Mr Goff’s new task to fire up youth

Press, 5 September 1987, Page 34

Mr Goff’s new task to fire up youth

By

COLLEEN FAHEY,

NZPA political reporter Wellington Tune in, turn on and drop out was the catchcry for the anti-establish-ment kids of Philip Goffs generation. But though the new “establishment” Minister of Youth Affairs — the youngest member of the cabinet — wants the 1987 generation of young people tuned in — he wants them tuned to their potential and turned on by the chances they have to use it. Thinking about the brand-new Ministry’s role made him consider what youth was — “apart from a receding asset from my point of view,” said Mr Goff, aged 34, in an interview. “It’s a time of challenge, it’s a time of learning, a time of opportunity. It’s also a time of difficult and somewhat traumatic transition from childhood to adulthood. “Really it’s about making the most of your life." He wanted the Ministry to cater for all young people, not just the disadvantaged, or those with lots of advantages in life. Mr Goff said he already had several possibilities to explore, but would have to find out how much money the ministry had to spend before he could look at putting them into practice. One of the challenges of society was to acknowledge that people were different, but to keep and foster the idea that New

Zealand was one nation, and that everyone contributed to its well-being. “Too many young people grow up with a perspective on only one section of society,” Mr Goff said. “It’s bad, in the sense that you look right around the world and see what sectarianism has done to communities, whether it be Northern Ireland, the Middle East or whatever.”

The Movin’ On programme, set up to encourage young people to make more use of sports and other clubs, also brought people from different backgrounds together.

Mr Goff said he was keen for the Ministry to promote that programme among young people. He was also looking at extending youth exchange programmes as a way to let young people see beyond their immediate community. City kids swapping places with young people from the country for a while would give both the chance to see another side of New Zealand life. To deepen the understanding between different ethnic groups in New Zealand, young Maori and pakeha people could visit the Pacific Islands under exchange programmes. “But that might need an airline sponsorship,” he said. Mr Goff said he wanted more young people to take part in schemes such as Outward Bound, Outdoor Recreation, and Spirit of Adventure.

“All these bring in a whole cross-section of people. They encourage people to learn to work together and to achieve a whole lot of things never thought possible.” “That is important in terms of self-confidence, in self-esteem, and the sort of society we are building.”

Youth Association with the Conservation Corp would let people get around New Zealand, see precisely what the environment had to offer, and contribute to that. “Motivation is at the heart of it. A lot of the kids that miss out, miss out because they don’t have that motivation.

“It’s not just disadvantaged kids, either. It’s a whole cross-section of kids in the community that never try something “because it may not be in their self-image, or they never try it because they’re scared of failing. “I don’t think you can change the world overnight — much as I once believed you could — but I think you can start moving in that direction,” Mr Goff said.

The system for putting those ideas into practice had yet to be worked out.

While there was a Minister of Youth Affairs, there would not necessarily be a bureaucratic Ministry of Youth Affairs, but the Labour manifesto had referred to setting up a special unit which would be aimed at providing policy advice on youth affairs. Mr Goff said there were a number of organisations

which tied in with Youth Affairs, including the Youth and Community Development section of Internal Affairs, the Youth Advisory Council and the National Youth Council.

Every Government department had some bearing on Youth Affairs.

Because the Government did not want duplication of effort or gaps in policy, it had recently set up an official co-ordinat-ing committee to work with each department.

Mr Goff would look at using that committee, and would also study various models such as the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. “But I certainly won’t want to be creating a bureaucracy for the sake of it,” he said. New staff would only be appointed for policy advice, and would be a “smallish,” highly motivated group. The Ministry would encourage young people to see it as a channel for comment and input on government policy. There was a danger in all areas, but particularly Youth Affairs, of Government being seen as a Big Brother, which knows what is best for people.

“I think we have to know how to listen when young people are talking.”

Asked how he would react if young people said they were not interested in goals their elders thought were desirable, such as employment, education or even sobriety, Mr Goff said there were areas on which he drew a very firm line.

“If someone tells me: ‘Well, I just don’t want to work’; I say: well, that’s fine, that is your decision, but don’t expect the rest of us to support you.”

He said the Youth Affairs job tied in particularly well with his portfolio of Employment, as one third of people out of work were under 20.

“That is a major task, which, again has no simple solutions, but we are working on it at an economic level and skills development level.”

Mr Goff is also the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Education, both of which tied in with employment and training for young people.

The member of Parliament for Horowhenua, Mrs Annette King, who is Mr Goff’s Parliamentary Undersecretary for Youth Affairs, would be a great help, and would have lots of ideas for the job, he said.

Asked why he was given the Youth Affairs job, he said, “I think I fell victim to it because I was the youngest member of the Cabinet.”

As people grew older, their memories of the situations they faced as young people faded.

But Mr Goff said he could still remember what it was like to be young. “It’s very easy for me, as a politician, to stand up and preach about these young fools and the way they drive their cars, but I think back on some of the appalling things I did when I was that age. It rubs my conscience a little.”