Strange JamieJAMIE STRANGE (Labour): Madam Assistant Speaker I rise for the second time in this House. I'd like to first congratulate you on becoming a Speaker. We've known each other for a number of years and I have great respect for your values understanding of process and care for people.Now before I begin on this bill I need to correct something about my maiden speech. I mentioned four Labour Party MPs who had stood in the Hamilton seats and after my speech the Speaker the Hon Trevor Mallard reminded me that there was one more whom I forgot and that was him. Hopefully the Hon Mr Mallard is watching in his office. Thank you for the work you did in Hamilton West.Now this bill allows employers to contract out of unjustified dismissal protections when hiring employees who earn over $150000 per year. At the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee the bill was supported by various business groups and was opposed by the Human Rights Commission most lawyers unions and workers.I'd like to begin by focusing on one word and that's the word choice"—not a word from the 1980s when we said "Choice!" with our thumbs up but basically it's where somebody can choose between two things. Inspired by Deborah Russell my colleague to boldly go where no Labour MP had been before and possibly no New Zealand First or Green MP—I'm not sure—I went to the National Party website. Now—Rt Hon Winston Peters: Oh you didn't.JAMIE STRANGE: I did. I did.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Did you have a lie-down afterwards? JAMIE STRANGE: Ha ha! It was quite difficult to get on there. The parliamentary server blocked me initially for dangerous or unauthorised material but after some negotiation Parliamentary Service let me on the site which was good. Before I talk about what was on the site I must say the font could be improved just so you know that. It is a very small font. But I'll do my best.Chris Bishop: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I think the member should know that Mr Peters is the expert on fonts in this House. Maybe he should talk to him—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Thank you. Thank you.JAMIE STRANGE: So let's have a look at what's on the National Party website fonts aside. "The National Party has always valued enterprise hard work and the rewards that go with success. We will continue to aspire to a New Zealand where all New Zealanders can flourish."Hon Member: Is that the comedy section?JAMIE STRANGE: Ha ha! "We believe this will be achieved by building a society based on the following values:" Now let's have a listen to what these values are. Number one: "Loyalty to our country its democratic principles and our Sovereign as Head of State"—OK all right. Number two: "National and personal security"—OK sure. Number three: "Equal citizenship and equal opportunity"—equal opportunity.Rt Hon Winston Peters: You aren't making this up are you?JAMIE STRANGE: It's right here. It's right here Mr Peters. It's here. It is difficult to read. And number four here we go: "Individual freedom and choice". So—Rt Hon Winston Peters: That can't be true.JAMIE STRANGE: It is on the website. Whether it's true or not is up to the members. So let's have a look here. You see the key thing is this bill removes the choice of an employee to undertake a personal grievance. National Party: the great bastion of freedom of choice—Matt King: Yeah!JAMIE STRANGE: I'd like to know—ha ha! I would like to know why the members are discriminating against people earning over $150000. Why would you discriminate against those people by removing their choice for a personal grievance? Those earning over this salary are not just in senior management; they can be public servants; they could be whistleblowers. Some employees may choose to settle any disagreements through another process other than personal grievance. However it's vital that this option is available to them. It comes back to choice.The second point is that there is a power imbalance between an employer and an employee. The employee has the weight of control and I worry about employees signing contracts that remove their right to personal grievance. I'll talk about two jobs that I've worked in and neither of them have anything to do with fonts so we can relax there Mr Bishop. The first job was in retail. There was no union. It was an individual contract and I clearly felt the power imbalance. I was on a low wage and it was very difficult for me to ask for a pay rise because there was a clear imbalance. My second job was as a schoolteacher which did involve fonts. Now we had a strong collective under the NZEI Te Riu Roa union and I had the right if I required it to a personal grievance. Fortunately I didn't need to take it up but the choice was there.Another point: why do we need this bill? Only 1 percent of the population earns over $150000. Is it really worth the time of this House to debate it? There is no pressing issue in our society around this. There's no evidence that employers or employees are asking for it. This bill is a solution looking for a problem rather than a problem looking for a solution. [Interruption] Thank you Mr Galloway—Mr Lees-Galloway.Hon Iain Lees-Galloway: Yeah thank you. Jeez.JAMIE STRANGE: Ha ha! Now a couple of other points. This bill undermines and contradicts the basic human rights of workers. A submission from the New Zealand Human Rights Commission said "the Bill would seem to be inconsistent with a number of International Labour Organisation (ILO) and human rights treaties and instruments including: ILO Discrimination … Convention … The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights … The International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights". I agree with them that this bill removes the basic human right of a defence against the behaviour of a person with power over one without.So in summary number one it removes choice—"individual freedom and choice" from the website there; small font very small font actually I must say. Number two we don't actually need this bill. Number three there is a clear power imbalance between employers and employees. Number four it undermines human rights. And to finish all employees deserve the right to access personal grievance. Whether they want to or not is their choice but they deserve the right.This Government is committed to increasing fair outcomes for working people regardless of their income mansions or boats. This Government opposes this bill because it is unnecessary poorly targeted and establishes a dangerous concept in New Zealand's workplace relations framework. The concept of contracting out of employment rights is dangerous. This legislation sets a dangerous precedent that could lead to further contracting out and diluting of our employer accountability. Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker."