Williams PotoSCREEN INDUSTRY WORKERS BILLThird ReadingHon POTO WILLIAMS (Minister of Conservation) on behalf of the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: I present a legislative statement on the Screen Industry Workers Bill.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon POTO WILLIAMS: 谢谢Madam Speaker. I move That the Screen Industry Workers Bill be now read a third time.Firstly I'd like to thank the officials the clerks and the select committee members who worked on this bill and those members who submitted and presented to the committee. When people talk about Aotearoa New Zealand's screen industry they mention our breathtaking landscapes they'll recall spectacular visual effects and digital artistry they'll think of strange and fascinating fictional worlds beyond our own. What they don't see are the people behind the creations. They don't see that it is our talented crew who make these impossible shoots possible—our writers who tell our stories to the world and our actors who deliver authentic and moving performances. They don't see the combinations of creative vision and logistical nous required when producers bring stories to life.The success of our screen industry reflects the quality of work that goes into making a production. The bill honours that work and delivers on a commitment to restore collective bargaining rights to the screen industry. Those rights were removed when the previous Government legislated under urgency to remove film production workers from the legal definition of an employee" known as the "Hobbit law". For more than a decade film production workers have been prevented from testing their employment status to gain access to fundamental employment protections. As of 2018 there are 15000 people doing screen production and post-production work. Of these workers 85 percent—12800—were hired contractors. This means an industry where the majority of workers cannot bargain collectively or access minimum employment entitlements such as the minimum wage. Most screen production workers' median monthly income earnings are under $4000. Workers are offered contracts on a "take it or leave it" basis demonstrating the imbalance in bargaining power between them and the people who hire them.In 2018 we asked the industry to find a new way forward for themselves and we set up the Film Industry Working Group. We asked them whether they could design a system that would allow workers to bargain collectively while giving production companies the certainty they need. The Film Industry Working Group didn't just manage to design a new model they unanimously recommended to Government to adopt it. Their model represented their shared vision for a thriving industry and forms the basis of the Screen Industry Workers Bill. We want our screen industry to flourish and to empower workers and the people who hire them referred to as "engagers". The Screen Industry Workers Bill will help to achieve this.The legislation has several components. First it creates new rules for individual contracts in the screen industry—these are agreements between the workers and the engagers. The bill will give all workers the opportunity to negotiate their contracts and requires that certain types of terms be included in all contracts. It prevents contracts from being terminated just because workers exercise a right they have under law or their contract. Next the bill provides a framework for collective bargaining in the screen industry. There are two types of bargaining that can take place under this legislation. The first is occupational bargaining which would result in new minimum terms and conditions of work across the industry. These minimum terms can be built on through the second type of collective bargaining known as "enterprise bargaining". This type of bargaining can take place within single productions or companies. As with any other collective relationship problems may arise in contracting relationships or during collective bargaining. In these situations the legislation allows parties in the screen industry to use dispute resolution processes that already exist in the employment system. This legislation is novel and has been designed based on the unique features of the screen industry. For this reason the bill requires a review to be started before the fifth anniversary of its commencement. This will allow for reflection on whether this new workplace relations regime for the screen industry is working well.Finally I'd like to address the misguided belief the Opposition has about the bill. Members of the Opposition have previously argued that the bill creates a less flexible labour market. This concern stems from the mistaken belief that occupational contracts will remove the right for individual workers and engagers to agree their own terms. This is incorrect. Individual workers and engagers can still negotiate contract terms. However they cannot go beyond any minimum terms set by the industry through collective bargaining. This is appropriate because it represents the industry's articulation of minimum working standards. This is not a model that the Government alone could have devised and I want to acknowledge the Film Industry Working Group and other stakeholders in the screen industry. They deserve recognition and credit for their work on this bill since 2018.Ultimately the bill represents compromise and a collective vision and it's an example of what can be achieved through meaningful and respectful tripartite processes and when workers employers and the Government come together. The legislation provides the groundwork for a new era in screen industry. As our screen industry continues to grow it will help to ensure we aren't just known for great works we produce but that our screen industry is also known as a great place to work. I commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that the motion be agreed to."