SpeechMARJA LUBECK (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. All people in New Zealand deserve good jobs decent working conditions and fair remuneration for the work that they do. And what this bill does—the Screen Industry Workers Bill—is it helps to ensure that our workers in the screen industry are receiving similarly.Now the Minister spoke already of a block that hindered the industry or hampered the industry over the last decade and this bill deals with that block. This bill is addressing the injustice that over the last decade—more than a decade in fact—film industry production workers have been prevented from testing their employment status and gaining access to some pretty fundamental employment protection. Now the Minister spoke about the divisive issues and these changes—they started in 2010.Now I do like the previous speaker Mr Goldsmith but it feels like we have been at different meetings listening to the submitters. So what I would like to do is I would like to bring the voice of our submitters to this debate. So what we heard from one submitter is the following: The fact that there is no enforceable basic contract which guarantees minimum terms and conditions is a disgrace. These are standard overseas. Indeed offshore producers are astounded when they ask for a standard contract and discover there isn't one. It makes us look like inefficient amateurs who don't value our performers." There was also a submitter who referred to industry practices as a "race to the bottom" and referred to New Zealand as a "bargain basement destination". Several submitters also told us that what was in fact the going bottom rate 20 years ago is now the going top rate. Now that is a disgrace. One submitter said that the current legislation says that New Zealand workers are cheap and expendable and she supports the bill as our screen industry workers should not be regarded as the wetbacks of the South Pacific.Now the Minister already mentioned this but back in 2010 when I was a law student the right to bargain collectively for an agreement—which is an internationally recognised right—was taken away under urgency removed from film production workers by the then National Government without even hearing one single submission. And so from that time on the workers in that film industry were deemed to be contractors and they were unable to bargain collectively. Now this bill restores that right. As we heard from the Minister the Film Industry Working Group that was brought together in 2010 did some really high-quality tripartite work as the Minister referred to. They basically came up with a model that allows collective bargaining in the screen industry and that's what this bill does: it implements that working group's changes.Now it's the industry itself—the Film Industry Working Group itself—that didn't just manage to design a new model; they unanimously recommended that the Government adopt it. What their model does is it represents their shared vision for a thriving industry and that recommended model is the basis for this particular bill.Now I heard some members on the other side talk about or mention the unions. There is actually a real big danger to the industry if the National Party doesn't agree to this bill because the work done by the Film Industry Working Group secures the future of New Zealand's film industry. It gives the production companies certainty about the employment legislation and the employment relations in the film industry. It is really important to actually acknowledge that because trying to disrupt this process just because of politicking is actually really utterly shameful and a disgrace to New Zealand and to the industry as well.So this bill as I already said restores an internationally recognised right to workers in the New Zealand film industry. It will provide certainty for the sector; ensures an enduring and well-supported workplace relations framework in the New Zealand screen industry. The workers will have the right to bargain collectively they will have access to their fundamental employment rights but at the same time the industry is still able to have the certainty they need to make sure that films can be made successfully in New Zealand. It was agreed by all parties who spent their time in the Film Industry Working Group. And again for the National Party to disagree with this bill means that they are the only party in this whole House that is not agreeing to this legislation. So therefore I commend it to the House. Thank you Mr Speaker."