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Hon John Boscawen: I seek leave of the House to ask a question of the honourable Leader of the Opposition.
Mr SPEAKER: I guess it is possible for members to ask questions of members. Leave of the House is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection?
Hon Member: No.
Mr SPEAKER: I trust it is in order, but let me just check with the Clerk to make sure there is no Standing Order against that. Normally a question to a member is to do with the member’s responsibilities, but leave has been granted to the member.
Hon John Boscawen: Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Leader of the Opposition: given that he is so concerned about youth unemployment, what responsibility do he and his colleagues take for the dramatic rise in youth unemployment after youth rates were cancelled, making it illegal for a young person to take a job at less than $13 an hour?
Hon Phil Goff: It is just as well that the question was asked of the Leader of the Opposition, because the Prime Minister does not give answers. [Interruption]
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Now, I ask members why it was difficult to see me on my feet. There was absolutely no reason to give an answer like that at all, given the question was asked of the Leader of the Opposition. Actually, I should point out that things have changed a bit since the Leader of the Opposition was last a Minister.
Hon PHIL GOFF: The answer is that at the time that Labour left office, youth unemployment was a third of the level that it is now. It was at that level because a Labour Government actually invested in skill training for people. A Labour Government created 350,000 new jobs, and a Labour Government reduced the number of people on unemployment benefits to 17,000, and that is a track record I am really proud of. The Prime Minister would do better to halve that.
Given that youth rates were only abolished in April 2008, only months before the election, they wouldn’t have had much of an effect on youth unemployment under Labour. So I don’t think Goff’s answer was particularly relevant to the question. He should have argued why he thinks the abolition of the youth rates has not been responsible for some of the increase in youth unemployment.
I agree John definitely earned play of the day.
Hillarious! John Boscawen asks a patsy question of the leader of the opposition by accident. I’m sure he thought it was a tough challenge, but nope.
Labour regularly increased the minimum wage through its time on the government benches, each time disproving the regular claims that such an increase would cause unemployment.
If Boscawen is annoyed about the unemployment in New Zealand today, perhaps someone should tell him the the Minister of Social Development and Employment is Paula Bennett. The same woman that wrote that letter against the introduction of a food card for beneficiaries just a few months ago.
Lamington for brains!
I love this video!
!
@Policy Parrot – He he he
G
FF KICKS BUTT!!!!!
Notice how bland, boring and unconvincing John Key looks when he answers a question in this clip, after Phil Goff’s powerful performance.
Perfect reply from Phil!!!!
@ Sue Moroney. John Key IS bland and boring and unconvincing.
Glass houses Sue
We have people at work who say things like this about their boss.
We also have a special name for them…
Doesn’t Goff realise that it takes years for the full effect of economic policy to be felt?
Youth rates were abolished in April 2008 and the election was in November 2008. Goff only accepts responsibility for those seven months and dumps responsibility for the past 2.5 years on Key.
Oh and nevermind the global financial crisis…