Sio William: Minimum Wage (Starting-out Wage) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sio William: Minimum Wage (Starting-out Wage) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 21 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8874. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Su’a WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 I rise to give a short contribution to the third reading of this bill the Minimum Wage (Starting-out Wage) Amendment Bill. Three words came to mind when listening to the speech from Cam Calder before me and they are “humbug” “poppycock” and “not true”. Labour believes in the dignity of work. We in this party here believe also in the living wage and because this bill undermines the living wage and because this bill attacks the dignity of work Labour opposes this bill. 
Mangere my electorate has the youngest population of any other community throughout New Zealand. With 30.4 percent of our people aged 15 years and under we are ranked No. 1. If you add the age group of 15 to 19-year-olds that whole collective becomes 39 percent. For that reason I promote Mangere as the gateway to the nation the land of the young beautiful and gifted. That statement expresses a desire by our parents that we have great hope for our young people. We see them as the future leaders of this particular country. For that reason Labour has a plan that is different from what this Government proposes. We want to produce the future leaders of this country through education through skills development through opportunities and through higher wages—not the kind of future this Government is building for our young people. Government members want our young people to become used to second-best rates. They want our young people to become used to low wages. Labour’s plan is to create wealth through innovation to ensure that our young people are earning while they are learning. New Zealand parents right now are doing it tough under this particular Government. The future is bleak for hard-working families across this nation the majority of them wanting to believe what they were promised—the brighter future. 
But alas 72000 young Kiwis aged between 18 and 30 have left this country for Australia because they see that as the country of opportunity the country where they can get ahead while this Government is here. It promised all of New Zealand a brighter future. I want to ask Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga and Alfred Ngaro: where is the brighter future in paying workers low wages? Where is the brighter future for Pacific communities when those members continue to support low wages for workers? I do not hear a response from that side so they are content to drive wages below. They are content to make sure that our young people—the future of this country—become used to low pay and second-best. 
Since this Government has come into power it has presided over the worst economic period in 51 years the worst and highest unemployment numbers in 13 years and 175000 people without jobs. The report of the Salvation Army that was released not too long ago identified that we have got people who are on the unemployment benefit and cannot find jobs because this Government continues to sit on its hands. The future for New Zealand families has to be about high-value jobs it has to be about full employment even it has to be about skills and it has to be about high wages. John Key has failed our young people. John Key has failed to deliver for young people—30000 under-20-year-olds are not in education not in employment and not in training. That is more than 4000 since that Government came into power and if we include the age group of 20 to 24-year-olds that becomes 90000 people not in education not in employment and not in training. The Government simply acknowledging that there is a problem is not fixing it. It has got to fix it. It has got to fix it but it is content to drive wages down. It is not prepared to do anything so Mr Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga where is the brighter— 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Point of order Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga. The member’s time has expired but there is a point of order.