Unemployment is continuing to rise. Grant’s post yesterday outlines the numbers and the human cost.
We have a Government supposedly ambitious for New Zealand. That includes wanting to close to 30% pay gap with Australia. Well a year on from the election where are the initiatives to invest in New Zealanders skills levels and where are the initiatives to increase innovation?
Investment in skills, at a time of increasing unemployment and in a country where we clearly have real skill gaps ( not just in terms of literacy and numeracy but also in the science, technical and trades areas), is an obvious and important step for government. The benefits accrue to individuals, to businesses, to families and communities and to our economy.
Despite all of this there have been no new initiatives in the skills area and well thought through initiatives from the previous Labour government have been ignored. Funding for adult and community education has been slashed and tertiary institutions are turning people away! This is scandalous and far from ambitious.
What has happened to encourage innovation? Compare the scrapping of R&D tax credits here with the major increases in this area in Australia as outlined here and commented on here.
The Government has a supposed commitment to closing the wage gap with Australia. This will not happen without investing in skills and in innovation. The Government’s stated desire to lift productivity is nothing but hot air without major investment in these areas. No wonder the Prime Minister was unwilling to state an actual target for closing the wage gap when interviewed this morning on Morning Report.
http://exmssear.org/exmss-press-releases/
Us kiwis ….
Now the full picture emerges. Universities like this one and Otago are not interested in attracting new students and up-skilling the workforce because the financial support from the government just isn’t there.
Nevermind the fact that attracting new students would help clean up the ghetto-like student area in time for the new Dunedin stadium to be built.
The university has its hands tied. If it can’t afford to handle more students, this is simply a financial reality, no matter what local economic repercussions there are.
The government was willing to provide funding support for the stadium in Dunedin, but who do they think is going to use it? The huge entity right next door, right? And there will be a lot more student customers if there are a lot more students.
Therefore, it makes no sense for the government to support a stadium and not provide funds to the university to support increased student numbers prospectively.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/dunedin-stadium-wins-government-backing-2511669
Something doesn’t add up.
“Now the full picture emerges. Universities like this one and Otago are not interested in attracting new students and up-skilling the workforce because the financial support from the government just isn’t there.”
Why are they advertising on the side of buses in Wellington then?
Just because they advertise doesn’t mean you’re going to get in…. They might only want a few students but they’ll advertise to attract the best…. This is the change for the sake of change NZ wanted… What can you do??
The promise by the Prime Minister of closing the wage gap with Australia by 2025 is just so much hot air.
I did a comparison of the pay rates for NZ/Oz cleaners on our website (www.sfwu.org.nz) blog and at the current Oz minimum rate of $20.00 an hour NZ cleaners would need to get 3.5-4% increases every year.
This, however, is only if the Oz cleaners agree to a wage freeze for the next 15 years. Yeah right!
Yes I think it’s a pipe dreams when some of the things that would really help, looking at superannuation and property taxes get shot down immeaditely without even the slightest consideration for anything but politics…
They work for us people..! Let them know (especially if you’re young like me) you’re not happy with economic drudgery for politics sake..!
The problem is demographics, and also the fact that older people tend to be more likely to vote than younger people.
So all the money goes into unaffordable superannuation promises, providing massive tax breaks to home-owners (generally older folk) and the health system.
And the younger generation get locked out of home-ownership, have a huge funding squeeze put on their universities and will get lumped with paying for the CO2 emissions from large emitters until what…. 2090?????
The tyranny of the majority I suppose.
I’m hoping the CO2 thing will eventually be sorted out with better technology, it’s time to look at other forms of power so that we can live well without the guilt.
We can’t starve the oldies and I feel they have contributed greatly, they have built the very things that the younger generation are now enjoying. It’s a pity that Kiwisaver was gutted that would’ve been a great help.
As for the houses, I think it was your idea????? that the government build more houses, I like that
Yes the ETS is a disgrace.
It’s quite simple Spud we deseperately need compulsory saving, NZers have shown they cannot do it for themselves…
When China had the opposite problem, ie too many people saving too MUCH money, they discouraged it by raising Resident Withholding Tax. Is there any reason why we couldn’t lower ours? It, to be frank, p1sses me off something wicked to get taxed on my income, then taxed again for being responsible with what little I do get once it’s been through the wringer the first time!
If you want to save why not run an endowment policy (google it if you don’t know) like they do in india. It helps people save and gives them life insurance and it can make a profit. Also why not allow for interest earnt from kiwisaver to be reinvested into the superfund.
The discussion is about catching up to Australia (Listener). To increase wages, there have to be more dollars around. Educated people produce things and services that attract those dollars from other places. Australians don’t have more money because they have a different accent. They invest in education and infrastructure. National is dabbling in infrastructure with the fibre initiative, but the people using the Internet need to be educated for it to make any difference.
Otherwise, it is just a fancier TV.
“Quality v. quantity” doesn’t help anything. That is right-wing drivel, and it reduces opportunity and economic growth. It is also a slap in the face for the vast majority of people who are not “quality.” We need a more educated and skilled population, not elitism.
The “quality” is getting drained away because of stupid policies and attitudes like “quality v. quantity.” Aren’t educated people moving overseas? They go to places where the attitude is growth and opportunity. We could be like that. It is a choice.
Amish people don’t value advanced education either. They stop school at 16. The smart ones and the less so alike.
Stop being Amish, John Key.
@Nathan Mills, any tax on savings of any kind is a ridiculous notion and we should demand it is dropped…
Hard to save when all your savings are spent leaving a 10yr relationship where he was the sole provider for the past 16mths due to a mutual decision that I stay home with 2 under 2. Bond and weeks in advance don’t grow on trees.
I now need to get savings by finding an occupation where there is always going to be positions available. Early childhood teaching.
I just have to get in. Doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to though I will apply anyway. Who knows? I’ve done two papers that can be cross credited to prove I could work at that level and passed. That might show I’m determined and committed. Though its not looking good with uni’s turing people away.
We’re closing the gap on Australia. WOO HOO
“New Zealand came fourth to bottom, trailed only by Japan, Australia and Switzerland.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10660014
And its not just educated professionals moving to Australia. If you drive a heavy truck, you will do very well for yourself over the ditch.
As a rightie, i’d love to argue with the post, but I really can’t. I’ll be a first time voter in NZ next year and Nat won’t be getting it.
Ambitions NZ – Does anyone wonder what inspiration was caused by JFK asking not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?
The obsession with closing the gap with Aussie is a terrible distraction for both Labour and Nat, in fact anyone else from the chattering classes. We will never close the salary gap, differing economies, different scales, different investment, our reliance on primary industries…the list goes on. Stingy NZ bosses doesn’t help either, all this crap about work-life balance blah blah blah.
If you’re young, educated and have any sort of ambition then it’s a no-brainer to go overseas. In fact, even if you don;t have much of an education then you should at least experience going offshore, open up the mind to how behind the times we really are.
Government build more houses? Really Spud? And whose going to pay for that then? Social housing is hardly ambitious. I would suggest the authorities sort out all the crap, cold, damp, leaking houses first before building anything else.
As a general question, are state housing tenants allowed to buy their houses at any point?
“I would suggest the authorities sort out all the crap, cold, damp, leaking houses first before building anything else.” – Maybe some of those dumps would be better torn down and new drier houses built?
Unemployment is continuing to rise
No, it’s not. The latest official figures (for March quarter) came out in May, so unless you’ve somehow got access to strictly confidential information about the June quarter unemployment rate (which don’t go public until August 5th) you don’t have a leg to stand on with that claim.
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/work_income_and_spending/employment_and_unemployment/HouseholdLabourForceSurvey_HOTPMar10qtr.aspx
I thought even PB agreed the number on unemployment benefit had increased>
In Australia, they doubled the cash to first home buyers when the recession hit… some couples were able to secure 28,000 for the purpose. It’s a start and it’s proactive. We decided to build a cycleway and consider investigating mining which wont see benefit to the economy for at least 10 years… Try closing that gap.
@Tracey you are right.
@Phil your wrong.
Numbers onto unemployment benefit are up.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1007/S00198.htm
Benefit numbers are a better indicator as I believe the household workforce survey doesn’t consider you unemployed if you do 1 hour of work a week. So excellent mis-direction by Jonkey.
John Key Said
“Well there’s two things to look at in unemployment. One is the household labour force survey and that’s the one that saw unemployment fall from 7.1% to 6%. The other is numbers on a benefit, now they rose from 60 to 62,000. They’re off their peak which was around about 80,000.
Its worth putting in perspective. There are a couple of million jobs in the economy, those on a benefit total 333,000 so a couple of thousand it’smaterial, but it’s not overly significant.
What a tosser! No idea what is happening and no real concern for ordinary Kiwis