Government is manufacturing a crisis.
Young New Zealanders leaving the country in droves.
Our unemployment rate has steadily risen since the National/Act/NZFirst took office and those who are struggling to find work the most are the young.
“The ongoing tightening of economic conditions is putting pressure on the job market, leading to increased unemployment. Unsurprisingly, the biggest jump in unemployment has been experienced by youth (15-19 years old), and young adults (20-24 years old). “(BERL)
Why?
The oppressive and totally unnecessary austerity measures the Coalition have taken that is giving tax breaks to the wealthy and forcing small businesses to close.
But rather than get engaged in meaningful job creation projects P.M. Luxon and Finance Minister Willis would rather pour scorn on Jobseekers for not trying hard enough to find employment in a market with a decreasing number of jobs.
No wonder BERL report that “Young people are leaving the country in droves.”
“From the first quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2024, there was a 20 percent increase in the number of young adults departing New Zealand.”
We don’t have a financial crisis but the Coalition government seems hell bent on creating one.
P.S. For proof that we don’t have a financial crisis and the austerity measures are unnecessary, please checkout my latest Head2Head video interview with economist Bernard Hickey which you can find by clicking on the Interviews section in the navigation bar .
Or listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts for FREE at
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It is utterly tragic. The scarring of this year's misguided policies will be with us for a very long time.
Let's see some positive policies-here's one-- what about writing off the student loan repayment due each year the person works in NZ. They should never have had to pay for their education in the first place-- the baby boomers did not come out of university with student loan debts
...and if we as community no longer have/support/value/ host/care for young folk , by relationship failure so too the Elders disappear, no longer evidnet or apparent . Elderhood becoming lost as Youth becomes lost marks a such destabilisation, one erasing our social belonging just as if we had lost orientation by direction;our North, South, East, West