5 July 2002

“More than one in 20 people in New Zealand are being robbed of their dignity with unemployment still at an unacceptably high level,” says Christian Heritage Acting Leader and Wairarapa candidate Merepeka Raukawa-Tait.

“And in my electorate of Wairarapa it is closer to one in 10.”

Mrs Raukawa-Tait said that given the last national unemployment figure of 5.3 percent is now four months old, she challenged the Labour Government to release a more up-to-date figure for the Wairarapa electorate before polling day.

“There has been a feeling around the country that so long as the unemployment figure remains in single digits, then everything must be OK,” Mrs Raukawa-Tait said.

“I’m here to challenge that notion.

“When you consider that 5.3 percent still represents one-in-twenty workers unnecessarily living on welfare and being denied the dignity of feeling as if they can contribute something to the community, then we can better understand the human misery of this statistic.

“CHP believes that all people who are able to work should be employed.

“We believe our policies can create a better environment for employment growth, namely:
- A single currency with Australia
- Freedom of association and freedom of contract
- Family friendly employment policies that reduce the need for people to make a decision between work and home.

CHP also supports modern apprenticeship programmes to ensure that young people gain valuable work experience while studying their trade. We are committed to providing tax exemptions to employers who create genuine positions for apprentices and other trainees.

“The geographical location in the Wairarapa gives us a unique opportunity to create new jobs and new industries. For the sake of our children, let us now create an environment that would facilitate this.”

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