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Scoop
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Mediawatch: Bad Stats And Stereotypes Boost Bootcamp Bid
A call to consider universal military service was enthusiastically endorsed in the media this week. But those backing it seized on stats that also tell a different story., Mediawatch Presenter On Anzac Day, pundit Matthew Hooton floated the return of national military service in his weekly New Zealand Herald column headlined 'The case for universal military training'. After setting out the country's current financial problems, he proposed getting a bit more of a social bang out of the big bucks that – like it or not – we'll soon be spending on defence. 'Why not invest it in universal military training – not as an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, like boot camps, but as a fence at the top?' he asked. He described the idea as 'Outward Bound for everyone' but with military skills added – along with 'cooking, cleaning, changing a tyre and making a school lunch – skills their Gen X and Gen Y parents have failed to teach them or develop themselves.' Each year 70,000 New Zealanders turn 18, and he reckoned about 9000 of those aren't in employment, education or training and they're already costing taxpayers anyway. It's an interesting idea. Many nations – including several in the EU – have compulsory national service and there could be social and individual benefits to such a scheme. In 2023 political party TOP floated a national civic service programme offering a $5000 tax-free savings boost to under-23s. But this week that talking point morphed into a talk radio pile-on deploying stereotypes and misusing statistics. Talk radio amps the idea Universal military service got universal backing from talkback callers to the Herald's stablemate Newstalk ZB this week. 'Kids that have got ADHD and some on the spectrum could actually benefit a lot from it,' one caller confidently claimed on Monday, basing her opinion on reality TV shows where people are 'stuck on an island and left to fend for themselves.' But ZB Afternoons host Matt Heath reckoned the problem wasn't young people on the spectrum – but on their phones. 'They'd be scared to be stripped of their digital rights, but a lot of them know that that would be a good thing for them. There's no doubt that you would feel a lot better after a day's physical activity out in the wop-wops,' he told ZB listeners last Monday When Gen-Xer Heath created the irreverent youth TV show Back of the Y 30 years ago, you'd have got long odds on him endorsing military service for young Kiwis on talk radio thirty years later. But he wasn't alone. 'I love the idea,' ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills said the same day. 'We're not talking about someone that wants to be a doctor, a teacher or an apprentice mechanic. We're talking about directionless people. Off you go to compulsory six months in military training. What's wrong with it?' 'One in four 15-to-19 year olds do not have a job. 25 per cent of young, healthy New Zealanders don't have work,' he told listeners. But many of the 25 percent without a job are still at school, university, polytechnic or in training. Universal or compulsory military service would also capture the would-be doctors, traders and tradies in work, education or training. But Mills' callers – most of whom sounded like their working lives were long behind them – still liked the sound of it for today's young Kiwis nonetheless. Sounding the alarm with stats While he wasn't explicitly backing universal national service, columnist and broadcaster Duncan Garner also reckoned compulsory bootcamp was an idea whose time had come. 'Our teenagers aren't working! One in four 15 to 19 year-olds are not employed, not working, not in education or training. One in four! 25 percent!' his Editor in Chief podcast proclaimed. 'The stats don't lie,' Garner insisted in his podcast. His column for The Listener headlined When did our teens stop working and whose fault is it? seized on Stats NZ data to the end of 2024 showing 23.8 percent of 15-19 year olds were jobless. But that included those still in school, university or in training and the actual proportion of under 25s not in employment, education, or training (NEETs) was 13.2 per cent in December 2024. In the Listener, Garner lamented 'tens of thousands of young men and women who don't attend school, work or some form of training … who are idle at home'. 'It's not just a ticking time bomb. Because I truly believe the bomb's gone off with these numbers.' 