2. Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she believe that the Government’s package to address unemployment has done enough to give youth a firm footing in the labour market?

Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development and Employment) : Yes, but we can always do more.

Hon Annette King: Assuming she has read the report prepared for the OECD conference she attended in Paris recently, does she agree with its assessment that New Zealand has a group of youth who are being left behind, are at high risk of social exclusion, and are becoming a lost generation; or is Fran O’Sullivan, writing in the New Zealand Herald yesterday, correct when she said Ms “Bennett was too busy puffing her own achievements to pay much heed to the OECD’s warning.”?

Hon PAULA BENNETT: What we have seen for the first time in 2 years is 2 months of the number of those on the unemployment benefit going down for young people. I think that that is a positive achievement.

Hon Annette King: Does she really believe that her package of measures for unemployed young New Zealanders, which leaves 45,800 of them without any help or hope, is an adequate response to the rising tide of youth unemployment? Nine thousand of them will remain jobless long after the recession is over, and is this the reason that serious commentators are now saying we are likely to have a lost generation?

Hon PAULA BENNETT: This Government is clearly focused on young people, getting them into work and further training wherever possible. We have already had 4,000 young people with opportunities through Community Max and Job Ops, and we have a lot more to go. The member quotes the household labour force survey, which, of course, is a definition of those aged 15 or over who would like to have an hour a week’s work or more. For example, it includes a young person at school who would like to have a paper run.

Todd McClay: Can the Minister give examples of regions where there has been a particular turn-round in youth unemployment figures?

Hon PAULA BENNETT: Yes. In Canterbury 114 more young people have come off the unemployment benefit and into jobs than those who signed on in August. It is projects like Ngāi Tahu’s workforce, which is employing 16 young Māori men who are restoring a historic wāhi tapu site.

Hon Annette King: When will she announce the Government’s package of support for school-leavers and tertiary students, something that she promised would be available by now; and is she aware that while she has dithered, 160,000 students have registered with Student Job Search, up by 60,000 on last year, and only 5,000 have found employment?

Hon PAULA BENNETT: What I am aware of is that for 2 years—and, in fact, for three consecutive quarters—under the previous Government, unemployment went up for young people, and nothing was done to help them. Yes, we have around 160,000 students who have registered with Student Job Search—at 27 October—and it is doing a good job in trying to turn them into work. I certainly make a call out to employers and individuals that now is the time to step up and get jobs for students.

Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. My question asked, when will she announce the Government’s package of support for school-leavers and tertiary students that she promised would be available by now; and is she aware of that number of students? The question is, when will she release the package? She did a whole rant about the previous Government, then talked about the 160,000. She did not address the primary part of the question. It was not two questions; it was one question—

Mr SPEAKER: I do not need help on it. I say to the learned member that had she stopped her question at that point, undoubtedly I would have asked the Minister to answer it. But she went on to ask whether the Minister was aware of something. The Minister responded to that part of the question, and that is perfectly within the Standing Orders. The remedy was in the member’s own hands. If she had stopped the question at that point, I would have asked the Minister to answer it.

Hon Annette King: When will she announce the Government’s package of support for school-leavers and tertiary students, which she promised would be available by now?

Hon PAULA BENNETT: I made no such promise. There is no big package coming. But watch this space and we will see announcements on jobs for students.

Jacinda Ardern: Has she asked the Minister of Education to lift the cap on enrolments in tertiary education in order to give young people who cannot find work the chance to upskill, particularly given that the Department of Labour recently reported that the recession is likely to lead to a further increase in demand, with more youth returning to study or studying longer?

Hon PAULA BENNETT: No.

Jacinda Ardern: Has she investigated the UK initiative mentioned by Fran O’Sullivan on tackling youth unemployment, which Labour submitted to her 5 months ago, along with a dozen other ideas, after we hosted the Youth Jobs Summit?

Hon PAULA BENNETT: Nothing was done on youth unemployment for 9 long years. Now we are seeing action, and the Opposition has decided to send over a proposal.

Jacinda Ardern: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I asked quite a straightforward question about whether the Minister had investigated an initiative that we submitted to her, and she did not answer that question.

Mr SPEAKER: I must confess that I could not hear the Minister’s answer at all. As I cannot rule on the matter, having not heard it, I think probably the best way to deal with the problem is to invite the member to ask her question again, without the loss of a supplementary question. But I ask members to make sure that I can hear the answer by not interjecting so much.

Jacinda Ardern: Has she investigated the UK initiative mentioned by Fran O’Sullivan on tackling youth unemployment that Labour submitted to her 5 months ago, along with a dozen other ideas, after we hosted the Youth Jobs Summit?

Hon PAULA BENNETT: This Government is looking at a number of initiatives. What we are not doing is just talking about it in a load of rhetoric. We are actually taking action, which I know is hard for the Opposition to handle.