Beyer Georgina: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Beyer Georgina: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:621;Page:16875] 
1. GEORGINA BEYER (Labour—Wairarapa) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: What recent reports has he received on the state of the labour market? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 The September household labour force survey released last Thursday reported an increase in employment of 19000 in the quarter and 56000 in the past year taking total employment to 2022000 which is 230000 more people in work than when this Government took office. The proportion of the working-age population in work is 64 percent the highest in 18 years. Females accounted for 16000 of the 19000 increase in employment during the quarter which means they are now getting the jobs they are after. Unemployment fell to 3.8 percent the lowest in the 18-year history of the household labour force survey and the second lowest in the OECD. Members will be pleased to know that job advertisements tell us that these levels of employment and unemployment should continue. 
Georgina Beyer 
: What are the appropriate responses to the current state of the labour market? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I have to agree with the wisdom shown by my colleague the Minister of Immigration when he said we need to attract more skilled immigrants but do not want a flood of cheap labour through large-scale immigration as some have advocated. He said we need to solve the current skill shortage through a combination of lifting skills removing barriers to participation by under-represented groups improving workplace practices to retain staff investing in new technology and having employer flexibility as also advocated by Mr Swain’s colleague Michael Barnett Chief Executive of the Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce. 
Katherine Rich 
: When last October there were 80000 people on all forms of unemployment benefit why are growers such as Peter Falloon of Canterbury mowing their asparagus crops and losing thousands of dollars because they cannot fill vacancies for unskilled work; and what does the Minister say to growers such as Peter Wing in the Waikato who despite offering $20 an hour and transport can still not fill vacancies and last month mowed 12 tonnes of asparagus because he could not fill the vacancies on his farm? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I do acknowledge that the enormous drop in unemployment around the country has seen the number of people on a register available for work in many areas where seasonal work is available so low that people are experiencing this. Therefore I have to go back to the wisdom of my colleague the Minister of Immigration when he talked about the need to lift skills to bring new groups such as women into the workforce—making sure they have access to good-quality childcare—to lift wages and to introduce good employment practices. That is the kind of advice I would give that employer. 
Peter Brown 
: Will the Minister provide us with a breakdown of the figures please: the percentage of the workforce permanently employed the percentage of the workforce casually employed and the number of people who are employed for 1 hour or thereabouts a week; and will he assure this House that no 1-hour workers are counted twice in those statistics? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I assure the member of the last point straightaway and tell him that last Thursday Statistics New Zealand released the household labour force survey. Every single one of those questions is answered in absolute detail in that report. I am happy to send him 10 copies if he would like me to. 
Judy Turner 
: What specific steps is the Minister taking to ensure that older unemployed people are able to find work given his response to my question in the House last week that this is “an issue we are dealing with as a country” and in which I pointed out that the number of those on the dole for more than 3 years has actually increased by 24 percent since 1999 with the number of those unemployed for over 5 years doubling over the same period? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The member will remember that this Government—this very good Government—introduced work testing for people between the ages of 55 and 60 so they could gain access to all the support training that goes with a return to the workplace. We have not introduced work testing for people between 60 and 64. We believe that at the present time those people are best left to re-enter the labour market voluntarily. If the member is recommending that they should be work tested—a 64-year-old for example—I am happy to receive those representations. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My colleague Peter Brown asked the Minister a very significant question one that has been on the question paper now for 4 hours. He wanted to know the percentage of the workforce permanently employed the percentage casually employed and the number of people working for 1 hour a week—questions that were all asked at the Financial and Expenditure Committee and of which the Minister and his staff must surely have been apprised. His saying in the House that he had seen a document some weeks ago that had all the answers does not address the issue for the public who take time to watch and listen to question time or for that matter the people in the gallery who came to hear the question answered. That is a dodge from the Minister and given that he has been here a while he should not be allowed to get away with it. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: If that had been the original question and that had been the Minister’s answer the member would have been absolutely correct. We are talking about a supplementary question not the original question. The Minister might want to comment. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Essentially the original question asked what the source of that information was and I therefore referred him to the household labour force survey. However I can tell the member that broadly speaking 2022000 New Zealanders are employed. Approximately 450000 have part-time jobs and about 18000 have small numbers of hours of work—between about 1 and 15 hours a week. The number of people who are under-employed is reported to have dropped by 18 percent in the last quarter. All those figures are available to the member in that household labour force survey. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That is precisely my point of order. The Minister could have given the answer and not wasted Parliament’s time. Instead he decided to duck and evade. When put to it he knew some of the facts and he has now shared them with us. That should have happened the first time around. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I am glad it has happened now. The member made a point that was useful. 
Hon Paul Swain 
: Can the Minister confirm that the Government is working very constructively with the horticulture sector on a short medium and long-term strategy and can he also confirm that this is the first time such constructive engagement has occurred between the Government and that industry? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I can confirm that there is engagement with the horticulture industry that it is the first time it has happened and that it is due to the leadership of Mr Paul Swain and Mr Rick Barker.