Let me begin by thanking all those who have come here today to hear this address.

It’s great to be with a group of people who share a passion that means so much to me. 

That passion is the potential of New Zealand’s young people.

As youth workers, as youth justice experts, as community leaders, you devote much of your energy to young Kiwis, and in doing so you make an important contribution to our country.

After all, it is our young people who, more than any other group, will determine the future shape and prosperity of New Zealand. 

When our young people flourish, we all benefit. 

For it is their efforts that will boost the economy of tomorrow and, in time, pay for the public services we rely on. 

For New Zealand to become more prosperous, for our living standards to rise, for there to be more and better paid jobs, we need the next generation to be more capable, more skilled, and more ambitious than the generation before. 

Judging by most of the young people I meet, New Zealand’s future looks bright.  

As I travel around the country, visiting schools, workplaces, marae, I am constantly impressed by the enthusiasm and energy displayed by our youth.  They are ambitious for themselves and they make me optimistic for New Zealand.

As Prime Minister I am determined to ensure our young have the opportunities they need to deliver on this potential and ambition. 

I want them to have the skills and experiences they need to succeed, to acquire productive jobs and good living standards for them and their families, here in New Zealand.

The Government’s policy priorities reflect this aspiration and today I will make a series of announcements that reflect that. 

The first set of policies is about providing young people from deprived communities with activity programmes in their school holidays.  

The second is about equipping our youth justice system with a better set of tools for dealing with young offenders.

I will detail these exciting policies in just a moment. 

But it’s important that you don’t consider these policies in isolation. 

They need to be seen in the context of the Government’s broader policy agenda for improving the lives of young, and indeed all, New Zealanders.

Because you know and I know, that doing better for our young people means doing better across a range of fronts. 

It starts with valuing families. 

That means respecting the vital role of parents, and doing all that we can to support the financial security of families.

The Government’s task is to make decisions – day by day and policy by policy – that will strengthen the economy so that it can provide Mums and Dads with the jobs they need, the incomes they deserve, and the financial security they want for their families.

The tough times of late show just how important this is. 

When the economy falters, it is everyday Kiwis who pay the price.  

The opposite is also true.

When the economy rallies, it is everyday Kiwis and their children who benefit.

The Government is working hard to strengthen our economy. 

From better infrastructure, to regulatory reform through to a better tax system, we’re making and will continue to make, the changes that are needed to make New Zealand’s economic engine run faster.

Economic policy is very important to me. 

Not because I think wealth necessarily brings happiness, but because I know that a lack of work and a lack of money reduce people’s security and choices. 

I simply want better for New Zealanders. 

The Government recognises that providing opportunities for young people is also about supporting families to support their children, whether through Working for Families, access to early childhood education or quality healthcare.   

I have been proud of this Government’s efforts to preserve these entitlements and improve these services, despite the magnitude of the recession. 

We are focusing on reducing bureaucracy, pushing resources to the frontline and getting better value for every taxpayer dollar. 

By doing these things we will be able to continue to preserve families’ entitlements and services into the future. 

We know that supporting our young people is also about valuing education.  

I view education as a liberator. 

It is the single most important rung on the ladder of opportunity. 

By and large, New Zealand has an education system to be proud of. 

But too many young people slip through the cracks and leave school without the skills and qualifications they need to succeed.

That’s what is motivating our National Standards policy. 

National Standards are designed to ensure primary school children are on track towards getting the basic literacy and numeracy skills they need to succeed.   

We have consulted with parents and teachers on a set of National Standards that will describe the basic literacy and numeracy skills every child should be expected to have at each year of their primary education. 

The final standards will be published in October.

From next year, we will require all year 1-8 schools to report to parents in plain English about how their children are doing compared to these National Standards. 

If children aren’t reaching the standards we will require schools to tell Mums and Dads so they can work with their schools to do something about it.

We’re also working with our schools and education providers to give them more flexibility to educate kids who may not do so well in a traditional academic environment.   

We know that some kids will get more from pulling an engine apart than studying Macbeth. 

So our Trades in Schools programme and Youth Guarantee are about ensuring that teenagers have more choices, are better engaged in education and better prepared for the workforce.

Finally, the Government knows that supporting our young people is about ensuring that, even in the toughest economic times, when they leave school they have access to opportunities for work, training, or further education. 

