• Jobs agreement reached with local government
• New protection for PTE students
• Community employment creation
• New Zealand Council of Social Services
• Bill reshapes social assistance

Jobs agreement reached with local government

A groundbreaking agreement detailing how effective job creation partnerships between central and local government will be structured in the future was launched at Parliament last week by Economic Development Minister Jim Anderton and Social Services and Employment Minister Steve Maharey.

The formal memorandum of understanding reached with the Mayors' Taskforce for Jobs fleshes out the Government's commitment to work in partnership with local communities to tackle unemployment. The Taskforce, which was established in April, brings together 21 Mayors from across New Zealand to provide a national focus of leadership on the jobs issue.

Involving all the key partners - business, labour and central and local government - in job creation is a key feature of the Government's employment strategy.

The Memorandum cements in what has become a close and constructive relationship between the Taskforce and Government Ministers.

copies of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of New Zealand and the Mayors' Taskforce for Jobs are available from Steve Maharey's office, e-mail: smaharey@ministers.govt.nz

Students studying at private training establishments will be able to get their fees back, or an equivalent course provided, should their provider close or be deregistered by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. From 2001, NZQA will introduce a new registration requirement on PTEs to include proof of adequate protection of student fees in the event of closure. Providers will be required to either arrange fee protection insurance or enter into mutual support arrangements.

Steve Maharey announced the new measure while speaking to the annual conference of the New Zealand Association of Private Education Providers in Wellington last week.

Recent high profile examples of financial failure or NZQA deregistration have shown that students are vulnerable in cases where closure happens part way through their course. Students may have nothing to show for the course fees they have paid, no prospect of any fee refund, and may be unable to access their academic records to gain credit for work completed.

The majority of Government-funded PTEs already have some sort of fee protection arrangements in place, but have had their reputations affected by the collapses of the few providers who failed to protect their students.

Providing leadership and practical on-the-ground assistance to communities wanting to build their economic and social base is Government's ambition for the Community Employment Group (CEG), a service of the Department of Labour, Social Services and Employment Minister Steve Maharey told staff attending their national conference in Auckland last week.

CEG is physically located in nearly 30 local communities across New Zealand, and works in many more, creating local opportunities for employment and economic self-sufficiency. The service was transferred from the Department of Work and Income to the Department of Labour earlier this year as part of the Government's strategy to strengthen community employment development capacity.

Significant additional investment was provided in the Budget for the type of grass roots projects which CEG has expertise in facilitating.

CEG staff are based from:

• Northland and Auckland
  Auckland, Kaikohe, Kaitaia and Whangarei.

• Waikato to East Cape
  Cambridge, Gisborne, Huntly, Napier, New Plymouth, Rotorua, Taumarunui, Taupo, Te Araroa, Wairoa, Wanganui and Whakatane.

• Taranaki to Nelson/Marlborough
  Nelson, Otaki, Palmerston North, Picton, Porirua, Waipukurau and Wellington.

• Canterbury/Otago
  West Coast Christchurch, Dunedin, Geraldine, Greymouth, Herbert and Invercargill.

Community-based social service providers can expect genuine and active partnership from the new Government, Steve Maharey told the annual conference of the New Zealand Council of Social Services.

The new Government has an ambitious social investment programme which would prove challenging for both community organisations and the state. Government relations with the community sector have been characterised by mistrust and insecurity in recent years and it is essential they are moved on to a cooperative basis.

In line with rethinking world-wide about the role of government, Steve Maharey established a Community and Voluntary Sector Working Group in August. The Group will report in October on how Government and the 'third sector' can build a strong relationship, including consideration of whether New Zealand should go on to develop a formal agreement or compact as other countries have done.

Parliament referred the Social Security Amendment Bill to the Social Services Select Committee for its consideration last week.

The Bill represents the first step in the Government's reshaping of social assistance and promotes the broader goals of encouraging social and economic participation. The Select Committee will call for public submissions on the legislation shortly.