Calder Cam: Minimum Wage (Starting-out Wage) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Calder Cam: Minimum Wage (Starting-out Wage) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 19 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8624. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Dr CAM CALDER (National) 
: 
 It is an absolute delight to be called thank you very much. I spoke on the Minimum Wage (Starting-Out Wage) Amendment Bill on Thursday last week and I drew the attention of the House to my first experience in the labour market. I outlined the excitement I felt when I went downstairs and my mum had bought a new Kingfisher Briggs and Stratton lawnmower. It was the first step of my becoming self-sufficient and learning to save and learning the value of work and the reward one can achieve from work not just financial but spiritual and the dignity therein. 
The next job I had was with Mr Brown on his milk round. We would get up at about 4.30 in the morning—and I must say it is no easier getting up at 4.30 in the morning now than it was then—meet up with the truck and then we would get the trolleys out load them up with the crates and the bottles in the crates and we would hurtle around the streets of Westown picking up tokens from the bottles money sometimes and delivering them for the full bottles. I must say I have a certain amount of nostalgia for the fact that we no longer get milk at our front gate but there we go. 
It is all about the dignity of work and this is what the Minimum Wage (Starting-Out Wage) Amendment Bill is all about. It is about giving young people—young people who may be entering the workforce for the first time lacking skills lacking experience or may be coming off a benefit or undertaking an industry training course—an opportunity to get the foot on the rung of the employment ladder. It is an opportunity for them to get their feet on the rung of the employment ladder. This is the ages of 16 to 19. Why are we doing this? We are creating an environment that encourages economic growth more jobs and higher wages. We know that there is a plethora of research particularly from the UK about the benefits of work the health benefits of work. There are a number of studies that have come out showing that work is extremely beneficial to one’s physical health and one’s mental health. Work is good for health. 
We know that long-term periods of unemployment lead to a host of bad outcomes and where better to intervene but with our young people. This is why we believe that the Minimum Wage (Starting-Out Wage) Amendment Bill is a very good piece of legislation. It is very interesting that Labour replaced the youth minimum wage with a so-called new entrants wage—that reminds one a little bit of infant school does it not—which provided the same rate of pay as the starting-out wage. You may think that that is interesting and ask why Labour members are opposing it now. 
Jacinda Ardern 
: For how long? 
Dr CAM CALDER 
: It lasted for 3 months in answer to your question or 200 cumulative hours. The feedback we have had from employers is that it was not long enough that it is too complicated impractical and the 3-month period is too short. So apparently feedback from employers suggests they need to calculate a new worker’s entire work history on the new entrants wage before hiring them under its conditions. How many do we think use it? Very very few. So although Labour’s policy provides the same rate of pay as the starting-out wage the conditions are unworkable virtually and unattractive for not only the employers but the employees. 
Just to recapitulate the starting-out wage will be set at 80 percent of the minimum wage and it is available for 16 to 17-year-olds in their first 6 months of work with a new employer; 18 and 19-year-olds can also benefit from this starting-out wage if they are coming directly off the benefit that they have been receiving for 6 continuous months; also the benefits can apply to 16 to 19-year-olds in training in a recognised industry training course involving at least 40 credits a year. This is a reduction as you may recall of 20 credits from the current scheme. 
So it is a very good piece of legislation. What is its possible sequelae? Well the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment suggests that the starting-out wage could create up to 2000 new jobs for 16 to 19-years-olds in the next 2 years.