1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,120 Speaker 1: In something of a return to the old days, the 2 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 1: government is calling on beneficiaries to grab a shovel and 3 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: help clean up the Tasman and Marlborough flood damage. They're 4 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:09,120 Speaker 1: going to be paid money on top of the doll. 5 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:11,960 Speaker 1: Louise Upston is the Social Development Minister. High Luiz. 6 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 2: Good morning, Heather, how are you? 7 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: Oh well, thank you? How much you're paying? 8 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 2: Well, this is a living wage and it's a really 9 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 2: great opportunity for job seekers to get in there and 10 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 2: roll their sleeves up and help in the local flood 11 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:25,800 Speaker 2: recovery efforts. 12 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: So is that topping the doll up to the minimum 13 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: wage or is that the minimum wage on top of the. 14 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 2: Doll it's the minimum wage in total, and it's a 15 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 2: really great opportunity for those who are on job seeker 16 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:40,639 Speaker 2: benefit who aren't working currently. They're readily available and can 17 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 2: get on and help the community with the really valuable 18 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 2: cleanup project that's necessary. 19 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: Are you offering this to people who are in the 20 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: regional people outside of the region as well. 21 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 2: It's mainly in the region. We've got about six hundred 22 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 2: job seekers in the Tasman region, so we know there 23 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 2: are people available, but look they're well, they may also 24 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 2: be people who are out of work, who are not 25 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:05,959 Speaker 2: on benefit, who are available and interested in getting involved. 26 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 2: So that's why we put the word out. We gather 27 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 2: the troops and then get everybody underway to do that 28 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,559 Speaker 2: really important cleanup on farms and rural areas and also 29 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 2: community facilities that have been damaged in the Tasman Marlborough area. 30 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:25,119 Speaker 1: And how many have taken you up on the offer, Well, there. 31 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,320 Speaker 2: Was good interest as of yesterday. We're probably looking at 32 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 2: about three crews, so about thirty people is the initial estimate, 33 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 2: and I'm really confident we'll have no problem meeting that number. 34 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,320 Speaker 1: So you've had interest from thirty people or you need 35 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: thirty people. No. 36 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 2: End of yesterday we need about thirty people, so we 37 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 2: expect there'll be three crews. And there were about ten 38 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 2: people interested at the end of yesterday. I understand ten 39 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 2: people are and that was only within a number of hours, 40 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 2: a number of hours of putting the message out. So 41 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 2: the work brokers will now sort of get on the phones, 42 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 2: look at their suitable jobs seeking candidates and connect them 43 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 2: to those opportunities. What's really great is what we've seen 44 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 2: from the past events where this task force Green has 45 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:11,919 Speaker 2: been activated that some of these job seekers have gone 46 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 2: into employment following these projects, which is great news. That's 47 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 2: the ultimate outcome. 48 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: Okay, I mean so when I looked at this, this 49 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: is a fantastic idea and I completely love it. But 50 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: the problem that I can see is that it's going 51 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: to motivate the people who are already motivated right and 52 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:30,919 Speaker 1: they are going to get jobs anyway in the private 53 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 1: sector because they are motivated. What we really want to 54 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 1: do is get those really long term beneficiaries off the couch. 55 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: Are we seeing any sign that they are getting motivated 56 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: by it. 57 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 2: Well, I think there's a range of people. There'll be 58 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 2: people who, because of the economic circumstances we have right now, 59 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 2: are newly unemployed and really keen to get back into it. 60 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 2: There will be others that this type of clean up, 61 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 2: they're motivated actually to support their community, and that's something 62 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 2: that might mean that they're more interested in getting out 63 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 2: and doing work outside on farms that they might not otherwise. 64 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 2: So listen, I'm agnostic. We've got a large number of 65 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 2: people on benefit because we've got challenging economics circumstances, the 66 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,919 Speaker 2: opportunity for them to get work experience to do work 67 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 2: that's really valuable to the community is a win win 68 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 2: from my perspective. 69 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,640 Speaker 1: Okay, if this works, and if we do start to 70 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: see that there are people who we've had real trouble 71 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: getting off the doll suddenly getting off the doll because 72 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: this work is there and it's easy for them to 73 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: kind of transition to it. Whatever, whatever the reason, would 74 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: you roll this out wider than this and outside of 75 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: civil defense emergencies. 76 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 2: It's not something I'm actively considering, but listen, I'm open 77 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 2: to suggestions about how we reduce the number of people 78 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 2: on the job seeker benefit. Obviously, this takes a significant 79 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 2: amount of funding because it's fully paying a full time wage, 80 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 2: and as you would well know, the government's coffers aren't 81 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 2: a bottomless pit. So we want to do what works, 82 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 2: and where there are things that work, we'll definitely look 83 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 2: at doing more of it. 84 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 1: Would you ever look at compelling. 85 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 2: Well, I think we've put a lot of leavers in 86 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 2: place already around tightening up the work obligations and consequences 87 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 2: when people don't meet that, and because we know that 88 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 2: ninety eight percent are at green, the system's working really well. 89 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 2: But look if we get problems further down the line. 90 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 2: I'll always look at other options for how to support 91 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,039 Speaker 2: more people off welfare and into work. 92 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,239 Speaker 1: Louise, Thanks very much, Louis Epstein, Minister for Social Development 93 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:36,840 Speaker 1: and Employment. For more from The Mic Asking Breakfast, listen 94 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 1: live to news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, 95 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.