'They're gaming. They're on social media, doomscrolling. Not in any form of training or education,' he claimed on Editor in Chief. If Kiwi youths really are doomscrolling in their tens of thousands, that'd be great for the media – given that it means flipping through troubling news headlines many times each day. How many are there really? The MSD Insights report in 2023 said 39,000 people under 25 were receiving a main benefit in 2023 – and about half of those were getting Jobseeker Support. It'll be a bit more than that by now given rising unemployment in 2024, but it's likely there would be roughly 20,000 under 25s currently classed as 'work ready' but not working, learning or training today. The unemployment rate is higher – and growing faster – for 15-19 year olds than in any other age group. And the rate of young people who are NEET – not in employment, education, or training – went up more than one percent to 13.2 percent in the quarter to December – the last period where stats are available. Not good. But in the past decade the previous annual peak was 12.8 percent in the year to March 2021. The low point was 11.2 percent two years later. A Stats NZ analysis of 2004 to 2024 showed the NEET rate was higher than it is today from the GFC of 2008 until 2014. Even when we had a so-called rockstar economy back in the 2010s, the rate didn't go below 11.5 per cent, according to MSD stats. Jobs harder to get In his Listener article, Garner acknowledged it's harder for young people to get jobs now because older people here are working longer and we've had record immigration in recent years. An 20 percent analysis by Berl in March confirmed that. But Berl also found the labour force participation rate for 15-24 year olds increased in the last quarter of 2024 by 2.5 percent to 66.4 percent. It reached a high of 69.2 percent in 2024. In September that year, recruitment company Eclipse identified a 'surge in participation rates among 15-19 year olds in the last two years'. 'Factors such as tightened education policies, economic conditions, and evolving job market dynamics have influenced youth decisions,' Eclipse said, which – if true – means more young people adapting and not opting to sit idle at home. 'They are eager to work,' said Berl's analysis in March. 'It could also mean that youth and young adults are exploring other avenues of occupation, such as tertiary education – including vocational education.' And also Australia. 'The brain drain could become a brain flood if young adults … move there to take advantage of the stronger job market.' In which case, the prospect of compulsory military service would probably become another push factor for thousands of young Kiwis who do have education, training and plans. Unemployment for 15-24 year-olds is significantly lower in Australia, as Duncan Garner pointed out in The Listener, and welfare rules are also tighter. But in the first two months of this year alone, it climbed from under 8 percent to over 10 in Australia. Mediawatch couldn't find a rash of comment in the media there claiming a lost generation of jobless, directionless Australians are heading straight to the social welfare scrapheap, clutching their digital devices. Youth unemployment and welfare dependency are a real – and expensive – issues. National service is an interesting idea that could deliver social and individual benefits. But putting thousands of young people with prospects into military service alongside a much smaller number of jobless, undereducated ones is unlikely to ease the main problem of an underperforming, unproductive economy. And those in the media opining about it should deploy more of the discipline they claim is lacking in the young when they seize on statistics to reinforce stereotypes.
Scoop
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Mediawatch: Bad Stats And Stereotypes Boost Bootcamp Bid
Article – RNZ A call to consider universal military service was enthusiastically endorsed in the media this week. But those backing it seized on stats that also tell a different story., Mediawatch Presenter On Anzac Day, pundit Matthew Hooton floated the return of national military service in his weekly New Zealand Herald column headlined 'The case for universal military training'. After setting out the country's current financial problems, he proposed getting a bit more of a social bang out of the big bucks that – like it or not – we'll soon be spending on defence. 'Why not invest it in universal military training – not as an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, like boot camps, but as a fence at the top?' he asked. He described the idea as 'Outward Bound for everyone' but with military skills added – along with 'cooking, cleaning, changing a tyre and making a school lunch – skills their Gen X and Gen Y parents have failed to teach them or develop themselves.' Each year 70,000 New Zealanders turn 18, and he reckoned about 9000 of those aren't in employment, education or training and they're already costing taxpayers anyway. It's an interesting idea. Many nations – including several in the EU – have compulsory national service and there could be social and individual benefits to such a scheme. In 2023 political party TOP floated a national civic service programme offering a $5000 tax-free savings boost to under-23s. But this week that talking point morphed into a talk radio pile-on deploying stereotypes and misusing statistics. Talk radio amps the idea Universal military service got universal backing from talkback callers to the Herald's stablemate Newstalk ZB this week. 