Labour caucus reshuffle puts greater emphasis on finance and youth employment as it attacks National's handling of the economy

Labour Party leader Phil Goff has unveiled a caucus reshuffle that puts a greater emphasis on finance and youth employment issues as Labour gears up for the election on November 26.

The reshuffle comes the same day as figures showing New Zealand's unemployment rate rose from 6.4% to 6.8% in the December quarter from September, drawing criticism from Labour over the National-led government's handling of the economy as it struggles to exit from recession.

Labour Finance spokesman David Cunliffe has kept his spot at number three on the front bench, behind Goff and deputy leader Annette King.

Below Cunliffe now is associate finance spokesman David Parker, who has moved up from number 10 to number four on the front bench. Parker will also be responsible for the Economic Development role, which he keeps, and Energy, which he has taken off Nanaia Mahuta.

Labour 'hard-man' Trevor Mallard, at number nine on the front bench, has been handed an Associate Finance spokesman role, to go with his Rugby World Cup, America's Cup and Sport and Recreation portfolios. Labour's other Associate Finance spokesman is Clayton Cosgrove at number six, who keeps the role along with the State Owned Enterprise and Law & Order portfolios.

It is understood Mallard will take on a 'fiscal' role to do with government spending, in a campaign where all parties' election promises will be closely scrutinised for cost amid calls for government to cut its spending.

Labour had a very strong finance team, Goff told media in Wellington.

“David Parker has particular responsibilities in that area, and it’s a link between economic development and finance policies," Goff said.

"Trevor Mallard was the hard man as Associate Minister of Finance, making sure that we kept within our budget over the nine years of [the last] Labour government. I think those two members, plus Clayton Cosgrove, led by David Cunliffe, makes a very strong finance team," he said.

Finance spokesman David Cunliffe said he was extremely happy with Mallard joining the finance team.

"Trevor’s experience, especially around budget processes, will be extremely valuable," Cunliffe told interest.co.nz.

Ardern to tackle youth unemployment...

In another move, Goff gave the employment portfolio to Jacinda Ardern, who also kept her portfolio of Youth Affairs.

There was a connection in giving Ardern the two portfolios together, Goff said.

"Twenty per cent of our young people are currently out of work, and even more frighteningly one in two of our Maori and Pacifica young women leaving school go into unemployment [and] one in three of the boys. That’s a lost generation, that’s a social disaster waiting to happen for New Zealand," he said.

"Jacinda has worked in that area and will pick up the wider employment portfolio with real relish."

"You can’t right off a new generation of school leavers coming out. The costs of that in social terms will be enormous, and in human terms, and in economic terms. One in five of the workforce within a few years will be Maori or Pacifica, and to write-off half of the school leavers in those groups now, is a social and economic catastrophe waiting to happen," Goff said.

...and exodus to Australia

There was currently not the job creation in New Zealand required to tackle unemployment, Ardern said after the reshuffle.

"[National] have consistently claimed that the recession was the cause of the unemployment levels we’ve seen," she said.

"But Labour’s argument has been an active government who gets off the sidelines, who starts investing in R&D (research and development), who starts growing the economy, and who also focuses on increasing individual skills, means we could have kept unemployment probably at a much lower rate than we have."

Halting the exodus of workers to Australia was about higher incomes and better jobs, Ardern said.

“I think that the exodus of New Zealanders across the ditch is indicative of the fact that in New Zealand we do have low wages and job opportunities at the moment, as indicated by unemployment figures, the job market is pretty poor," she said.

There was a two pronged approach in getting youth back into the labour market.

"Firstly there’s the issue of job creation generally, and the government could be taking a much more active role in job creation. That’s about research and development, that’s about ensuring that the things we’re doing to stimulate the economy create jobs,” Ardern said.

"The second thing though is about individuals. Making sure that they’ve got the skills that are required to get into work, and that’s probably where our focus need to be for young people currently," she said.

"It’s absolutely unacceptable that at present we have such high levels of youth unemployment and as Phil has just said, we’re creating a lost generation at present, at the same levels seen in the 90s and that’s something we’ll be tackling head-on."

Twyford gets Local Govt as well as Auckland Issues, argues no conflict of interest

Meanwhile, MP Phil Twyford, who holds Labour’s Auckland Issues portfolio, was also handed the Local Government portfolio.

“We’re going to put the 'local' genuinely back into 'local government', unlike the [current Local Government Minister] Rodney Hide version," Twyford said.

"The current Minister has left a lot of damage in the local government sector, and I’ll be campaigning this year to really hold the government to account for that, and to push through a return to local democracy and local control," he said.

Local government had got very Auckland-centric recently “only because the creation of the Super City was such a big and ambitious project and it obviously drew a lot of attention,” Twyford said.

“But actually the same sorts of underlying issues about democracy, about the public interest, holding onto assets, those things are important wherever you go in New Zealand.”

The Auckland issues portfolio was not a parochial ‘arguing for more dollars, or more motorways for Auckland’ portfolio, so there was no danger of a bias toward Auckland in his Local Government role, Twyford said..

"It’s about making sure that the government has a strategy in place for our country’s biggest city. I think it dovetails nicely together with Local Government – so many of the issue overlap. It’s about ensuring central government’s ensuring the goods for communities, towns, cities from one end of New Zealand to the other,” he said.

Twyford said he would be making sure he got around the country, and not just be stuck in Auckland because of the Auckland Issues portfolio.

“I will be going to Invercargill, I will be going to the Far North, because I want to hear what Mayors, councillors and local board members all around the country think what we should be doing," he said.

On talk of Wellington possibly following Auckland's approach and merging the region's councils like in the Super City, Twyford said it was fundamentally it’s an issue for Wellington.

"Central government needs to play a supportive role to the aspirations of local communities in Wellington, not ram it through against the wishes of local communities, like Rodney Hide did in Auckland," Twyford said.

“Rodney Hide talked a lot about cutting rates, but didn’t do the hard work needed to actually push rates down. I will be casting a very critical eye on the rates burden faced by New Zealanders and working out how New Zealanders can get better value for money from their councils," he said.

The work Twyford had done on Auckland over the last few years had made him realise “how important councils are to the lives of Kiwis day-by-day".

"I think there are some important reforms to be made to make sure New Zealanders get better service, that we actually strengthen the local democracy and not undermine it like Rodney Hide’s done for the last two years. I’m interested in accountability democracy and local control. Those are the things we’ll be taking into the election campain," he said.

(Updates with Cunliffe comments on Mallard joining finance team, Twyford's Local Govt role and quotes line on expected Mallard responsibilities, Ardern comments, video, Goff comments on Ardern, finance team)