Access to $4.6 million of funding helped support job placement subsidies during the lockdown. “Our region has a solid plan for our return to better,” Gilliland said in a statement released ahead of the function. “We need to be OK with uncertainty, taking risks, and taking action. “To be successful, we have to start thinking now about the possibilities and opportunities across all sectors that will sustain and improve the thriving Taranaki we have today.” Gilliland said unemployment figures among 15 to 24-year-olds were dropping but were still among the highest in New Zealand, at 13 per cent, particularly among youth, Maori, and women.