Belich CamillaCAMILLA BELICH (Labour): Thank you.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Sorry I was actually focusing on someone else because I had a different name on here. Sorry about that. Thank you.CAMILLA BELICH: That's OK. That's fine. I'm grateful for the call. Thank you for allowing me to take this call in this Budget debate. I do want to start by saying something about health actually—something celebratory about health as we are celebrating a few things in the House tonight. And just to acknowledge the 20th anniversary of Evolve Wellington Youth Service that we've been celebrating in the Grand Hall tonight—an amazing service that has contributed a lot to New Zealand. Possibly not as good as the engagement news on the other side of the House but still celebratory none the less.I want to talk in this Budget debate tonight about workers' rights. Make no mistake what we are witnessing right now is the most systematic dismantling of the rights of working people since 1991. Before the Budget we had fair pay agreements that had been key for achieving better conditions in Australia—gone. Ninety-day trials extended to all workplaces—and I won't be the only one in this House who's already receiving emails from people who have been sacked under 90-day trials telling me that they feel they've been treated unfairly and the only thing I can say to them is: this Government has taken away your rights; there is nothing you can do. The minimum wage—this was an effective cut even though the Minister wanted to have it even lower than that. So we were thinking before the Budget surely there will be something for working people in Budget 2024. The rhetoric was there but the policies were not. This Government's Budget has cut employment relations services cut workplace health and safety cut WorkSafe and cut funding for screen actors' occupational bargaining. Cuts for the much-needed implementation of the plant and structures regulation that would make New Zealand workplaces safer cuts to pay equity no work on pay transparency no work on modern slavery—this Government in this Budget is taking working people backwards. That's not all. They've also sacked over 6000 public servants. That might not be accurate; I think it's probably more by now but unemployment is taking off in a cost of living crisis.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Not enough" they say.CAMILLA BELICH: This is shameful. "Not enough" they say. Well there you go. That is the respect that that side of the House has for the working people of New Zealand public servants. I saw the Prime Minister pay tribute to President Biden and say "Oh he spent 50 years in public service. What a good guy." Well no such respect for his colleagues on that side of the House for people working in the best interests of New Zealand.So what are they doing? They have to be doing something. They've got all these ministries there allegedly doing all this work. Well let me tell you: more cuts. Cuts to the rights of New Zealanders to take personal grievances and this is all outlined in the Budget. Cuts for workers to go to the authority to challenge their employment status. You can no longer do this if the ACT Party gets its way and the Minister gets their way. Cutting sick leave against the promise of the Prime Minister. Cuts to the minimum wage for disabled workers. This is all in the Budget taking New Zealand workers backwards again.What makes it even more disturbing is they're doing it with a smile on their face. They are saying to New Zealanders that it is them not us that are the party delivering for working people but—Hon Kieran McAnulty: It's rubbish.CAMILLA BELICH: Exactly; rubbish. No one buys that for a second. People have the right to be suspicious when the fox takes a sudden interest in the workings of the hen house. Instead of openly admitting their desire to deregulate the labour market cut worker entitlements and weaken the workplace relations system they mask their agenda with a euphemism of reviews. What are these reviews? They have handpicked people to hear from to ask them about policies. They have a policy and they basically choose the people that they want to hear from so they get the answers that they want to hear. This is not consultation. In my day we called that a meeting with your friends.The Minister has chosen not to hear from New Zealanders with opposing views. I have to say I look at members on the other side of the House members of the National Party and I know that they know that this is not how we do things in New Zealand. We need to make sure we hear opposing views when we make policy decisions. We need to make sure we respect the representatives of working people that the Minister is currently ignoring. This is a worrying change from the status quo that has been in place under successive Governments and it needs to stop. The Minister needs to make sure that there is a mandate for the changes because the changes that they're bringing in are not what the majority of New Zealand voters voted for. It's wrong it's regressive and it will take working people in New Zealand backwards."