It was in the British Guardian newspaper and went on to say “The NZ Prime Minister John Key has said the country is forced to rely on overseas workers to fill jobs because some Kiwis lack a strong work ethic and may have problems with drugs.”
Unsurprisingly, I disagree and would respectfully suggest the Government spend more time in the provinces and not judge the country by Auckland standards.
I must also confess to having a higher opinion of NZ workers than the Government does.
The issue is that we encouraged 70,000 immigrants here while there were 200,000 Kiwis unemployed.
More telling is the 74,000 Kiwis between the ages of 15 and 24 who are not in employment, training or education.
Those people are our future. We ignore them and leave them on the scrap heap at our peril.
I know and understand the arguments over New Zealanders not having the necessary skills but that suggests to me a severe lack of Government investment.
Warwick Quin of the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation said the Government didn’t train effectively for the best part of seven years.
What that meant is that we had a depleted workforce and imported people for the Christchurch rebuild.
We’re going to have a similar issue with Kaikoura.
The Government can fix the problem tomorrow if it has the will.
All it takes is investment and if we can waste the thick end of $30 million on a flag referendum and $100m for plush offices for MPs and their hangers-on surely we can invest a similar amount in our youngsters’ future by getting serious about training.
Investing in building industry and agriculture training are no brainers but the Government is messing with that as well. Introducing contestable funding for training when that system wrecked science is beyond me.
The other issue I have is the wages paid to immigrant workers. We’ve seen enough evidence of major exploitation of foreign workers, which achieves the added bonus for employers of driving down the wages of local workers.
That probably explains the employer lobby’s single-minded focus on increasing immigration.
Cynically, the flood of immigrants artificially boosts GDP which the Government desperately needs – so for GDP growth don’t read exports or bricks and mortar, read immigration.
Achieving that by casting aspersions on Kiwis’ work ethic and fitness is reprehensible.
We have local youngsters who aren’t in full-time employment but are good workers and drug-free. They’ll take whatever work is going while desperately applying for a job, any job.
I’m also unimpressed with the Government claim about prospective workers on drugs.
For a start, I’m unaware of any local issue with drugs. As far as Auckland is concerned I have no idea.
Retired Police Association boss Greg O’Connor warned about the P problem but the Government has done little. In fact, it has effectively encouraged the habit by pegging police numbers and then insisting they attend every burglary.
So, in my view, the basic problem of unemployed New Zealanders is Government-induced.
For a start, there is a severe underinvestment in training and a total lack of matching skills with opportunities. That is exacerbated by the education scandal that has Kiwi 10-year-olds as the worst at maths and science in the English-speaking world.
How are we going to develop a skilled workforce from that base?
On the bright side, in provincial Wairarapa there is a real effort being made to get youngsters into work.
It is called YETE which stands for Youth Education Training and Employment with full-time co-ordinator Josie Whaanga who came out of Taratahi training farm.
The initiative started 18 months ago, funding is in place and the training starts next month.
Youngsters can get a Licence to Work.
Whaanga said the initiative aimed to get young people work-ready and for it to be accessible to all.
It wanted to ensure young people in Wairarapa had the chance to access work and be employable.
The reaction from Wairarapa employers has been superb.
It is totally funded locally by councils, community groups and organisations.
Masterton Mayor Lyn Patterson said YETE was a pathway for every student that took them from school to work.
It was about making sure local youngsters had the skills employers needed.
It was getting local schools, employers, community groups and whanau all working together so youngsters had a future.
So, the Government should come to Wairarapa and see how we support our young people into work.
See what we can achieve on our own.
Sadly, they will remain in Auckland while slagging Kiwi youngsters.
