Mahuta Nanaia: General Debate 
Mahuta Nanaia: General Debate 
[Volume:662;Page:10552] 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato) 
: 
 One would think that Labour was still in Government. Every Government speaker to date has spoken about what Labour is doing not what National is doing. One would think Labour was still in Government. This Government has no plan and no idea and in fact it does not know what it is doing. That is why it has to talk about Labour. People listening to this general debate will be very very disappointed by the fact that National members refuse to talk about their own ideas. Why do they refuse? Because they are ashamed. We have just heard that a good housekeeper knows what is in the kitchen cupboard. The problem is that when National was last in Government it left the cupboard bare so people know what they will get when they get National. 
I will talk about and highlight a concern that is very dear to my heart and that is what is happening within our whanau and our communities with our rangatahi. I am concerned about the lack of jobs for young people and especially for Maori and Pacific youth out there in our communities. When we look around in every community we see young people who are full of hope and creativity. They are looking for opportunities but sadly this Government is letting them down. Maori youth unemployment has gone up and that is a tragedy. Pacific Island youth unemployment has gone up and that is a tragedy. Youth employment per se throughout the whole country has gone up and I want to know what this Government is doing about it. It should be doing more. 
In fact while Government members are posturing on the other side of the House and talking about Labour they should be being accountable to the many young people to whom they are promoting the politics of aspiration. When we look at the unemployment rate we are concerned. In 2008 under Labour’s watch unemployment was at 4.7 percent and that figure has increased to about 7.3 percent under National’s watch. Currently 168000 people are on the unemployment benefit. 
Sue Moroney 
: 168000. 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA 
: I repeat: 168000. That is the highest it has been in 10 years and it has occurred under National’s watch. Since National took office unemployment has increased by a huge 54.7 percent or 60000 in the last eight quarters. Those figures represent people all over New Zealand many of whom want to work but the simple fact is that the jobs are not there. Why? Because the Government has no plan to grow the economy and create the jobs that are needed so that our young people and those who want work can get it. There are just not the jobs available. The Government should be doing more on that front. Government members should be telling the House their plan to grow the economy and create jobs but sadly they do not. Instead they quip at Labour as if it were still the Government and they refuse the responsibility they currently have which is to provide real opportunities and real jobs to the many young people who are out in our community. The Government is full of symbolism but there is little action. It provides empty promises and hollow gains. That is what the Government is currently doing. 
More important the shocking numbers of young people who are unemployed in our communities are staying at school longer. That is the feedback we are given. But what those same communities will tell us is that even if young people stay at school longer the reality is that we cannot pathway them into jobs in their communities because the jobs are simply not there. We need better vision better hope and better opportunities at a community and provincial level. That is the type of feedback I get from schools in Morrinsville Te Kuiti Taumarunui and Huntly. This Government should be doing more on that front. 
We hear about Community Max as a Government response but many of the providers who have gone into that initiative are saying that it is a short-term fix to a long-term problem. The real investment has to be into education and training for our young people. It is about building their career pathway and linking them to learning opportunities for life and better job prospects. But again we need a thriving economy with jobs out there so that the young people can get into them. Community Max is a short-term fix to the long-term problem of sustainable employment for our young people. 
We hear about the Youth Guarantee and better transitioning of young people to training and employment initiatives linking them up with business and tertiary education providers. Even in the linking up provincial towns tell us that where transport is an issue and where they have difficulty in transporting people 30 kilometres to get to where they need to things are not working. This Government has done little.