Pillay Lynne: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Pillay Lynne: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:645;Page:14203] 
LYNNE PILLAY (Labour—Waitakere) 
: 
 I am very proud to speak in this debate. Firstly I want to say how proud I am of the initiatives announced by our Prime Minister yesterday that really build on many of Labour’s great policies. They are things like fair labour laws. We all know that they were opposed by the National Party as were the increases to the minimum wage and 4 weeks’ holiday. When that policy came in it was opposed by the National Party but we now see some flip-flops happening. National had vehemently opposed it but it now supports it. 
Apprenticeships were opposed by the National Party. It was National that scrapped the Apprenticeship Act in 1991. [ 
Interruption 
] Chris Auchinvole is saying “No no no.” He would not have a clue. The Act was scrapped in 1991 when National came into Government. Mr Auchinvole should look at  
Hansard 
. The policy of 20 hours’ free early childhood education per week is another great policy that was again opposed by National. There have also been increases to superannuation and the introduction of KiwiSaver. National is now trying to murmur support for KiwiSaver. We are also providing assistance with homeownership. I wonder what National’s position will be on employer contributions. What will National members do about that? How will they keep with their employer constituency and try to be all things to all people? 
National opposed income-related rents. It has done another flip-flop on interest-free loans. National members were going to fight it to the death but now they are saying it is not such a bad policy. Working for Families is putting real money into the pockets of Kiwi parents but again that was opposed by the National Party. Better health and safety laws were opposed by the National Party. Cheaper doctor visits were opposed by the National Party. National members pretend in this House that they care about workers about families and about superannuitants. What a liberty! 
I heard Phil Goff talk in this House yesterday about some very interesting statistics. We hear National members bang on all the time with their rhetoric about how much higher the wages in Aussie are. Yes but when did New Zealand wage rates drop the most? It was under the Employment Contracts Act and a National Government that wages dropped. The differential grew by 50 percent under a National Government. Why? As I said the Employment Contracts Act attempted to deal to unions collective organisations the rights of workers and the rights of the individual. They tried during that time to cut our holiday entitlement to 2 weeks a year. Fortunately workers in this country rallied enough that National was not successful in that plan. We have seen them deal to all that like the issue of single mothers. Members on this side of the House and members in many others parties know that that lot just cannot be trusted. Their “we care” act is hollow. It is as hollow as  
The Hollow Men 
 and a few and fast-diminishing hollow women on that side of the House. 
Our new announcements and initiatives are fantastic and they are aimed at providing more opportunity for our families and more opportunity through the urban house projects such as Hobsonville. Who is the MP for the area? John Key is the member. Affordable homes will be built. Who vehemently opposed affordable homes in that area? John Key did. He does not want affordable homes in his area; he wants gated communities of elite homes. He does not want middle-income or State houses in his area. He opposed affordable homes. With the initiatives in KiwiSaver we know that for many Kiwis homeownership will not be a dream; it will be a reality. 
I cannot go on without talking about the boost in funding for the organisations that care for our children our young people and which announcement has been so well received. I want to acknowledge in this House all those organisations that advocate so successfully for more funding and promote anti-violence messages in our communities. They are doing a great job and they can do so much more with this funding boost. 
I want just to repeat a couple of things they have said: “For possibly the first time in our history the New Zealand Government has committed to effectively and tangibly recognising the critical role the community sector plays.” 
Hon Nanaia Mahuta 
: That wouldn’t happen under National. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: That is right; it would not happen under National. They have also said that this announcement was “a watershed day for our Government community organisations and the children and families in New Zealand.” They have said that under the new regime Women’s Refuge looks forward to getting 100 percent funding for the great existing services the organisation provides. I think that is fantastic. 
I want also to thank this Labour Government for picking up and running with the key recommendations from the very hard-working Justice and Electoral Committee. What a great select committee that is. Incidentally— 
Shane Ardern 
: Who chairs that committee? 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: I do as fate would have it. The Government has picked up and run with all of the key recommendations—the charter of victims’ rights independent victims’ advocates an 0800 helpline to grow the service and give assistance to victims a national office for victims’ rights and an investigation into compensation for victims of crime. I think that is fantastic and I want to thank my colleagues. I thank Ann Hartley and Charles Chauvel and Nandor Tanczos from the Green Party. Certainly for half the time I have to acknowledge Hone Harawira who actually worked very hard and was very happy to show support for and accompany the select committee’s visit to Australia to look at those initiatives and ideas. All of these recommendations came from Victoria Australia. Whilst we were there Victoria acknowledged the help and support it had received from New Zealand in terms of looking at restorative justice programmes. 
Those initiatives were picked up because the select committee went to Australia and exchanged knowledge ideas and skills. Can we thank the National Party members for their contribution to these great ideas that are now in place? No we cannot and we cannot even acknowledge their contribution in this House because they did not go to Australia. They hijacked the trip; they spat the dummy over the trip. Why did they spit the dummy? [ 
Interruption 
] Perhaps they were too lazy. That may be one reason. But the committee was also looking at electoral law and the National members were running scared. They did not want to look at other countries whose electoral law was reformed where there was more accountability and where the problems that were encountered with the Exclusive Brethren and third parties were discussed and addressed. No they ran scared. They did not want to be part of that visit by the select committee. So victims in New Zealand missed out on a contribution from the National members because they were too self-centred too self-interested in the funding they receive from third parties—from pretty dodgy sources—to look at the issues for victims of crime in this country. 
I am proud of this Government and I am proud of my colleagues and the support parties that have worked so hard to ensure that these initiatives are in place. I look forward to getting out on the beat talking to those organisations and victims’ organisations and saying: “You can thank the Labour Party members and the Green Party members for this but not the National Party members.”