Davis Kelvin: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Davis Kelvin: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:674;Page:20448] 
KELVIN DAVIS (Labour) 
: 
 Tena koe. Everyone knows that the Labour Party was born in the coalmines of the West Coast so it is only appropriate and understandable that we have a Labour member of Parliament from the West Coast the Hon Damien O’Connor speaking with some passion about the events that occurred at Pike River. 
I know that the whole country and the whole House are upset about what happened at Pike River. It is imperative that this Government creates the conditions that prevent that sort of tragedy from happening again. Whether workers are working in a mine or in a McDonald’s they know that the Labour Party is their party and that we are here to stand up for their rights and their conditions. Contrast that with the Government opposite which is there for the employers and not the employees. We know that the Government’s prevailing belief is that employers are the benefactors and employees are the beneficiaries and that workers the employees are the people who should just do the work and be grateful; they should be grateful that they have been given an opportunity to earn a bit of money. The benefactors and the party that supports them tend to forget that businesses thrive and make money because of the work of the employees the people who are there doing the hard work. 
One of the worst pieces of legislation to be passed by the House as a result of the National Government is the 90-day trial period legislation which my colleague Darien Fenton touched on. One of our concerns about the 90-day trial period for businesses with fewer than 20 employees was that the 90-day trial period would then be changed so that it affected all employees of all businesses and that was exactly what came to pass. Now our fear is that the 90 days will soon be extended out to 180 days and after that 180 days it will be extended out to 365 days and before we know it all employees at any time will be able to be sacked for no reason whatsoever without any recourse available to them at all. 
Trial periods are meant to be voluntary and employers can make an offer of employment that includes a trial period of up to 90 days. Trial periods are voluntary and must be agreed to in writing and negotiated in good faith as part of the employment agreement. That smacks of—what is it? It implies that there is some sort of even power between the employer and the employee that there is a relationship based on equality. The reality we know is that when somebody walks into a job—and in the situation the country faces at the moment there are not too many jobs so people are desperate—they will go in and they will be too scared to negotiate anything. They will just take what the employer says and live with it. We know that that Government over there likes that. 
Remember that that is the Government with a Prime Minister who was caught by a reporter before the 2008 election up in Kerikeri when he was addressing a business function. He said that he would love to see wages drop. Then the reporter by the name of Greg Robertson who works for the  
Bay Chronicle 
 in Kerikeri had pressure put on him to retract that statement. This is the Government that would love to see wages drop. This is the Government that says that our wages being 30 percent less than Australia’s is a competitive advantage. That is a disgrace. That is saying the Government over there is happy for our people to earn less in order to make it feel good. 
Carol Beaumont 
: What does it mean? They all go to Australia. 
KELVIN DAVIS 
: That is exactly the problem—that is exactly the problem. It is why towns such as Kaitaia and towns such as Whangarei are emptying out of employees. They are all heading across the Tasman. There is a rugby club up near Whangarei called Hikurangi that could form two rugby teams in Perth more easily than it can form one rugby team up in the north because all of the players over the last 2 or 3 years have moved over to Perth. They are getting jobs there because the employment and the labour laws over there are a lot friendlier to workers. I have spoken to the freezing workers up north. I have spoken to them and I have heard how experienced workers of 12 15 and 20 years are being laid off. 
Vote agreed to.