Andersen VirginiaVIRGINIA ANDERSEN (Labour): Thank you for the opportunity to stand and speak on the State Sector and Crown Entities Reform Bill. It's a really good thing to see this Government take action in an area where it is needed most definitely and I do refute claims that we've heard from members opposite that this is a small or a trifling matter. As a former public servant myself I think it's very important that this Government brings forward a bill that provides consistency and instils trust in the public in how our State services are run. But it is also important that it's fair—that it's fair to people.People being paid who work hard deserve to be paid and during the times when we've seen these large increases happening during the time when we've seen $20000 and $50000 going up at the top end we've seen jobs lost. We've seen empty desks in the public sector. We've seen people going home on cut hours who can't afford to pay for their groceries and who are cut back. And in their place we've seen contractors hired at $100 or $180 an hour. We've all seen it. It's cutting public services and paying more with contractors and taking the difference and topping up at the top end and this Government says that that's not good enough.We want consistency across our Public Service and we're prepared to act right now. In February last year Bill English stood up at a press conference and was very displeased at the 36 percent increase that was delivered to the chief executive (CE) of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. That's a year ago so in terms of the comments we've heard from members opposite that it's a surprise that this suddenly pops up on the Order Paper and that we're suddenly jumping into getting work done—well it's about time. It was known that it was a problem well over a year ago and no action was taken and I'm proud to be part of a Government that puts this up front and starts addressing those issues that need to be looked at.This bill is about strengthening the public's trust and confidence to make sure that Crown entities remain aligned and connected and part of that. Part 1 of the bill in particular requires boards of statutory Crown entities to obtain the State Services Commissioner's written consent to the terms and conditions of employment of a chief executive and it introduces terms of appointment of up to 5 years able to be renewed for future chief executives. So what is the issue here in terms of a problem? The State services exist to serve the public interest and it's important that we remain at the heart.We've heard today issues around how there is competition between the public and private sector and I think it's important to note that there is a clear difference between the private and the public sector. There are different reasons that the pay levels are not the same. Companies work in an environment where competing for business has a limited life in terms of a business's success. You're in a competitive environment and that is a necessity to be successful. That is not the same as the Public Service. A key difference is the spirit of the Public Service the foundation of the idea of serving people and delivering to those people. That is maybe something new for the members opposite. I have been proud always to deliver services as a public servant and that is a key area that's different. That is why we can't go down the path of trying to compare the salaries of private sector CEs with those in the Public Service. The public can and should expect Crown entities to be governed in a responsible and responsive manner that is consistent with them being part of the State. State services chief executives deserve to be paid fairly but they are still public servants with accountability to taxpayers and the public and that is the difference.It is important in terms of trust and confidence in the public sector that we look at how the public know that that money is being spent well. And when we look at Part 2 of the bill it's good to see that there are clear measures made there in terms of enabling the State Services Commissioner to apply a code of conduct to the board members of the entities that are subject to that code of conduct and it's also good to see that it modernises the commissioner's investigation powers by aligning it with the Inquiries Act 2013.Right now the commissioner can issue a code of conduct to most Crown entities but not for Crown research institutes and the tertiary institutions and their subsidiaries and that is an important change that is made by this bill. There are three main areas that this addresses to really sum up the key areas that it does. It replaces the use of the old Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908 which substantially has similar powers to the Inquiries Act 2013—again another measure that provides consistency across the Public Service. It also puts in place a trigger to enable the commissioner to use the full suite of investigatory powers in the wider State services so all those powers of the commissioner are now available to be used across all entities under the State sector. And thirdly it enables the commissioner to use the full suite of investigatory powers under the commissioner's own motion for investigations into matters of integrity and accountability.It's interesting to see too in terms of where we've seen the areas that have had difficulty that they are also places that had significant cutbacks in terms of the Public Service. It has been interesting to see that it was the CE of the Superannuation Fund that got the pay increase while there was an inability to restart payments to the Superannuation Fund and to wonder whether that money was going to be parked off on a side account to try and top up and restart those funds down the line. I don't know what the plan was there.It is important that we're able to make sure that the public have a strong sense of fairness and trust and confidence—and that is exactly what this bill sets out to achieve—to know that the way that all Crown entities are being treated and governed is done in the same manner and that we don't have a separate set of rules as has been occurring. It's important that Ministers and the Government can be confident that the way people are being remunerated is consistent across the Public Service and I'm proud that as a Government we have stood up and made this a priority. It is by no means a small or trifling issue that should be parked to the side; it's a big one. If we are going to operate by fair rules in this House it is only right that we should make sure that occurs right across the Public Service.I would like to thank the members of other parties for supporting this bill to select committee. It's good to see we have agreement across the House on a bill of such importance. I commend this bill to the House.Bill read a first time. Bill referred to the Governance and Administration Committee.