Horan Brendan: Minimum Wage (Starting-out Wage) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Horan Brendan: Minimum Wage (Starting-out Wage) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 18 October 2012. Volume:684;Page:6014. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
BRENDAN HORAN (NZ First) 
: 
 I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to speak against this abominable piece of [ 
Interruption 
]—well it is hard to say really. You know sometimes it is hard to believe that the MPs who prop up this National-led Government live in the real world—particularly after listening to Jami-Lee Ross—especially when it comes to the wages paid to the ordinary working folk of New Zealand. Since 2008 there has been a steady attack on the rights of workers with policies by this Government thinly disguised as “pro-jobs” or some other spin-doctored euphemism. The minimum adult wage of $13.50 an hour is apparently according to this Government hindering employment opportunities for the young. So a lower rate of $10.80 an hour for teenagers starts next April. 
The Government says this will create 2000 new jobs over 2 years but the problem is that the latest household labour force survey showed that 61700 15 to 24-year-olds are unemployed and that is up from 41100 4 years ago. So under the stewardship of Messrs Key English and company there has been a 50 percent increase in youth unemployment but they will create 2000 new jobs over the next 2 years by reducing pay rates. That is the sort of twisted logic generated by fat cats the unscrupulous who believe they can wallow in their wealth off the backs of hard-working young New Zealanders. Nobody minds a successful individual enjoying the results of hard work and ingenuity but most New Zealanders believe in the concept of a fair go. But not this Government—oh no. The minimum adult wage of $13.50 an hour amounts to about $540 a week and that is about $455 in the hand. This is a low wage but many people are still losing their jobs as under this Government the economy continues to spiral downward. When National came into office it gave tax cuts to the rich and it increased GST. The Westpac boss on his multimillion-dollar salary got a tax cut of $5000 a week in the hand. We in New Zealand First do not believe this is fair but at least it clearly shows which side this Government is on and it is not on the side of those people who are earning $13.50 an hour and it is certainly not on the side of those young people who are soon to be earning $10.80 an hour. Fairness aside if we combine these cuts shall we say with the job cuts such as those in KiwiRail the Inland Revenue Department Solid Energy and it goes on it begs the question how does this Government make any money? How does this Government make up for lost taxes? When we then add a low-wage system into the mix it becomes obvious that this Government is creating a future with a serious shortfall of taxable income because of a low-wage mentality declining birth rates increasing longevity and a complete lack of fiscal prudence or responsibility. 
The economic model that this Government subscribes to clearly is not working does not work and will not work. This Minimum Wage (Starting-out Wage) Amendment Bill is a lamentable piece of legislation and if the Government thinks this will in any way create some sort of economic nirvana or contribute as a panacea-type cure for our economically distraught country then think again. In fact it should wake up and slap itself for even dreaming about it. It is plunging this country into a low-wage economic downward spiral. 
You know last night this Government had the opportunity to show an intelligent democratic face to the people of New Zealand. It had the opportunity to take Winston Peters’ member’s bill—the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Amending Primary Function of Bank) Amendment Bill—which would have provided an essential tool to help our country get out of its economic malaise but no that bar was too high for this Government. Here was a tool where correctly used we could put a floor and a ceiling on the New Zealand dollar devalue by 15 to 20 percent and reinvigorate the manufacturing sector. That means getting back those 40000 jobs that this Government has lost. We could weight our dollar to our major trading partners to give it relativity and that would be relativity for our exporters. The floor and ceiling would give surety and confidence and we could export our way out of this mess. 
 There would be light at the end of the tunnel—you know the light that this Government turned off with its narrow-minded course of austerity the austerity that is driving thousands of New Zealanders across the Ditch looking for jobs in Australia and the type of austerity that is strangling our economy here in New Zealand. This Government demonstrated a complete lack of comprehension of that bill last night because National members started waffling on—along with that turned-out prehistoric alligator skin that sits over there somewhere—about printing money when the bill had nothing to do with that. But such is the comprehension or lack thereof of this Government when it comes to fiscal responsibility and the economy. 
A lot of people have forgotten that it was Winston Peters who saved—[ 
Interruption 
] Jami-Lee Ross should be listening to this because it is important that he understands that when the Asian crisis hit it was New Zealand that saved Asia. Winston Peters on behalf of New Zealand guaranteed the Korean currency pro rata with Australia and the USA and it saved Asia. A lot of people do not even acknowledge that. We should perhaps look to history. Last night this Government turned its back on the opportunity. It turned its back on the exporters of this country. It turned its back on the manufacturers of New Zealand. It turned its back on democracy. A great bill could have gone to the select committee and we could have heard submissions but no spray and walk away. 
We in New Zealand First realise that the Government’s role is not to be the solution to all problems but it should play an essential role in promoting economic growth job security and fairness for all segments of society. Where in this bill is there reference to apprenticeships or recognition of new skills and competencies? This bill will be just a recycled course for cheap labour. Perhaps it is the cycleway that this Government has been promising us but it is a recycled way for cheap labour. Just as the New Zealand public did not believe that larger classes would make their children smarter they do not believe that cutting wages will make the economic boat go faster. Thank you.