That’s why I was pleased to announce our $152 million “Youth Opportunities” package at the beginning of the month.

It provides for up to 16,900 opportunities for young people aged 16-to-24, who may be affected by increasing levels of unemployment over the next 18 months.

There is a range of initiatives from increased places in Limited Service Volunteers, more provision of polytechnic and wananga training through to government funded schemes designed to encourage businesses and communities to offer jobs to young people. 

We’ve been impressed by the take-up of the package so far, with almost 600 jobs being offered to young people as a result of the “Job Ops” policy. 

But we’re keen to see even more take-up.

You can all help with that. 

Of particular interest to those in this room may be the ‘Community Max’ policy. 

Community Max is designed to get young people working on worthwhile projects in their communities.   

If you come to us with a community project that fits the criteria, we will provide funding for the wages of youth workers for up to 30 hours a week at the minimum wage, a supervisor for every four young workers, as well as a training payment for every worker. 

It’s a great opportunity and one we’re keen to see being rolled out up and down New Zealand. 

So have a think about how you or your organisation might get involved. 

But the reason I’m here today is to announce two new packages aimed at young people under the age of 18.

BREAK-AWAY PACKAGE FOR SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

The first policy is a Break-Away Package costing $12.1 million over four years which is designed to increase opportunities for young people in school holidays.

This package will give children from deprived communities a break away in meaningful activities during the school holidays.

It will give foster caregivers a break away from their responsibilities.

And it will give selected young people a break away in fun and challenging activities with high-profile role models as a reward for turning their lives around.

Many New Zealand families already choose to get their kids involved in holiday activity programmes.  

They might, for example, send their kids to a rugby training programme for a week, on a surf lifesaving course, a kapa haka programme or a karate workshop. 

Kiwis like these programmes, not only because they give kids somewhere to be during the day while Mum and Dad might be at work, but also because they give kids a new range of experiences quite unlike those they get from school. 

Young people on a school holiday programme get the opportunity to develop new skills, to face some challenges, and to meet new young people in a new environment. 

Opportunities like this can be invaluable. 

But sadly the young people who may be most likely to miss out on these opportunities are also the ones who might gain the most from them.

I’m talking about young people in some of New Zealand’s lower socio-economic communities, where Mum and Dad might not be able to afford the programme fees or the programmes might not be on offer at all.

Instead of going on an athletics camp the kids from some of New Zealand’s poorest families might find themselves at a loose end in the school holidays with very little to do. 

I want to make sure that more families have the chance to get their children involved in meaningful activities in the school holidays.  

I also want to boost the efforts of the many great community providers who work with young people. 

This includes providers with a physical activity or sport focus such as the YMCA and families centres like Mangere East.

Holiday Activity Programmes

So today I am announcing that, starting this summer school holidays, the Government will roll out 15,000 one-week holiday activity programme places for young people aged 11-17.

This will increase to 30,000 places a year from next year onwards.

I want to see a diverse range of programmes, from drama to outdoor-adventure to organised sport. 

The key requirements will be that the programmes are safe, include physical activities and provide positive experiences.

The needs of different age groups will also have to be catered for. 

These programmes will geographically target young people from deprived communities and families under stress. 

Starting this summer, high needs areas in Auckland will be targeted. 

Over time, we will roll these funded school-holiday programmes out to other parts of New Zealand. 

Residential Respite Camps

Today I am also announcing 500 residential holiday respite camp places for children and young people who are being cared for by foster parents and extended whanau.

The camps will provide full residential care, and structured recreational programmes for children and young people in the age ranges of 5 to 7 years and 8 to 12 years.

The programmes will give foster caregivers a break, and they will give young people a positive experience in the school holidays. 

There will be 250 places from December this year, rising to 500 from next year. Initially we will focus on the younger aged group.

The Te Puna Whairoa Children’s Health Camps will be the first provider of these programmes. 

The Prime Minister’s Youth Programme

Finally, I am pleased to announce a highly-targeted new Prime Minister’s Youth Programme for 100 selected kids. 

This new programme will, each year, reward and foster achievement for young people aged 14 to 17 who have overcome adversity and made positive changes in their lives. 

This programme will be aimed at kids who have been recognised by community leaders as having done what it takes to really turn their lives around.  

They might for example be identified by a teacher, a local police officer, or a youth worker. 

