Clark wins 'girl power' praise at youth forum

WELLINGTON - Labour leader Helen Clark was rewarded with the label of New Zealand's version of "girl power" at a youth election forum in Wellington yesterday.

She was presented with a Spice Girls bracelet and ring at the end of her presentation to about 50 young people who had been questioning politicians on their policies for young New Zealanders.

Helen Clark told the forum that education and training were critical and schools needed to be more relevant to students so they stayed, even if they were not that academically inclined.

She cited the success of a sports academy at Christchurch's Aranui High School, which had previously had a high drop-out rate.

"Everybody has a talent at something. The question is how do we unlock that talent.

"You can expect us to be very encouraging of the kinds of programmes in schools which will keep students interested and keep them there."

She said Labour was keen to support schools to provide all leavers with an exit plan to help them work out their next steps.

Labour would also lower the adult minimum wage to 18 and create an apprenticeship programme.

Supporting youth culture was a priority, through the local content quota on radio and television.

She said Labour's aim was to make sure the quota applied to emerging artists more than just to New Zealand music which had already been released.

- NZPA