'Kids that have got ADHD and some on the spectrum could actually benefit a lot from it,' one caller confidently claimed on Monday, basing her opinion on reality TV shows where people are 'stuck on an island and left to fend for themselves.' But ZB Afternoons host Matt Heath reckoned the problem wasn't young people on the spectrum – but on their phones. 'They'd be scared to be stripped of their digital rights, but a lot of them know that that would be a good thing for them. There's no doubt that you would feel a lot better after a day's physical activity out in the wop-wops,' he told ZB listeners last Monday When Gen-Xer Heath created the irreverent youth TV show Back of the Y 30 years ago, you'd have got long odds on him endorsing military service for young Kiwis on talk radio thirty years later. But he wasn't alone. 'I love the idea,' ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills said the same day. 'We're not talking about someone that wants to be a doctor, a teacher or an apprentice mechanic. We're talking about directionless people. Off you go to compulsory six months in military training. What's wrong with it?' 'One in four 15-to-19 year olds do not have a job. 25 per cent of young, healthy New Zealanders don't have work,' he told listeners. But many of the 25 percent without a job are still at school, university, polytechnic or in training. Universal or compulsory military service would also capture the would-be doctors, traders and tradies in work, education or training. But Mills' callers – most of whom sounded like their working lives were long behind them – still liked the sound of it for today's young Kiwis nonetheless. Sounding the alarm with stats While he wasn't explicitly backing universal national service, columnist and broadcaster Duncan Garner also reckoned compulsory bootcamp was an idea whose time had come. 'Our teenagers aren't working! One in four 15 to 19 year-olds are not employed, not working, not in education or training. One in four! 25 percent!' his Editor in Chief podcast proclaimed. 'The stats don't lie,' Garner insisted in his podcast. His column for The Listener headlined When did our teens stop working and whose fault is it? seized on Stats NZ data to the end of 2024 showing 23.8 percent of 15-19 year olds were jobless. But that included those still in school, university or in training and the actual proportion of under 25s not in employment, education, or training (NEETs) was 13.2 per cent in December 2024. In the Listener, Garner lamented 'tens of thousands of young men and women who don't attend school, work or some form of training … who are idle at home'. 'It's not just a ticking time bomb. Because I truly believe the bomb's gone off with these numbers.' 'They're gaming. They're on social media, doomscrolling. Not in any form of training or education,' he claimed on Editor in Chief. If Kiwi youths really are doomscrolling in their tens of thousands, that'd be great for the media – given that it means flipping through troubling news headlines many times each day. How many are there really? The MSD Insights report in 2023 said 39,000 people under 25 were receiving a main benefit in 2023 – and about half of those were getting Jobseeker Support. It'll be a bit more than that by now given rising unemployment in 2024, but it's likely there would be roughly 20,000 under 25s currently classed as 'work ready' but not working, learning or training today. The unemployment rate is higher – and growing faster – for 15-19 year olds than in any other age group. And the rate of young people who are NEET – not in employment, education, or training – went up more than one percent to 13.2 percent in the quarter to December – the last period where stats are available. Not good. But in the past decade the previous annual peak was 12.8 percent in the year to March 2021. The low point was 11.2 percent two years later. A Stats NZ analysis of 2004 to 2024 showed the NEET rate was higher than it is today from the GFC of 2008 until 2014. Even when we had a so-called rockstar economy back in the 2010s, the rate didn't go below 11.5 per cent, according to MSD stats. Jobs harder to get In his Listener article, Garner acknowledged it's harder for young people to get jobs now because older people here are working longer and we've had record immigration in recent years. An 20 percent analysis by Berl in March confirmed that. But Berl also found the labour force participation rate for 15-24 year olds increased in the last quarter of 2024 by 2.5 percent to 66.4 percent. It reached a high of 69.2 percent in 2024. In September that year, recruitment company Eclipse identified a 'surge in participation rates among 15-19 year olds in the last two years'. 