Flexible Fund – Mayors Taskforce

Fact Sheet

Work and Income regions are currently preparing proposals to assist young people through the transition from school to work as part of the Mayor’s Taskforce for Jobs. This is one of the Jobs Jolt budget initiatives that were launched in August 2003.

- Work and Income has been working closely with Mayors and local government for some time and have approximately 100 joint initiatives with Mayors and their councils. These initiatives complement the Mayor’s Taskforce for Jobs proposals currently under consideration.

- One example is an initiative in Dunedin entitled ‘Big Four’. This has been established to collaborate on employment issues across the Health, Housing, Education and Employment sectors as well as local government.

- In Westport with ‘Youthworks’ the Employment Catalyst Fund, Buller District Council, Community Employment Group and Work and Income have partnered to create an integrated approach in the creation of employment opportunities for young people. After one year this project is starting to achieve some good results for young people and will receive our continued support.

- Work and Income is committed to the combined Government and Mayor’s Taskforce goal of ensuring that all youth between the ages of 15 to 19 are in appropriate education or training activities by 2007. We are continuing to work alongside the local councils to deliver a growing number of opportunities to youth.

- We also publish a Mayor’s Taskforce for Jobs newsletter on a two-monthly basis which highlights regional youth initiatives in partnership with local councils.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>