yesterday, and is this an increase or a decrease on the last quarter?
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Deputy Prime Minister)
on behalf of the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment:
Yesterday's household labour force survey showed that the number
of 15- to 24-year-olds not in employment, education, or training ("neets") increased
by 3,000 to 74,000, largely driven by those aged 20 to 24. As the member will see
from recent quarterly figures, these numbers move around a lot. For instance,
in the previous quarter—when the member did not ask a question—the number of "neets"
had dropped by 11,000, which was probably a few too many, actually. In this quarter
it has bounced back a bit. The Government has a large number of initiatives aimed
at this group, which are increasingly successful.
Jenny Salesa: Why are 15% of all 20- to 24-year-olds in NZ not in education,
employment, or training—which is 11,000 more than in 2008?
Hon BILL ENGLISH: I can assure the member that the Government
asks the question about what each one of these people are doing, particularly
if they are on welfare. As the member will know, there is a wide range
of circumstances, but, increasingly, the Government's programmes are tailored
to local needs. For instance, there are parts of NZ where that rate
is considerably above average, and we need to tailor our initiatives,
for instance, through our regional growth programmes where people
with local understanding of industry and job opportunities,
and of this population of young people, can come up with sustainable solutions.
Jenny Salesa: Why has the number of 15- to 24-year-olds in Wellington
who are not in education, employment, or training gone up by 75%
on his Government's watch?
Hon BILL ENGLISH: I am not sure what starting point the member is using,
but I can advise her that in Wellington the Youth Guarantee
and the trades academies have been introduced, creating better
and clearer pathways for young people into work. Also, we are now
growing opportunities like the Ara hub in Auckland, which is taking the lessons
from Christchurch, where we develop better methods of connecting young people
to job opportunities and transforming those to Auckland. The Government
has an increasingly fine-grained view of all these young people,
and has every motivation to ensure that where possible they are connected
to job opportunities, because that means that they can avoid what could be
a lifetime of dependency.
Jenny Salesa: Why has the number of Pasifika youth not in education,
employment, or training increased by 20% under this Government?
Hon BILL ENGLISH: This is related to the previous question.
One reason would be that in 2009-10 there was a significant recession,
so the numbers rose fairly dramatically through to 2011, and since then
they have been declining. But I am happy to say to the member, and to anyone
who is listening: the Government is always keen to hear about more
and better solutions for young people who are "neets". I am guessing that
this week the Labour Party will announce some sweeping sloganeering
about young people in work, all of which has been tried before
and most of which would fail if it tried to implement it.
Jenny Salesa: Why did the Deputy Prime Minister label our young people
as "pretty damned hopeless", and why did the Prime Minister write off
our young people as "lazy and on drugs"?
Hon BILL ENGLISH: The member is not correctly quoting
what the Deputy Prime Minister said, but the member can be reassured
that the Government and its agencies— in fact, many communities and parents—
are making every effort. Of course, this group has a wide range of needs.
One cannot generalise. A significant proportion, for instance, are caregivers
within their own families, and, of course, the choices for them
are different from those who, for instance, have a significant disability.
Their choices are different from those who are simply taking a year off—that is,
not doing anything—and they may, of course, just re-join the workforce—
Mr SPEAKER: Bring the answer to a conclusion.
Hon BILL ENGLISH: —when they feel like it and when there is an opportunity.
Mr SPEAKER: Question No 11.
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