Nats targeting young unemployed

National Party MP and Social Development and Employment spokeswoman Louise Upston (left) and East Coast candidate Dana Kirkpatrick are on the campaign trail. Picture by Paul Rickard

Businesses everywhere need staff, but unemployment continues to increase.

That is an appalling reality about New Zealand that makes no sense, says National Party MP and Social Development and Employment spokeswoman Louise Upston.

“Labour have missed a golden opportunity to connect people with employment,” said Ms Upston, who was in Gisborne to support East Coast candidate Dana Kirkpatrick’s election campaign.

Ms Upston said National’s Welfare that Works policy, aimed at 18 to 24-year-olds, would use community providers and NGOs, set clear obligations, and target incentives to get young people off welfare and into work.

Since last year the number of people on the Jobseeker benefit had increased by 30,000 and more than half had been on the benefit for more than a year.

“They are long-term welfare beneficiaries. Labour’s economic mismanagement is pushing more people into benefit dependency.”

Ms Upston said a National Government will contract not-for-profit community providers to get 18 to 24-year-olds who have been stuck on Jobseeker for three months or more, off welfare and into work.

They would get a dedicated job coach to help them prepare for work and get into paid employment.

Community providers would receive upfront funding to work with those on the Jobseeker benefit. Performance payments would be part of the deal for shifting young people out of welfare and into work, provided they remain off the benefit for at least 12 months.

Every person who had been on Jobseeker for at least three months would receive a proper assessment of any barriers to finding work.

These might include speech and language issues, learning disabilities, drug and alcohol addiction or gaps in key work skills.

Each young Jobseeker will also receive an individualised plan with agreed actions they will need to take to obtain employment and to address challenges preventing them from finding a job.

Ms Upston said the Jobseekers would need to produce a CV, be available for work, participate in job training and be present at job interviews — “and do so legitimately”.

“You can’t just turn up in your pyjamas.”

Young Jobseekers who failed to undertake agreed activities in their plan would face sanctions such as money management or benefit reductions.

Ms Upston said National”s income tax cuts were modest and had to be modest.

“We want to provide tax relief in the cost of living crisis, but we don’t want it to be inflationary.”

Tax cuts had been targeted at “the squeezed middle”.

“They’re in work, they might be paying off a mortgage or facing a rent increase — we’re talking a couple of hundred of dollars a week.”

The Back Pocket Boost plan would also shift income tax brackets for inflation and increase or expand a range of tax credits.

Average income households with children would get around $250 more a fortnight.

A minimum wage worker would get up to $20 more.

Ms Kirkpatrick said health and education would receive more funding under a National Government.