'Factors such as tightened education policies, economic conditions, and evolving job market dynamics have influenced youth decisions,' Eclipse said, which – if true – means more young people adapting and not opting to sit idle at home. 'They are eager to work,' said Berl's analysis in March. 'It could also mean that youth and young adults are exploring other avenues of occupation, such as tertiary education – including vocational education.' And also Australia. 'The brain drain could become a brain flood if young adults … move there to take advantage of the stronger job market.' In which case, the prospect of compulsory military service would probably become another push factor for thousands of young Kiwis who do have education, training and plans. Unemployment for 15-24 year-olds is significantly lower in Australia, as Duncan Garner pointed out in The Listener, and welfare rules are also tighter. But in the first two months of this year alone, it climbed from under 8 percent to over 10 in Australia. Mediawatch couldn't find a rash of comment in the media there claiming a lost generation of jobless, directionless Australians are heading straight to the social welfare scrapheap, clutching their digital devices. Youth unemployment and welfare dependency are a real – and expensive – issues. National service is an interesting idea that could deliver social and individual benefits. But putting thousands of young people with prospects into military service alongside a much smaller number of jobless, undereducated ones is unlikely to ease the main problem of an underperforming, unproductive economy. And those in the media opining about it should deploy more of the discipline they claim is lacking in the young when they seize on statistics to reinforce stereotypes.
Scoop
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Mediawatch: Bad Stats And Stereotypes Boost Bootcamp Bid
, Mediawatch Presenter On Anzac Day, pundit Matthew Hooton floated the return of national military service in his weekly New Zealand Herald column headlined 'The case for universal military training'. After setting out the country's current financial problems, he proposed getting a bit more of a social bang out of the big bucks that - like it or not - we'll soon be spending on defence. "Why not invest it in universal military training - not as an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, like boot camps, but as a fence at the top?" he asked. He described the idea as "Outward Bound for everyone" but with military skills added - along with "cooking, cleaning, changing a tyre and making a school lunch - skills their Gen X and Gen Y parents have failed to teach them or develop themselves." Each year 70,000 New Zealanders turn 18, and he reckoned about 9000 of those aren't in employment, education or training and they're already costing taxpayers anyway. It's an interesting idea. Many nations - including several in the EU - have compulsory national service and there could be social and individual benefits to such a scheme. In 2023 political party TOP floated a national civic service programme offering a $5000 tax-free savings boost to under-23s. But this week that talking point morphed into a talk radio pile-on deploying stereotypes and misusing statistics. Talk radio amps the idea Universal military service got universal backing from talkback callers to the Herald's stablemate Newstalk ZB this week. "Kids that have got ADHD and some on the spectrum could actually benefit a lot from it," one caller confidently claimed on Monday, basing her opinion on reality TV shows where people are "stuck on an island and left to fend for themselves." But ZB Afternoons host Matt Heath reckoned the problem wasn't young people on the spectrum - but on their phones. "They'd be scared to be stripped of their digital rights, but a lot of them know that that would be a good thing for them. There's no doubt that you would feel a lot better after a day's physical activity out in the wop-wops," he told ZB listeners last Monday When Gen-Xer Heath created the irreverent youth TV show Back of the Y 30 years ago, you'd have got long odds on him endorsing military service for young Kiwis on talk radio thirty years later. But he wasn't alone. "I love the idea," ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills said the same day. "We're not talking about someone that wants to be a doctor, a teacher or an apprentice mechanic. We're talking about directionless people. Off you go to compulsory six months in military training. What's wrong with it?" "One in four 15-to-19 year olds do not have a job. 25 per cent of young, healthy New Zealanders don't have work," he told listeners. But many of the 25 percent without a job are still at school, university, polytechnic or in training. Universal or compulsory military service would also capture the would-be doctors, traders and tradies in work, education or training. But Mills' callers - most of whom