Parata Hekia: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Parata Hekia: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:664;Page:12167] 
5. 
HEKIA PARATA (National) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: What announcements has the Government made on Community Max? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 Minister Turia and I have added an extra 1500 Community Max places taking the total number to over 5000. This is an additional $17.4 million in Government investment. These additional places will be available in the Bay of Plenty East Coast Northland and Waikato areas. 
Hekia Parata 
: Why have these areas been selected to extend the Community Max programme? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: These regions have been selected as they have high youth unemployment rates under the household labour force survey some of the highest numbers of young people receiving the unemployment benefit and high levels of Maori unemployment. They are more rural areas as well which find it hard to access Job Ops as there are fewer employers in those areas. We think Community Max will make a big difference. 
Hekia Parata 
: Can the Minister give examples where Community Max is making a real difference? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: I have seen many outstanding Community Max programmes but recently I visited Motuti Marae in the far north in the Hokianga where I met a group of young people who were doing everything from bee-keeping to fashion design carving real leadership programmes and business skills with tourism ventures. They were absolutely awesome. They were making a real difference and they were looking at sustainable employment for them in a very rural area. 
Rahui Katene 
: What are the likely impacts of the announcement today about the extension of Community Max on addressing the high level of Maori unemployment? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: More than 50 percent of the uptake of Community Max has been by Maori in really rural areas. I have just described one programme but many groups—marae-based as well—have picked up these programmes. They are giving real skills to their young people. They are helping them to get drivers’ licences and to learn skills that they will take into the workforce with them. That is leading to more sustainability in those rural areas as well. I think Community Max will make a big difference we are already seeing it make a difference and it is a delight to be able to put extra numbers into those areas. 
Jacinda Ardern 
: What is the Minister doing to find out what has happened to the 39 percent of youth who have completed the Community Max programme but who are not in work not in training and are not receiving any form of Government support? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: People have gone to a range of places. It is true that some of those young people have gone overseas. Some of them have stayed on their marae. They are working they have not gone on a benefit and they are doing more volunteer work. A number of them are doing different things. What I do know is that 80 percent of those who have completed their Community Max programme have not gone back on a benefit. That is an outstanding result. 
Rahui Katene 
: Have any evaluations been received about the impact of Community Max and what have been the key findings? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: At the end of May 1466 people had completed the programme—149 of them in March nearly 500 in April and just over 800 in May. Of those people 72 percent completed the full 6 months. Of those who had completed the full 6 months 81 percent are not currently receiving a benefit which means that they have not gone back on to a benefit and have had real results. So at this time the programme is certainly showing something positive. We want to see how it sort of trickles out over time as well. 
Jacinda Ardern 
: Can the Minister tell the House to the nearest thousand how many young people are not receiving Government support but also are not in education training or employment? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: That number moves around daily as one can imagine because young people are in and out and doing a whole lot of different activities. We have been doing an analysis across departments because as the member might well understand it affects education it affects my portfolio and it certainly affects tertiary education as well. Some of our preliminary results show that around 7000 of the younger ones—16 and 17-year-olds—are not touching any sort of programme or training. That is a key focus for this Government particularly around Youth Guarantee.