Goff Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Goff Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:675;Page:20607] 
2. 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Labour—Rongotai) 
 on behalf of  
Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: Since the Prime Minister said in October 2009 that “we are particularly concerned about high rates of youth unemployment” what has been the trend in youth unemployment? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 In October 2009 there were 19444 18 to 24-year-olds on the unemployment benefit. This peaked in January 2010 at 23545. In July 2011 the figure was 16530 so since January 2010 the figure has fallen by 7000 which is pleasing. In December 2009 the household labour force survey unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24 years was 18.4 percent and it was 17.4 percent in the last quarter. Under either definition youth unemployment has been reducing. 
Hon Annette King 
: Has she sufficiently briefed the Prime Minister about the high rates of youth unemployment? Because he transferred a simple question about his own statement to her he obviously does not feel sufficiently confident to answer the question himself. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! [ 
Interruption 
] I do not think the Speaker does need to get his head out of the sand. The last part of that question was totally out of order. 
Hon Annette King 
: Why? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: It was totally out of order. I just invite the member to look at the relevant Standing Order. Members are not meant to include statements of opinion in questions like that. But the first part of the question was answerable on whether the Minister had briefed the Prime Minister. 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Yes of course if members opposite will put questions in my portfolio area I am more than happy to answer them. Mr Goff sort of scuttled out of the House a few minutes ago but— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I am on my feet. One out of order part of a question should not provoke an out of order response from the Minister but given that both were out of order I will leave the situation to lie there. The Minister knows that that was totally out of order but so I am sure did the questioner know that the last part of the question was out of order. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I realise that it is belated and after the fact now but I ask you to examine and get back to us possibly privately and indicate since when it has been out of order to indicate that a question has been transferred when a Minister does not want to answer it. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Members are skating on thin ice here. The first part of that point of order was fine. The last part was totally out of order. To suggest that a Minister may not want to answer a question is totally out of order. It is totally out of order to claim that in a point of order. This exchange will stop or there will be some consequences. I will leave it at that but I am serious about it because points of order must not be abused like that. I allow a lot of licence in questions being asked. There have been a couple of questions asked today that were not compliant with the Standing Orders but I let them go because I do not want to be intervening too often. There is a limit to what can be allowed by way of a question. That is where I will leave it. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think I would like to reiterate my request. The question very carefully did not go to questions of reasons for the Prime Minister— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The question did go to reasons. The question did allege a reason for the question being transferred and that is not in order. I invite the member to look at the relevant Standing Order—forgive me for not remembering it off the top of my head—371. That is simply not in order. It is Standing Order 371(1)(b) if the member wants to look at the relevant Standing Order. 
Hon Annette King 
: Can she confirm that the Government declared that the New Zealand recession was officially over on 31 March 2009; and if the recession was over what has caused youth unemployment to grow by 8.5 percent or 7000 since that announcement? 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I would like to indicate to you that there appears in my copy of the Standing Orders to be no Standing Order 371(1)(e). It stops at (c). 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I said (b). 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: What we have seen is that those in the age group of 15 to 19 years are still feeling the lags of the recession. They are the last to get into a job and often the first to go off employment unfortunately. They have low skills. Hence we are putting even more of an emphasis on making sure that they have employment and training opportunities. We want to see them get sustainable jobs; hence we made the announcements that we did on Sunday putting investment in that area. 
Hon Annette King 
: Has she told the Prime Minister that long-term youth unemployment has trebled for young people between the ages of 15 and 19 under his watch and why has the urgency about this huge waste of young life become a priority only 3 months out from the election? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: This Government has invested a huge amount of money into 18 to 24-year-olds in particular in making sure that we give them work opportunities and we have seen successes with that. For example in January 2010 we had more than 23000 on the unemployment benefit and that figure is now down to close to 16000. That is 7000 people coming off the unemployment benefit. Now we need to look at the transition from school into further education and training and that is certainly what this Government was concentrating on with its announcements on Sunday. 
Hon Annette King 
: Does she agree with commentators who have said that the number of young people not in education training or employment could now fill Eden Park and that the situation has reached crisis point; if so why has the Government announced a policy at the weekend for only 1600 of the 58000? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: The member is actually incorrect. It is not 1600; it is more like the 13000 who are in the 16 and 17-year-old age group. [ 
Interruption 
] Actually it is. It is those who are in the Youth Transitions Service programme as well and it is also those who are on the independent youth benefit. Members need to go back and look at the actual announcements that were made. They are the young people who will get older and keep having unsuccessful lives and careers unless we do something at that age group. It is most definitely the age group to concentrate the most on. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Question No. 3 Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga. I beg your pardon Hilary Calvert; is this a supplementary question? There was no way I could hear the member call for a supplementary question because of the interjections. It is no use pointing the finger across the House because they started on my left. Admittedly they were added to but I was watching very carefully and there will be no more argument about that. 
Hilary Calvert 
: Does she believe that increasing the minimum wage for 16 and 17-year-old people by 33 percent would increase youth unemployment; if not why not? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: In all fairness I have seen a number of different reports some saying exactly that and others saying it is not having an effect. So it would be fair to say that there is a middle ground there and that the jury is still out. 
Hilary Calvert 
: How much would increasing the minimum wage by 33 percent raise unemployment by: dozens or hundreds? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: I am afraid I do not have that kind of analysis in front of me. 
Hilary Calvert 
: Does she then accept that the abolition of the youth rate which increased the minimum wage for young people by 33 percent contributed to the youth unemployment rate skyrocketing to an all-time high of 27.6 percent nearly double what it was when the rate was abolished? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: What I do have concerns about is the education and training level of some of the 16 and 17-year-olds who are leaving school too early and who have not even got National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level 2. It is very difficult for them to even get into the workforce and then when they do they are often the first to drop out when we see the kind of global recession that we have seen of late. That is what this Government is concerned about and that is where we are putting our investment. I think that is a great thing. 
Hon John Boscawen 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister was asked a very specific question. Although she expressed a concern about education she was specifically asked whether she believed the abolition of the youth rate had contributed to the rise in unemployment. She avoided that question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I invite Hilary Calvert to repeat her question because it seemed that it was not actually answered at all. Hilary Calvert may repeat her question. 
Hilary Calvert 
: Does she then accept that the abolition of the youth rate which increased the minimum wage for young people by 33 percent contributed to the youth unemployment rate skyrocketing to an all-time high of 27.6 percent nearly double what it was when the rate was abolished? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: It is possible but I actually think a lack of education and training and being left on the scrap heap for many years by the previous Government which did not pay attention to that group of young people has had more of an effect.