I want the programmes to be a real reward for young people who’ve made mistakes but have picked themselves up and chosen to play by the rules and make the most of themselves.   

Over the course of the week-long programme, these young people will experience a mixture of fun and challenging activities that will open up future opportunities for them. 

What will make the programme unique is that, as part of the reward, a number of high-profile New Zealanders have offered to lend a hand and help raise the sights of these young people.

These include several high profile rugby stars – either All Blacks or super rugby players - actor Oscar Kightley, ex-All Black Norm Hewitt, and netball guru Raewyn Henry. 

I want the young people involved in the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme to be given the opportunity to spend time with these icons and learn from their experiences.

I’m sure that other high-profile New Zealanders will be prepared to invest their time in the young people on the programme and I look forward to their contribution.

The camps will be run by experienced providers, but the involvement of these icons will make them really special. 

We are expecting the programme to kick off in January 2010. 

FRESH START PACKAGE FOR YOUNG OFFENDERS

The second set of policies I’m announcing today is aimed at a much smaller, but often higher-profile group of young people – youth offenders.

Our extensive Fresh Start package of youth justice policies is aimed at those who have veered off the rails and who have found themselves in trouble with the police and the youth justice system. 

These range from Community Youth Development Programmes for at-risk youth who are yet to come before the courts, right through to military-style activity camp programmes for the worst youth offenders.

There are not many young people in this position.

Perhaps a few thousand at the most. 

But it is vital that we offer them an effective range of opportunities – based on the severity of their offending – to turn their lives around and give them a fresh start. 

If we don’t, not only are these young people likely to fall far short of their potential but, most significantly, they may pose a serious threat to the future safety of our communities.

The earlier we get these kids out of the crime cycle the less havoc they can wreak.

To do this, the youth justice system needs a greater range of tools than it currently has.

That’s what this Government has set about providing.   

We want to ensure that judges, when faced with a youth offender, will be able to tailor a package of measures that they believe will address that young person’s criminal behaviour and help them turn their life around.

I have previously announced our plans for bolstering the Youth Court with a new and strengthened range of orders, including longer sentences and military-style activity camps.  

Today I am going to announce more of the funding and implementation details of these policies and some new initiatives.

The legislation required to make the key changes needed is currently before a Select Committee.

We have been listening to the submitters who have come forward to comment on that Bill. 

The responses have helped inform today’s announcement. 

The feedback we have heard from some submitters has been about the great youth programmes that are working well but are currently under-funded by the criminal justice system. 
 
Today I am pleased to announce the Government’s plans for a broad range of these kinds of interventions, which we will fund with $72.4 million over four years.

New Community Youth Programmes

The first new set of interventions will be targeted at lower-level youth offenders, whose offending is yet to land them in court.

We want to get to these young people early and steer them away from more serious offending. 

There are already some great structured activity programmes out there that could help turn these kids’ lives around.  

These include the Police-led Youth Development Programmes and similar programmes run by community organisations.  

They are run by experts and include a mixture of activities that help young people to learn new skills and even develop new passions. 

Today I am announcing that the Government will fund up to 1000 places for young people at risk of offending to take part in Youth Development Programmes of this sort. This year 250 places will be available and this will increase to 1000 a year following that.

Young people will be referred to these programmes by the police, the courts, or other community leaders – for example school principals.

Funding for these programmes will total $9.8 million over the next four years. 

Mentoring, Parenting, and Drug & Alcohol Orders

The Government will also ensure that the Youth Court has new rehabilitation orders and access to a large number of funded places in programmes that tackle some of the root causes behind youth offending.

There are three things that everyone agrees can help rehabilitate a young offender. 

Working with parents to strengthen their role in the child’s life. 

Ensuring youth have access to ongoing mentoring from respected and well-qualified people. 

And helping them tackle their issues with alcohol and drug abuse. 

The Government wants to back what works.

We will put $9.4 million over four years into youth justice funding for programmes like these. 

This will create up to 300 places a year in mentoring programmes.

Up to 700 places a year in parenting programmes.

Up to 200 places in community-based drug and alcohol programmes. 

And up to 32 places in residential-based drug and alcohol programmes designed to help offenders with very serious addictions.

Court-Supervised Camps

We also want to ensure that youth offenders at the lower end of the scale can be directed into physically and mentally challenging activity programmes.

