11. Question No. 11—YouthNAISI CHEN (Labour) to the Minister for YouthQuestion No. 11—Youth11. NAISI CHEN (Labour) to the Minister for Youth: What has the Government done to support our young people to make the most of their unique talents and have a sense of belonging and connection in their communities?Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Minister for Youth): Young people represent 17 percent of the population and are 100 percent of our future. As Minister for Youth I'm immensely proud of what this Government has done to support young people across the country. During this term we have worked to support rangatahi to be heard through the refreshed Youth Plan to keep them engaged with education and training through increased funding of the Ākonga fund and have supported their innovative ideas through the youth enterprise programmes. Over the past three years we have provided over 220000 opportunities for young people to engage supporting well over 100 providers every year to encourage and support the resilience and capability of young people and improve their overall wellbeing.Naisi Chen: What was the focus of the recently released refreshed Youth Plan and how will it help young people?Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME: Last week I launched the refreshed Youth Plan titled Voice Leadership Action which will guide a consistent approach across the youth sector and along with the Youth Health and Wellbeing Survey aims to inform the Government's policies and will ensure we are incorporating feedback from our rangatahi. The voices and leadership of young New Zealanders are key drivers behind the plan and we all know how effective and powerful change can be when young people lead it for themselves and their whānau their schools businesses and communities. That's one of the reasons why the refreshed Youth Plan is such a great quality. Our youth advisory group worked on this plan with us—20 amazing young people with diverse knowledge and experience who I have thoroughly enjoyed working with. We heard from over 1400 young people from across the motu and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their amazing work and contributions.Naisi Chen: What has this Government done to respond to the emerging needs of young people especially those who have become disengaged from school?Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME: In 2020 we launched the Ākonga Youth Development Community Fund in response to learners who had been hit hard by COVID and lost connections on their education journey. This fund helps at-risk learners aged between 12 to 21 years to strengthen their resilience and reengage with their communities and training opportunities. So far almost 8000 young people have benefited from the fund helping them to reconnect with learning in their communities. Our recent evaluation of the Ākonga fund has confirmed what providers and young people have told us—that the Akonga fund is building the confidence of at-risk young people fostering their relationships with peers whānau and communities and boosting their motivations and hope for the future. I was so pleased to announce extra funding in Budget 2023 and I'm excited that it will offer a further 5500 ākonga opportunities through this.Naisi Chen: In what other ways has this Government supported providers to engage young people in development opportunities that strengthen their wellbeing?Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME: We've funded providers from Invercargill to Kaitāia to offer positive youth development opportunities that support young people to succeed in life and enjoy life including giving them hands-on experiences to prepare them for work. During the past financial year 160 providers delivered 82000 youth development opportunities providers like the Village Collective in South Auckland that I visited. This is just one example of the hundreds of programmes this Government has funded for young people and through this expanded their wellbeing and their opportunities to contribute.