The Labour party is accusing the government of being out of touch after the deputy Prime Minister said a lot of New Zealanders who were available for farm work were "pretty damned hopeless".
Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Bill English made the comments at a Federated Farmers meeting last week, based on what he had been told by many employers.
He said people seeking jobs through the Ministry of Social Development did not show up to jobs they were offered and did not stay in them.
Labour MP Iain Lees-Galloway said it showed the Government had given up on young people.
"I think it just shows how he is getting more and more arrogant, and more and more out of touch with what most New Zealand families actually need from a government, which is to train our young people, to have the skills and the aptitude to take on work."
