Press release, for immediate release

Young people set to get Rogered

Young Labour has grave concerns about the future for youth in New Zealand following today's news that ACT MP Roger Douglas' members bill to reintroduce youth rates has been drawn and will be debated in Parliament.

The deceitfully titled Minimum Wage (Mitigation of Youth Unemployment) Amendment Bill will seek to put in place discriminatory wages for young people, changing the minimum wage for young people under 18, which will see youth being paid less for the same work as their older colleagues. Young Labour takes a different stance to Douglas' outdated and disproved far-right rhetoric and thinks that lowering wages is not an acceptable way of dealing with an unemployment crisis.

There is no evidence that the previous Government's removal of discriminatory and unfair youth rates has had a detrimental effect on youth employment. This bill incorrectly asserts that it can solve the problem of youth unemployment with a tepid dose of inequality. This bill is just another knee-jerk neo-liberal reaction to the problem of youth unemployment. A true solution requires a far greater commitment by the current government to improving the opportunities of the youth in New Zealand.

"What young kiwis need is a solid plan to grow the economy and more to opportunities to up-skill, not a far-right bill that aims to see young people doing work of the same value, but getting paid less purely because of their age." Young Labour President, Patrick Leyland, said this afternoon.

The current Government was elected with a stated aim of closing the wage gap with Australia, where the minimum wage is over NZ$17. Supporting Douglas' bill will do the exact opposite of that, and will only serve to create further inequalities and social problems which disproportionately effect youth in this country.

"If Members of Parliament have any concern for the young people they represent, and ensuring they have a bright future, they will surely vote this bill down." concluded Leyland.

ENDS

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