Henare Tau: Employment Relations (Film Production Work) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Henare Tau: Employment Relations (Film Production Work) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
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Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
: 
 Thank you for that assistance Mr Chairperson. In this debate I am reminded of the old communist days when the Iron Curtain was shut down on most of Europe and a few other nations that most of those members have visited in their prime. The most interesting thing is that the blacklist the boycott that was promulgated by the unions the Council of Trade Unions— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: “Dat”? 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Scab? No no. The boycott was promulgated by none other than the Australian unions in partnership I suppose with Helen Kelly. That destroyed a word that those members love to get on their hind legs about: “trust”. The boycott ruined the industry trust. Gerry Brownlee John Key Nick Smith and the rest of the crew from New Zealand are trying to work up that trust again because it has been so damaged. So a bit of clarity was needed a bit of clear thinking about who is an employee and who is an independent contractor. As I am a poor old fulla from Otara from South Auckland explaining it to me would be something like this: if someone signs on as an independent contractor then that is what they are; if someone signs on as an employee that is what they are. That is all this bill does. After four court appearances—the courts could not get it right after the first one the second one or the third one—there was no clarity. I am not picking which court was right or wrong. But the fact of the matter is that now there is clarity. Now the employee has their rights and the independent contractor has their rights. 
I will let the Committee know something else about my colourful career. I can proudly say that in the early 1980s—members can cast their minds back if they will—I acted alongside Jodie Foster and John Lithgow as an extra in a movie that was filmed in Auckland. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I’m sure it was a big hit. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: It was a huge hit. It did not come out on video for a while but it was called  
Mesmerized 
. I tell members that it was the easiest $280 I made in a long long time—$280 in the hand and all I had to do was walk from point A to point B. 
Grant Robertson 
: How many takes? 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: One take. It was all over in 10 minutes. Looking back on that huge career move of mine I was glad that at the end of the day I could be paid. I could put milk in the fridge and butter and bread on the table for my flatmates and boy I was happy. This industry is worth $2.8 billion to this country at least—a conservative estimate. The people who will reap the rewards of what we do today are workers in this country—workers whom members on that side of the Chamber said they thought they were always there for. Well if they were there for them they would have supported this bill yesterday not taken this Parliament well into Friday and well into the constituency work that many members of Parliament have to do on a Friday and on a Saturday as well. 
I am a great supporter of industry and workers in this country. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Hands out of your pocket when you’re talking. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: No no. I have a pocket and all I have in it is a couple of Lotto tickets. I tell members that if we had not done what we are doing today such tickets would have been the only thing that the workers whom Labour members say they support could rely on. But now workers have some clarity and they have a clear distinction between what an employee is and what an independent contractor is. As I said earlier they need to make the choice. Why is it that Labour members feel it is necessary to tell workers what to do? Why is it necessary for them always to get up and say that the workers deserve this that and the other thing; and that the workers believe this that and the other thing? Why is it that thousands of workers thousands of workers in this industry marched up and down this nation— 
Hon Dr Wayne Mapp 
: On Labour Day. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: —on Labour Day? They did that on Labour Day. It was supposed to be a day in thanks for the 8-hour day. 
Hon Dr Wayne Mapp 
: They wanted work. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: They wanted work and they would not have been allowed to work if this dispute had kept on. If Warner Bros had not been allowed in this country which is what members on that side of the Chamber wanted in the end then there would have been no work for the many people out there. It is not just actors. With one actor there are hundreds—more—people employed in the industry; there are hundreds and hundreds. The bigger the film the more people involved. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Not necessarily. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Not necessarily but members know what I am talking about. Thousands and thousands of people rely on the work that comes not only from the big films but from the small films as well. Labour wanted to take away that right. All we are doing is making it clear for those people. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: Rubbish! 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: It is pretty apparent that we are not making it clear for Labour members because they still do not understand. Trevor Mallard is the lead speaker on that side. 
Grant Robertson 
: He is the spokesperson on labour Tau. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Yes. He took 10 minutes—a 10-minute speech two calls—and 7½ minutes was just personal abuse. It was personal abuse. There was no mention of the definition of “employee” and no mention of the definition of “independent contractor”. No he did not worry about that. The fact of the matter is that if workers sign on as employees that is what they are. If they sign on as independent contractors that is what they are. They start they finish end of story. What is so terrible about that? Who knows? That is why we are here. We are making sure that that is clear. We are making sure it is clear for the industry workers and everybody else.