SpeechCHRIS BAILLIE (ACT): I rise on behalf of ACT to speak to the Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill. It's a purpose of the bill to establish an annual public holiday to acknowledge Matariki and we think it's a great idea to celebrate Matariki. It's a great significant event and an occasion that certainly deserves its own special day. The use of the stars in migration of Māori to New Zealand is of great significance and really should be taught in school history classes.But we oppose this bill because businesses simply can't afford it especially at this time. The cost of creating a twelfth public holiday is estimated to be around $450 million and we believe if the Government wants to indulge in this sort of luxury of another holiday it needs to identify another day to be removed from the calendar. We've got 11 to choose from—that's over two working weeks. Add four weeks annual leave—that's over six weeks—bereavement leave family leave and maternity leave. Sick leave has just doubled at a cost of almost $2 billion to businesses. This Government even made businesses pay employees four weeks' pay if they chose not to get vaccinated.Even the most union-loving lefty must admit that owning and running a business is tough. But I know they don't actually understand because we've got a Government totally devoid of business experience who think business owners are like Grant Robertson and have a never-ending supply of money. I had to laugh when I was listening in the debate on the last bill to Greg O'Connor lecturing this side of the House about how money doesn't grow on trees. I just shook my head.They believe all employees want to work hard and business owners are just nasty self-serving people and anyone who actually manages to be successful got there by treading on their employees—just after profit. It's a shame but as a nation we simply can't afford to have more holidays. The fact is that the vast majority of business owners get no leave at all. Most businesses across the country—if they're still operating—are already fragile from the effects of COVID-19. That's not to mention the many impositions this Government has inflicted on business in the last few years impositions that have had very little thought on the effect they would have on the success of a business—success that is necessary to employ and look after employees.The relentless minimum wage increases show that this Government just doesn't understand how business works and that they only listen to their advisers when it suits their agenda. They are career politicians who have never had to worry about whether they'll have enough money in the bank to pay their staff never had to borrow money off family and friends to pay the bills to keep operating and never had the feeling of whether it's worth it to keep going when you keep getting kicked when you're already down. The response from a Labour backbencher that if a business can't survive seven weeks without an income they probably shouldn't be in business really sums it up for me.I received a letter yesterday from a refrigeration company that I deal with and I'll just read the first paragraph. It says This letter is to advise you that there will be an increase on our hourly service rates our vehicle fee charge and our call out rate to be put into effect on 1 April 2022. This increase is due to inflation minimum wage increases and the cost of fuel over the last year." That same letter would be going out to hundreds of hospitality and other businesses. It's real.A hospitality owner told me over the weekend that they needed another worker. They interviewed a 17-year-old high school student a year 13 student who lived at home and wanted to earn some money to go to university. However they needed some training needed someone else working alongside them for a short time to get the experience and it just wasn't worth the risk to that owner of that hospitality business. For another dollar they said no and employed someone with a little bit of experience. The unintended consequences of this sort of legislation on young people disadvantaged people and disabled people is huge.In 2018 seventy-one thousand people were on the minimum wage. Last year 160000 people were on the minimum wage. This isn't a good thing for hard-working New Zealanders. It just means that those with experience those who have shown loyalty and those who have made an effort in their work are not getting the increases that they would have got if businesses just can't afford it.With any pay rise leave entitlement or other changes in employee conditions we must look at productivity to make sure we can pay for it. We constantly compare ourselves with other countries when it comes to the minimum wage conditions and leave provisions but we constantly ignore productivity—the most important factor that enables these countries to provide different conditions to their employees. Paying people more while expecting no extra productivity is just naive. People who work hard should be paid more. Unfortunately Labour the Public Service Association and the Council of Trade Unions don't agree. Productivity seems like a dirty word.Business owners are asking "Where will it end?" and then today we hear the Government introduce the so called Fair Pay Agreements Bill. The absolute lunacy of this bill will be debated later but for the sake of hard-working employees ACT will repeal it in 18 months' time. I'm sure we'll hear that an extra public holiday will actually be beneficial to businesses—again from those who have never owned a business: the same people who tried to convince us that more sick days increases productivity. The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment disagree but we know that they're only listened to if they agree with the agenda.The Government has tried to convince the public that businesses were looked after during COVID and the daily spin surrounding the COVID business support has been masterful. Businesses are struggling and going under—the stress is huge—and through no fault of their own. A Government that genuinely cared would take a breath; think about families employers and employees; put their ideologies aside; and help this country to recover from the tumultuous last two years and this sort of nonsense is doing the opposite.ACT will always support the employer because if their business isn't successful it's the employees that will suffer. We know they need tax and regulatory relief and we'll fight on their behalf for more sensible sustainable economic policies so that they can grow their businesses and employ more New Zealanders.ACT appreciates the significance of Matariki—not just for Māori but for all people of New Zealand who have studied and observed it at schools and in their communities throughout the country for a number of years. It is part of the curriculum. We appreciate the importance of everyone learning about and acknowledging the new year the various reasons for the celebration and especially its use as a navigational tool for the migration of Māori to this beautiful country. But New Zealand businesses cannot afford this extra holiday and ACT opposes this bill. Thank you."