Employment is everyone's job

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 28, 10 December 1984, Page 2

Employment is everyone's job

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on employment issues. Unemployment is the major social issue confronting the developed world today. We in New Zealand have not escaped the impact of unemployment and neither have communities such as the Waimarino. To overcome unemployment the first objective must be to manage the economy of the country so that economic growth in agriculture, in manufacturing and in service industries such as tourism are encouraged to expand and provide additional jobs. There have been many critics of grassland agriculture in recent months. The Government has lost confidence in traditional farming and urges alternatives. The fact is grassland farming will remain the largest and most essential component of New Zealand agriculture for decades ahead. To improve employment we must develop cost efficient methods of adding value to what we produce from land and factory. In agriculture that means maintaining the product development pro- , gramme in the dairy industry and increasing emphasis on cutting and packing meat to meet consumer demand overseas. This will only happen if the cost of processing and packing in New Zealand is competitive. This will require a change in attitude by both management and unions so

as to maximise the job potential in this area. Extremely large increases in jobs can be achieved in areas such as tourism. We are already attracting over half-a-million tourists to New Zealand annually. Each one helps to create another job. The development that has followed the opening up of the Turoa Skifield is a graphic example. Employment has been created not only by those who assist the tourists on the mountain but also the construction that has occurred in Ohakune and elsewhere, the various restaurants and motel establishments that have grown up to service the sector are all part of tourism's job creation potential. To further expand jobs in this area we must not only provide the facilities in New Zealand to attract tourists, but we must vigorously "sell" New Zealand overseas as a prime tourist destination. Full employment in the future will require more than the traditional response I have outlined above. At first it will require that our education system fully equips young people for the wide variety of employment opportunities that exist. We must also provide young people with a clear understanding that they probably will have to obtain new skills on a number of occasions throughout their working life. To do this successfully requires that we encourage young people to stay at school longer so they will acquire a broadbased education before they leave. Our education system will need the facilities to teach, the majority of young people something about computers and their use in work and in business. In the meantime it is not possible to provide jobs for all who seek work. The community has a responsibility to assist those genuinely seeking work by making available employment opportunities in socially desirable areas which in the norma! course of commerce, would not occur. To achieve this end requires local authorities and community groups to make maximum uses of Government funded schemes like PEP. The young unemployed are a particular concern and it is essential that we expand the present school leaver

training and employment preparation scheme (STEPS) to make certain that all who .leave school and are unable to move into employment will have the opportunity of further training and work experience under a STEPS programme. As Minister of Labour, I proposed that an opportunity should be available for at least one year after they leave school. I see such a proposal as a new "social guarantee" which New Zealand can afford to make as it will do so much to maintain the self-esteem of young people without work. Providing sufficient employment is everybody's responsibility not just central government or local bodies, all can assist and a particular plea is made to employers to offer a young person a job it at all possible. My Christmas message to the readers of the Bulletin is — enjoy the festive season, reflect on the events we celebrate at Christmas and make a New Year's resolution that each of us individually will in 1985 make our personal contribution to assisting a return to full employment.

Jim

Bolger

MP King Country