sounded like their working lives were long behind them - still liked the sound of it for today's young Kiwis nonetheless. Sounding the alarm with stats While he wasn't explicitly backing universal national service, columnist and broadcaster Duncan Garner also reckoned compulsory bootcamp was an idea whose time had come. "Our teenagers aren't working! One in four 15 to 19 year-olds are not employed, not working, not in education or training. One in four! 25 percent!" his Editor in Chief podcast proclaimed. "The stats don't lie," Garner insisted in his podcast. His column for The Listener headlined When did our teens stop working and whose fault is it? seized on Stats NZ data to the end of 2024 showing 23.8 percent of 15-19 year olds were jobless. But that included those still in school, university or in training and the actual proportion of under 25s not in employment, education, or training (NEETs) was 13.2 per cent in December 2024. In the Listener, Garner lamented "tens of thousands of young men and women who don't attend school, work or some form of training ... who are idle at home". "It's not just a ticking time bomb. Because I truly believe the bomb's gone off with these numbers." "They're gaming. They're on social media, doomscrolling. Not in any form of training or education," he claimed on Editor in Chief. If Kiwi youths really are doomscrolling in their tens of thousands, that'd be great for the media - given that it means flipping through troubling news headlines many times each day. How many are there really? The MSD Insights report in 2023 said 39,000 people under 25 were receiving a main benefit in 2023 - and about half of those were getting Jobseeker Support. It'll be a bit more than that by now given rising unemployment in 2024, but it's likely there would be roughly 20,000 under 25s currently classed as 'work ready' but not working, learning or training today. The unemployment rate is higher - and growing faster - for 15-19 year olds than in any other age group. And the rate of young people who are NEET - not in employment, education, or training - went up more than one percent to 13.2 percent in the quarter to December - the last period where stats are available. Not good. But in the past decade the previous annual peak was 12.8 percent in the year to March 2021. The low point was 11.2 percent two years later. A Stats NZ analysis of 2004 to 2024 showed the NEET rate was higher than it is today from the GFC of 2008 until 2014. Even when we had a so-called rockstar economy back in the 2010s, the rate didn't go below 11.5 per cent, according to MSD stats. Jobs harder to get In his Listener article, Garner acknowledged it's harder for young people to get jobs now because older people here are working longer and we've had record immigration in recent years. An 20 percent analysis by Berl in March confirmed that. But Berl also found the labour force participation rate for 15-24 year olds increased in the last quarter of 2024 by 2.5 percent to 66.4 percent. It reached a high of 69.2 percent in 2024. In September that year, recruitment company Eclipse identified a "surge in participation rates among 15-19 year olds in the last two years". "Factors such as tightened education policies, economic conditions, and evolving job market dynamics have influenced youth decisions," Eclipse said, which - if true - means more young people adapting and not opting to sit idle at home. "They are eager to work," said Berl's analysis in March. "It could also mean that youth and young adults are exploring other avenues of occupation, such as tertiary education - including vocational education." And also Australia. "The brain drain could become a brain flood if young adults ... move there to take advantage of the stronger job market." In which case, the prospect of compulsory military service would probably become another push factor for thousands of young Kiwis who do have education, training and plans. Unemployment for 15-24 year-olds is significantly lower in Australia, as Duncan Garner pointed out in The Listener, and welfare rules are also tighter. But in the first two months of this year alone, it climbed from under 8 percent to over 10 in Australia. Mediawatch couldn't find a rash of comment in the media there claiming a lost generation of jobless, directionless Australians are heading straight to the social welfare scrapheap, clutching their digital devices. Youth unemployment and welfare dependency are a real - and expensive - issues. National service is an interesting idea that could deliver social and individual benefits. But putting thousands of young people with prospects into military service alongside a much smaller number of jobless, undereducated ones is unlikely to ease the main problem of an underperforming, unproductive economy. And those in the media opining about it should deploy more of the discipline they claim is lacking in the young when they seize on statistics to reinforce stereotypes.