I want to see more of these kids, who may otherwise stick to old habits, getting a real chance to change themselves for the better. 

At the moment, hundreds of young offenders who come before the Youth Court are referred to a Family Group Conference.

If they successfully complete the plan agreed at the conference they can be discharged without being sentenced.
 
The Government wants to support these kids to help them turn their lives around at this early stage.

We will provide new Court-Supervised Camp Programmes to deliver more options for the Family Group Conferences and the Court.

An intensive adventure-camp experience could be the start that encourages a troubled teenager to get their life back together. 

I’m talking about programmes run by experts that take kids away from their normal environment and give them the rev-up they need.   

And that are then followed up with intensive mentoring so that the positive changes really stick.

The Government will provide $5.4 million in funding over four years to support up to 200 places in a new range of these Court Supervised Camp Programmes. 

These will include up to 10 days on an intensive adventure-camp experience as part of Court-ordered family conference plans.

Failure to compete these programmes will result in offenders being returned to Court and more serious sanctions being imposed.

Greater Youth Court Powers

I’m also keen to ensure that the Youth Court has the powers it needs to ensure that court orders are complied with, and that when offenders are released back into the community they can be closely monitored.

Today I am confirming that the Government has allocated funding to allow up to 30 high-risk youth offenders a year to be electronically monitored in the community while under a court-ordered Intensive Supervision order.

We have also allocated funding to expand the proven ‘Supported Bail Programme” which will provide intensive supervision and monitoring for up to 175 young offenders a year while they are on remand.

Innovation Fund

Finally, I’m announcing today an annual fund to encourage communities to come up with new and innovative solutions to youth offending.

Many of those responding to the Government’s proposals have said they have better ideas for helping youth offenders. 

This fund gives them the chance to prove it.

We will fund organisations with proven track-records to target up to 230 young people who are at risk of getting into a cycle of crime.  

We will provide $4.6 million over four years for this fund to encourage new ideas and new approaches. 

We expect, for example, that many providers will focus on new ways of dealing with Maori offenders, who are badly over-represented in the youth offending statistics.

Supervision with Activity Orders and Military-Style Activity Camps

I think the policies I have announced today will vastly improve the way our youth justice system deals with young offenders.

But I hasten to add that these programmes complement, not replace, the Government’s plans for military-style supervision with activity programmes and residential military-style activity camp programmes.

We are providing 50 additional places in supervision with activity programmes, and doubling the maximum duration to six months, followed by up to six months supervision.

We are also providing 40 places in residential military activity camp programmes for more serious young offenders.

These provide up to three months residential training, using army-type facilities or training methods, followed by up to nine months intensive support to meet each offender’s individual needs.

I know these programmes have come in for criticism from some quarters.

But I make no apologies for backing them. 

The current system for dealing with the more serious young offenders just isn’t working well enough. 

We have to be prepared to come at the problem differently and give new solutions a go. 

The military-style options I propose will provide serious young offenders with a structured environment and a complete package of support to address the causes of offending. 

Yes they’ll involve some marching exercises. 

Yes, they’ll involve military facilities. 

I support that. 

But they’ll also include long-term mentoring, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes, education, and an assisted move back into the community. 

Taken together they just might deal to some of the unexploded time-bombs currently sifting through the Youth Court. 

And that’s something I’m proud to back. 

All in all, the Government’s extensive range of initiatives in our Fresh Start Package for Youth Justice, together with our increased funding for interventions, will result in up to 3000 extra places in youth justice programmes each year.

These policies will go a long way towards dismantling some of New Zealand’s ticking time bombs.

They will turn more young people off a life of crime.

They will help make our communities safer.

And they will give more at-risk New Zealanders the opportunity for a fresh-start.

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen, today’s announcements are about doing better for the next generation.

I want every young Kiwi to be able to find a way onto the path of success.

And I want our children to have great expectations for what they can achieve. 

We owe our young people the opportunities they need to deliver the very best of themselves. 

They owe us their very best efforts in return.

After all, the future success of our country, the future success of each of us, relies on unlocking the potential of a new generation. 

Just as the Government is working hard to ensure that potential is released, I know the people in this room are giving back to your communities.

I think together we can make a real difference to our young and to our country. 

So I thank you and I welcome you on board a great mission.