McKee NicoleNICOLE McKEE (ACT): Thank you Mr Speaker. I stand in an unanticipated ability to speak on this bill. I've got to start off by saying—I've already said this once in the House today and I've just got to say it again—what a kookaburra's codswallop that's coming over from the Labour Party.I mean really we're talking about having a couple of days where small business can actually get out there and make a difference in their communities and perhaps even do something novel like survive during a cost of living crisis that we have happening at the moment. What I've heard from the Labour Party is obviously from non-business owners because they've really got no idea about the struggles that they've put on small businesses. I don't think they even realise that 97 percent of the businesses within New Zealand are small.Hon Poto Williams: Point of order Mr Speaker. Point of order. I'm afraid the time clock's not going.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie): My one's working luckily.NICOLE McKEE: Shall I start off again with the kookaburra's codswallop that I've been hearing from across the House? It's very disappointing when we have a political party who complains in one speech about taking two public holidays away yet this year they gave one.We have to actually have a look at the effect that the laws have on small businesses—the cost of living crisis the COVID mandates that had gone through under Parliament closing down a lot of businesses and restricting some of them from being able to operate. We have a good reason for allowing businesses to open during the Good Friday and Easter Sunday trading days. While I've heard some arguments across the House suggesting that well people can't go away on holidays one might suggest that perhaps they had to work on the Saturday anyway and that if they get the opportunity to work on the Friday and the Sunday as well they might actually be able to earn some more money for their family. I think that that's an important consideration that is possibly being missed from the other side of the House.What's even more disappointing is the fact that we can't even debate this bill at select committee. We can't go through the pros and cons of it and get advice from officials because we are just being shut down by a Labour Party who is burying their head in the sand like kookaburras might do one might think.It's a disappointment that we are unable to actually go about having a debate where we can talk about the pros and the cons of opening up on statutory holidays. I think it's really really important as do the ACT Party that we look to support all of New Zealand. One of the things that is in Mr Chris Baillie's bill is the fact that people don't have to operate on those days. They can choose to open that the workers that are employed by them do not have to work on those days. They are protected within this bill. They can choose. But we have a Labour Government from across the other side that don't even want to engage in the debate and they just end up putting their foot on the throats of small businesses once again determining that they are not essential to the survival of our economy or our communities and that is a failure on part of that party.It's a disappointment: disappointment for the families disappointment for the communities—especially for those businesses that are struggling. I think that it would be a really great idea to be able to put this through to select committee. But as it's obviously not going to happen I'll leave you with this final thought: another kookaburra's codswallop. Thank you Mr Speaker.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie): I call Chris Baillie—five minutes in reply.