RNZ News
03-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Mediawatch: Bad stats and stereotypes boost bootcamp bid
Matthew Hooton made a case of universal national service on Anzac Day in the New Zealand Herald. Photo: New Zealand Herald On Anzac Day, pundit Matthew Hooton floated the return of national military service in his weekly New Zealand Herald column headlined 'The case for universal military training' . After setting out the country's current financial problems, he proposed getting a bit more of a social bang out of the big bucks that - like it or not - we'll soon be spending on defence. "Why not invest it in universal military training - not as an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, like boot camps, but as a fence at the top?" he asked. He described the idea as "Outward Bound for everyone" but with military skills added - along with "cooking, cleaning, changing a tyre and making a school lunch - skills their Gen X and Gen Y parents have failed to teach them or develop themselves." Each year 70,000 New Zealanders turn 18, and he reckoned about 9000 of those aren't in employment, education or training and they're already costing taxpayers anyway. It's an interesting idea. Many nations - including several in the EU - have compulsory national service and there could be social and individual benefits to such a scheme. In 2023 political party TOP floated a national civic service programme offering a $5000 tax-free savings boost to under-23s. But this week that talking point morphed into a talk radio pile-on deploying stereotypes and misusing statistics. Universal military service got universal backing from talkback callers to the Herald's stablemate Newstalk ZB this week. "Kids that have got ADHD and some on the spectrum could actually benefit a lot from it," one caller confidently claimed on Monday, basing her opinion on reality TV shows where people are "stuck on an island and left to fend for themselves." But ZB Afternoons host Matt Heath reckoned the problem wasn't young people on the spectrum - but on their phones. "They'd be scared to be stripped of their digital rights, but a lot of them know that that would be a good thing for them. There's no doubt that you would feel a lot better after a day's physical activity out in the wop-wops," he told ZB listeners last Monday When Gen-Xer Heath created the irreverent youth TV show Back of the Y 30 years ago, you'd have got long odds on him endorsing military service for young Kiwis on talk radio thirty years later. But he wasn't alone. "I love the idea," ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills said the same day. "We're not talking about someone that wants to be a doctor, a teacher or an apprentice mechanic. We're talking about directionless people. Off you go to compulsory six months in military training. What's wrong with it?" "One in four 15-to-19 year olds do not have a job. 25 per cent of young, healthy New Zealanders don't have work," he told listeners. But many of the 25 percent without a job are still at school, university, polytechnic or in training. Universal or compulsory military service would also capture the would-be doctors, traders and tradies in work, education or training. But Mills' callers - most of whom sounded like their working lives were long behind them - still liked the sound of it for today's young Kiwis nonetheless. Duncan Garner's Editor In Chief podcast seized on alarming stats about young people without jobs. Photo: YouTube While he wasn't explicitly backing universal national service, columnist and broadcaster Duncan Garner also reckoned compulsory bootcamp was an idea whose time had come. "Our teenagers aren't working! One in four 15 to 19 year-olds are not employed, not working, not in education or training. One in four! 25 percent!" his Editor in Chief podcast proclaimed . "The stats don't lie," Garner insisted in his podcast. His column for The Listener headlined When did our teens stop working and whose fault is it? seized on Stats NZ data to the end of 2024 showing 23.8 percent of 15-19 year olds were jobless. But that included those still in