Bennett David: Minimum Wage (Mitigation of Youth Unemployment) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Bennett David: Minimum Wage (Mitigation of Youth Unemployment) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
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DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) 
: 
 In this debate I think we will see most members of the House especially members of the two main political parties unified in their opposition to the Minimum Wage (Mitigation of Youth Unemployment) Amendment Bill. I will start by responding to some of the issues that have been raised by the presenter of this bill. In the context of looking at the youth of New Zealand and at the future this country has available to it of which this Government is very much aware and which it wishes to promote we see a bright future for our young people. We see our young people getting education skills and training and having a direction and purpose in life and we see a positive successful and dynamic future for New Zealand’s youth. Those things are essential if our country is to achieve its goals. 
The fundamental proposition this bill puts up is that we need to pay people less to get them into their first job so that they can have an unskilled future. That is what this bill essentially will do to New Zealanders. We see a different future for New Zealanders. We want those young people to get into training and skills so that they are not talking about getting the lowest-paid job they possibly can but instead are looking to get the best-paid job they possibly can. If we can achieve that we can make the dynamic change in our economic base that will give New Zealand the growth potential we need. I think that is the fundamental point that the ACT Party has not grasped. It is looking at things in a historical perspective. Well the world has moved on. At this stage we need to create an economy that has a strong and successful workforce and to do that those young people need to get the best skills they can at the youngest age they can. We should be promoting to them the need to get education and training not encouraging them to take the easy option of temporary employment which may provide some financial gain at an early age but will not deliver long-term benefits for them as we go forward as a country. 
That is the dynamic that I think the ACT Party has not grasped. It is looking at it from the perspective that we can just give lower rates of pay and therefore people will be happy. It is also scaremongering by talking about things like youth gangs taking the dole and all that kind of “work”. That is not the reality. The reality is that youth want to achieve and get a decent start in life. Where do we set the rate? Where do we set a youth rate if we are to have one? What is the value that would be put on a young person under the ACT proposal? I imagine that if we were to take ACT’s logic to its full extreme it would be detrimental to have the youth rate that ACT is proposing. ACT should not propose a rate if it really wants to get young people into employment rather than into the gangs or on the dole. To set a rate is to set a line and the fact of the matter is that the line is set at the minimum wage. I think we will see agreement on that between the main political parties because we probably share a common vision of what we want for those young people going forward. 
I encourage those people who are listening and members in the House to look at this issue in the wider perspective of what we want to achieve in setting some incentives and some direction and not try to scaremonger or create perceptions that if we have a lower rate of pay at the first level of employment those opportunities will necessarily be provided. That is not the signal we need to send to young New Zealanders as we go forward. 
I think it is important to look at the situation we are in at the moment. I do not think anybody out there is under any illusion about how difficult it is to get a job. The most difficult and harrowing situation for a student leaving school university or polytech is achieving that first start in the employment cycle or for someone who has lost his or her job finding that next job. Many New Zealanders are living that nightmare at the moment. That nightmare has been brought about partly by the nature of our economic position which is partly caused by world circumstances but also because we need a stronger and more vibrant economy that can deliver opportunities for our young people going forward. That is the crucial problem and we as a Parliament should be looking for solutions. 
We should be looking for solutions so that New Zealanders and especially young New Zealanders can see a future in training and in employment so that they can achieve personal growth and the desire that comes with getting a job. That is what this Government is focusing on. It is focusing on the economic fundamentals that will provide the environment whereby employers can hire young people and deliver them the incentives to get ahead and succeed. The Transport and Industrial Relations Committee has debated the issue of youth employment rates and unemployment many times. One of the key points that always comes through is that we have young people appearing before the select committee who are attaining very high levels of management expertise and success at a young age. It is difficult when we see the logic of this member’s bill to compare that with the reality of the success of a lot of young people. We are denying them their success by holding them at a lower rate than their ability shows as individuals. It is a tremendous shame if we dumb down our young people who can provide successful and strong services and can be paid for that at a rate that demonstrates their capability and their ability to do a job well. It is important that we do not set the bar too low in the sense that our young people who work hard must not find that they get no reward for their efforts. That is something that I think this legislation could have a problem addressing if it goes through this House. 
In essence there is a new way of looking at these issues as we go forward. There is a way of building an economy that is strong and that delivers the skills and enterprise for our young people to take advantage of that strength. The Government is committed to creating that economic environment. We do not believe that this measure will create the environment that the ACT Party says it will. We believe that the true measure of success for New Zealanders as we go forward is a strong economic environment where we deliver skills and enterprise we back our young people and we give them the right direction and rewards so that they know they can succeed. They will then build themselves into even stronger and more successful New Zealanders going forward.