Baillie ChrisBUSINESS PAYMENT PRACTICES BILLThird ReadingDebate resumed.CHRIS BAILLIE (ACT): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT to take a short call on the Business Payment Practices Bill. It will be a short call and unlike Simon Watts I will be unable to drag it out because there's really not a lot to say. [Looks around at nearby empty seats] And I haven't got the support around me that he had either.I'm not sure who Minister Andersen—Hon David Bennett: Oh that's a bit cutting!CHRIS BAILLIE: —at the moment—Minister Andersen talks to as far as business owners go. Because I talk to business owners all the time and they're hurting. They're the ones that managed to survive COVID and get through and of course survive the Government's attacks on them. And every business owner that I speak to knows—well not one of them has ever mentioned late-paying invoices as being a big issue. So I'm just not sure who she actually talks to. And the fact that as is mentioned the same scheme in Australia in the UK has been tried and failed—the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) can't find a reason for it. So really it's like was mentioned the Plain Language Bill the health and safety at work amendment bill—to name a few—as a solution looking for a problem. Small businesses have ways of dealing with late payments and generally it's a phone call. A phone call it works wonders. I have to do it myself every now and then. And either way few businesses who have to do that are dealing with these companies that are the late payers.The Government is tinkering around the edges. It's trying to convince the party faithful gullible enough to actually believe that they care about small business. And while they do that we slowly watch them destroy them sending good people to Australia. With the minimum wage up 44 percent productivity up 7 percent—Angela Roberts: Woo!CHRIS BAILLIE: Whoever just said Woo!" just doesn't understand business because it is unsustainable. The "stat" holidays—$450 million. I hope everyone over in the opposition said thank you to all the businesses on Matariki because it's businesses that were able to allow that statutory holiday.Angela Roberts: It's good for businesses.CHRIS BAILLIE: Anyone who says it's good for business has never owned a business obviously. And we're told on Matariki that those businesses aren't allowed to make a big profit because you're not allowed to commercialise Matariki—unlike Easter and Easter eggs; and Christmas we've got Santa. Not Matariki. So it makes it even more difficult.We've got an extra sick leave $2 billion extra sick leave to cost to businesses. And this Government thinks that late-paying invoices is the big issue. And then we've got the lunacy of the compulsory union awards or fair pay agreements that are already starting to create a headache for business owners and their staff—the business owners that treat these staff really well and the staff who don't want a bar of these things and they are being forced by union bullies. I won't even start to look at this Government's record on crime and how that affects businesses. I know of businesses in a large New Zealand town who—the owners aren't even reporting robberies or ram raids.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Order! The member will come back to this bill.CHRIS BAILLIE: Yes Madam Speaker.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Thank you.CHRIS BAILLIE: This is a cynical attempt to trick the voters to make them think that this Government cares about small business. As the National speakers have said it will be repealed after 14 October. And the public and business owners will know that ACT have their backs. Thank you."