Photo: 123rf
Pacific people living in New Zealand have been hit the hardest in the latest unemployment statistics.
Stats NZ numbers showed the unemployment rate rising to 5.4 percent, in the three months ended December, from 5.3 percent in the previous quarter. It was the highest level since March 2015.
In comparison, the rate for Pacific unemployment rose to 12.3 percent.
Labour's Pacific peoples spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni said this is the highest of any ethnic group and more than double what it was two years ago.
"They're the worst unemployment stats for any group now at 12.3, but they're not just statistics.
"This reflects a large number of Pasifika people in New Zealand that have lost jobs or simply can't find work because of the economy and how poorly it's going and with everything going on."
Carmel Sepuloni says the government has only itself to blame for rising unemployment. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Speaking on the report, Finance Minister Nicola Willis told reporters the government is doing its best to bring unemployment down.
"We are working very hard to get unemployment to come down, what is positive to see is that 15,000 more jobs were created in the past three months. That the hours people are working are increasing, that more people are feeling optimistic about getting a job who are entering that workforce, so that's really positive to see," Willis said.
According to the Stats NZ report, a total of 165,000 people were unemployed, a rise of approximately 4000 on the previous quarter and 10,000 on a year ago.
Sepuloni said the National Party have only themselves to blame with the recent unemployment rate and for cutting jobs in sectors that have a high percentage of Pasifika employees.
"One of the biggest mistakes that the government made when they came in was to pause the infrastructure projects, the building of houses, because what we saw were job losses en masse in those areas, and many of our Pacific people were working in those jobs," she said.
Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
But Willis said her government has always been upfront with their priorities on getting the country back on track.
"We've been really open with New Zealanders that there is an order of events; first you have to get inflation under control, then you have to get interest rates coming down, then you need growth back into the economy, and then you can actually get the job creation and lower unemployment that we all seek."
With the elections in November, Sepuloni said this country needs a new government that will support them and follow through on what they campaigned on.
"We have to look back to the election campaign. Christopher Luxon and the National Party made out that they were going to address the cost of living pressures that New Zealanders were facing. They haven't done that at all.
"In fact, things got worse for all New Zealanders, and that includes our Pacific community."
In an email statement responding directly to Sepuloni, Nicola Willis said:"Like all New Zealanders, Pacific people have been affected by the previous government's dreadful mismanagement of the economy.
"It allowed inflation to get out of control which put huge strain on families and businesses.The good news is that businesses have resumed investing and job opportunities are being created again.
Labour's plan to spend, borrow and tax more just as the economy is recovering would be a disaster for all New Zealanders, including Pacific people," the statement said.
"We have seen that movie before. It ends with more debt, more people out of work and more hardship for families and the businesses that a strong economy relies on to create jobs."
Christopher Luxon speaks to media after his State of the Nation address. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
Prime Minster Luxon fully supports his finance minsiter's sentiments. He said the way forward is to keep a Labour and Greens government out.
"What's clear there is that the alternative is they're going to crank up spending yet again, and when they don't have enough money to fund that spending, they're going to tax you more for it," he said.
"So welcome to the world of capital gains tax, wealth tax, death tax, higher income tax, higher corporate tax, that's coming all your way if god forbid there is a Labour-Greens government."