school, university or in training and the actual proportion of under 25s not in employment, education, or training (NEETs) was 13.2 per cent in December 2024. In the Listener , Garner lamented "tens of thousands of young men and women who don't attend school, work or some form of training ... who are idle at home". "It's not just a ticking time bomb. Because I truly believe the bomb's gone off with these numbers." "They're gaming. They're on social media, doomscrolling. Not in any form of training or education," he claimed on Editor in Chief . If Kiwi youths really are doomscrolling in their tens of thousands, that'd be great for the media - given that it means flipping through troubling news headlines many times each day. The MSD Insights report in 2023 said 39,000 people under 25 were receiving a main benefit in 2023 - and about half of those were getting Jobseeker Support. It'll be a bit more than that by now given rising unemployment in 2024, but it's likely there would be roughly 20,000 under 25s currently classed as 'work ready' but not working, learning or training today. The unemployment rate is higher - and growing faster - for 15-19 year olds than in any other age group. And the rate of young people who are NEET - not in employment, education, or training - went up more than one percent to 13.2 percent in the quarter to December - the last period where stats are available. Not good. But in the past decade the previous annual peak was 12.8 percent in the year to March 2021. The low point was 11.2 percent two years later. A Stats NZ analysis of 2004 to 2024 showed the NEET rate was higher than it is today from the GFC of 2008 until 2014. Even when we had a so-called rockstar economy back in the 2010s, the rate didn't go below 11.5 per cent, according to MSD stats. In his Listener article, Garner acknowledged it's harder for young people to get jobs now because older people here are working longer and we've had record immigration in recent years. An [ analysis by Berl in March confirmed that. But Berl also found the labour force participation rate for 15-24 year olds increased in the last quarter of 2024 by 2.5 percent to 66.4 percent. It reached a high of 69.2 percent in 2024. In September that year, recruitment company Eclipse identified a "surge in participation rates among 15-19 year olds in the last two years". "Factors such as tightened education policies, economic conditions, and evolving job market dynamics have influenced youth decisions," Eclipse said, which - if true - means more young people adapting and not opting to sit idle at home. "They are eager to work," said Berl's analysis in March. "It could also mean that youth and young adults are exploring other avenues of occupation, such as tertiary education - including vocational education." And also Australia. "The brain drain could become a brain flood if young adults ... move there to take advantage of the stronger job market." In which case, the prospect of compulsory military service would probably become another push factor for thousands of young Kiwis who do have education, training and plans. Unemployment for 15-24 year-olds is significantly lower in Australia, as Duncan Garner pointed out in The Listener , and welfare rules are also tighter. But in the first two months of this year alone, it climbed from under 8 percent to over 10 in Australia. Mediawatch couldn't find a rash of comment in the media there claiming a lost generation of jobless, directionless Australians are heading straight to the social welfare scrapheap, clutching their digital devices. Youth unemployment and welfare dependency are a real - and expensive - issues. National service is an interesting idea that could deliver social and individual benefits. But putting thousands of young people with prospects into military service alongside a much smaller number of jobless, undereducated ones is unlikely to ease the main problem of an underperforming, unproductive economy. And those in the media opining about it should deploy more of the discipline they claim is lacking in the young when they seize on statistics to reinforce stereotypes.
