Wagner Nicky: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Wagner Nicky: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 18 October 2012. Volume:684;Page:5976. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
5. 
NICKY WAGNER (National—Christchurch Central) 
 to the  
Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery 
: What reports has he received on the outlook for increased employment opportunities in the rebuilding of Greater Christchurch? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery) 
: 
 I have seen a number of reports that indicate excellent employment opportunities for those seeking work in Canterbury. TradeMe reports a 43.7 percent increase in job listings on the same quarter last year. Today over 2000 jobs are listed for Christchurch on TradeMe. The  
ANZ Job Ads 
 index released today said that Canterbury newspaper ads rose 5.9 percent this month alone. The Jobs Online skilled vacancies index was up 24 percent on September of last year. In January there were 5185 people on the unemployment benefit in Christchurch. In September that number was down to 3131. In addition construction companies are gearing up to employ more people as insurers bring more work to their operations. That increased employment will also stimulate the secondary employment market. The opportunities are going to increase as the rebuild gains momentum. 
Nicky Wagner 
: What support is the Government giving to maximise the employment opportunities in Christchurch? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Recently the Government announced the establishment of a new Canterbury Skills and Employment Hub. This will be a one-stop shop for employers to list vacancies to recruit from Work and Income or to recruit from the various building and rebuilding training programmes that are operating in the city. The skills hub was funded from a $42 million fund that has been set aside for additional training places as part of a comprehensive cross-agency response to meet additional demands for labour for the reconstruction under the name Skills For Canterbury. We are taking steps to make it easier to provide good quality temporary accommodation for workers as well and the largely Government-funded Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team is looking for another 1000 employees to repair horizontal infrastructure. In addition the central business district blueprint very heavily supported by the Government has created interest in private sector players around the world who are looking to invest. That will bring significant new employment. 
Nicky Wagner 
: What predictions has he seen for continued increased employment opportunities created by the Canterbury rebuild? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Modelling has been undertaken that suggests that perhaps an additional 15000 employees will be needed in the construction workforce when the rebuild peaks. These estimates are going to vary according to a number of factors that are used in that modelling but all point to very significant employment opportunities in Canterbury and that will be attractive for job seekers throughout New Zealand. These predictions are in stark contrast to those of the Labour Party with its predictions of massive job losses wholesale exodus from the city— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! No order! The Minister is not responsible for the Labour Party. 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: When was he first advised that Canterbury employers are not taking on apprentices due to workflow problems even though the funding and places have been put there by the Government and when will he address this so that young Canterbury people can play a part in their own recovery? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: I think that is a highly emotive sort of question backed by very thin fact. The reality is that job prospects in Canterbury for young people are better than anywhere else in the country and there is little doubt that the money that we have put forward—a total of $43 million that will go towards that training—will see young people taking up those opportunities. Unlike Labour the Government of today does not think the Government has to do— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. There was lot of noise at the beginning of my question. My question was “When was he first advised?”. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister obviously disputed the content of the member’s question and that is my dilemma in asking him to answer further. There are further supplementary questions if the member wishes to pursue that particular issue because her question went on to include other information that the Minister then disputed. 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was “When was he first advised that Canterbury employers were not taking on apprentices due to workflow issues even though the funding and places were there?”. The issue that I guess he went on to respond to was what that would mean regarding young Canterbury apprentices having a chance to have a place in the rebuild but the primary question—“When was he first advised?”—the Minister did not even attempt to address. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I think that is a lesson that if a member wants a question answered to keep it to the point. I do not think I can ask the Minister to go back and answer that first part of the question reasonable though it might have been because the member included more material in the question than was necessary and because the rest of the stuff was opinion-type information.