Whaitiri Meka: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWhaitiri Meka: General Debate[Sitting date: 02 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9309. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. E ngā mema o Te Whare nei tēnā tātou katoa. As the proud member for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti holder of one of the largest electorates in this House I get a great deal of satisfaction from travelling up and down my electorate. It is a 9½ hour drive from one point to the other. When I travel around my electorate I do not see the returns that I believe the people of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti should be experiencing under this Government.The Kiwi Dream is definitely slipping away from the people in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti under this National-led Government. This economy is stacked in favour of a privileged few while everyday Kiwis and particularly my constituents of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti find it harder to get ahead. We have a housing market that has become a plaything for speculators locking a generation out of the dream of homeownership. But do not take my word for it; let us take the word of the Salvation Army and the Presbyterian Church which did not want a bar of what this Government was offering when trying to sell off our State housing. We have a health care system stretched to breaking point. We are slashing services to the tune of $1.7 billion over 6 years denying Kiwis the care they deserve and need. We have an education system drowning our young people in debt and we heard today that that current debt is at $15 billion.Hon Annette King: $15 billion?MEKA WHAITIRI: $15 billion. I am a mother of two teenaged sons—and I can say they are both teenagers 19 and 18 years old. They have started their first week at Victoria University and their future is already going to start with a heavy burden upon them. We have rates of child poverty that are a national disgrace with too many kids going without food living in cold damp houses or relying on charity for basics like a raincoat or a decent pair of shoes.At the beginning of this year our leader Andrew Little set out his vision for the future with the Working Futures Plan providing 3 years of post - compulsory education free. This policy tackles the problems we are facing with the rapidly changing nature of work. Labour is also going to back an economy that works for all of us and not just for the privileged few; a country where our kids can hope to one day own their own home have a job that pays well and have the security to live a fulfilling life with the people we care about; and a world-class health system that is there for us all when we need it. For the first time in our history the next generation could be worse off than the last and National will not offer any solutions of its own just criticism and cheap slogans—we only have to reference the Prime Minister’s speech on his statement for justification of that statement.Labour will turn this round. We will back the Kiwi Dream and restore security and opportunities for all New Zealanders.We mentioned zero-hour contracts: Labour will not support the Employment Standards Legislation Bill unless it eliminates zero-hour contracts. I have workers in Wairoa—AFFCO workers freezing workers—who had to take Talley’s AFFCO to the Employment Court not once not twice but successively won their case in the Employment Court. Labour stands by and campaigns for its success to ensure that we are protecting all our workers at the bargaining tables with employers.I want to make it really clear and go on record that Labour remains committed in terms of the zero-hour contracts in the Employment Standards Legislation Bill on three matters: one we want to remove the ability of employers to put people on contracts where they are on call with no permanent hours. Being on call can be fine in some contexts but being on call at all times with no security of regular hours is not particularly useful for many of our people.Again I had like I said two teenaged sons working over the Christmas holidays. One would religiously go to work and get told that he was not needed. As he was a 17-year-old who needed to work to ensure that some of his tertiary bills were covered I can tell you it was heartbreaking to even get him up to go to work knowing that when he got there he often got turned down. So I am glad that we are standing on the principle that no others will have to suffer that. The second point is that employers should not be able to cancel shifts at the last minute. The idea that employers can cancel shifts when they should not is normalised in law.I am proud to stand on this side of the House with Labour to say that we will stand up for the Kiwi Dream and that we will stand by our commitment of eliminating zero-hour contracts. Kia ora tātou.