NZ Herald
30-04-2025
- Lifestyle
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Top Kiwis on how they stay positive
Luckily, I was born a positive person. I have just always held a deep belief that I was a lucky girl and things were going to turn out as planned, no matter how many times it seemed unlikely. Call it wishful thinking, call it privilege, but it's always worked. So the only thing that tends to threaten my positivity is that little voice in my head called Imposter Syndrome. That's the one telling you you're not worthy, or you're not good enough. So I sit down with that voice before I perform, remind it that everybody is here because they want me to succeed and what's the worst that could happen ... and it tends to go away! Matt Heath, ZB Afternoons host and author of A life Less Punishing – 13 Ways To Love The Life You Got I am a fan of the philosopher William B. Irvine's approach. Everyone experiences obstacles professionally and personally. We feel set upon by admin, the economy, bad luck and sometimes other humans. Irvine flips this. He rebrands obstacles as challenges. If you can face a setback with strength, virtue, calmness and competence, you pass the test, get stronger and earn the right to feel pride in yourself. If you freak out, give up or blame others – you fail the challenge. It's a simple perspective trick. You are not set upon by events and obstacles in your path, you have been gifted an opportunity to show yourself what you are made of. It sounds simple but it keeps me positive. With this mindset, you almost look forward to the challenges of life. World-renowned lighting designer David Trubridge from Whakatū, Hawke's Bay. These last years of difficulty have brought me back home to Hawke's Bay. Most of our lighting production used to be exported before Covid. But now we sell most in Aotearoa. That, for me, is a great positive. I believe it is the way the world has to go: local. World politics is scary and unsettling. But the environmental news is far worse. Let's build our local community resilience and reduce our carbon footprint. We have just signed up for Buy NZ Made. Liam Messam, former All Blacks and Chiefs player and current Chiefs athlete development coach My old man was a wise man who always told me to focus on the positives in life, and that's something I've carried with me every day. For me, it's all about looking after my body and my mind – staying strong physically and mentally. That's why I hit the gym, get a sweat on and put in the mahi. Nothing beats that feeling after a solid workout – it sharpens the mind, lifts the wairua [spirit] and sets the tone for the rest of my day. Beach Hop organiser Noddy Watts I don't let little things become big things. I tell myself that everything will always work out and the worst scenario won't happen. I try to laugh at the challenges I face rather than be afraid of them. I like to turn things upside down to find a solution to an issue – say something ridiculous to change the brain's pathway. Eliminate the negative things in my life and surround myself with positive people. I won't catch other people's negativity and let it go past me – if I try to catch it then it sticks. Toby Williams – Pihitia Station at Whāngārā near Gisborne, current meat and wool chairman of New Zealand Federated Farmers 'I love the saying, you can't eat an elephant in one bite, but you can eat an elephant one bite at a time,' Toby Williams says. 'The focus should be on what you have done rather than what is left.' Williams prefers to focus on what he can control. 'I can't control prices or weather, but I can make a plan to deal with both good and bad.' Williams tries to keep a focus on his family and doing things together. 'I like to get off the farm and, when I do, I play golf. While that can be frustrating, I have great mates to play with and the beer always tastes better when you have played with mates.' Writer Airini Beautrais Even when I am feeling low, I try to find solace in nature. Something like a friendly spider in the bathroom, baby swans at the local lake, or watching a bee collecting pollen in a flower. I like to walk or cycle along the awa [river] and see the tidal movements, the light on the water, trees and birds. The world can be such a difficult place, it is good to remember there are also beautiful things all around us. Taupō author In running a small business, there are always challenges, things go wrong and problem-solving is part of daily life. I've learned that staying positive is about perspective, focusing on what is working and being grateful for what I have. I also find purpose in giving back. Through my social media, I proudly support Kura Kai as a brand ambassador. A great charity that provides hearty, home-cooked meals for freezers in local schools. Showcasing their work helps raise awareness and ensures more whānau in need are supported. One NZ CEO Jason Paris I believe that New Zealand is the greatest country to live and work in and that it's a privilege to be able to call yourself a Kiwi. Whenever I hear people talking about New Zealand's challenges or shortfalls, I try and talk about the opportunities and upside available. Whenever I hear negative stories about our economy, I share stories about New Zealanders that have ambition, are taking risks and going for growth. Having the mindset that every challenge is an opportunity is important for New Zealand's future success. Suzy Cato, children's entertainer There's something about travelling north, over the Brynderwyns, that lifts my spirits. I can't fully explain it. It's like bubbles of excitement that rise from my puku [tummy]; making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and my eyes glisten with tears. It's a feeling that I don't get to experience often enough, so I tend to find solace in music – music lifts and shifts me out of the blues and that's the reason I wrote the song Sprinkle a Little Sunshine with Kath Bee – to hopefully lift and shift the mood of tamariki [children] with something upbeat and positive. Thank you to all the renowned Kiwis who shared a bit more about their strategies for staying positive and navigating adversity. On that note, it feels fitting to end this story with Suzy's song:
