O'Connor Damien: Shop Trading Hours Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Connor Damien: Shop Trading Hours Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 03 November 2015. Volume:709;Page:7631. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR (Labour—West Coast - Tasman): I would just like to acknowledge the previous speaker David Clark for allowing me the opportunity to say a few words. We have heard from speakers on the other side of the House that this bill will provide choice. How ironic when it does not provide choice to MPs in this House because on what has always been considered an issue of conscience National has refused to allow its own MPs choice. Just as there is the reality of their not being allowed a choice in voting on this bill the reality for workers over whether they will be able to choose to work on Good Friday or Christmas Day or Easter Sunday is that they will be told by their employer just as John Key has told members of the National Party that this is what they will do. Let us not kid ourselves here.I was brought up a Catholic. I guess I had the privilege of being taught some Christian values many of which I think underpin many of the laws in this country. I am not saying that we are in any way any better than any of the other religions and I think that we have a wonderful and a diverse country that is evolving. But at this point the 3 days of Christmas Day Easter Sunday and Good Friday have been respected by the law and by the country as being days that should be held for family. What this National Government is determined to do is to put commerce over conscience to put values after value because it thinks we should all be working every day to generate the economy. It is failing to uphold the family values that were and have been preserved on those 3 days—just those 3 days out of 365. It is not too much to ask.What I say to the members on the other side of the House who I think will be struggling a little bit with this one is stand up for yourselves. Stand up for the people you represent and the values you have been taught. I ask them to stand up for their own consciences and vote for the reality which is that when it comes to whether a worker will be able to choose to workor not they know that the worker will have no choice just as the National MPs have been given no choice. It is outrageous.I have been in the House longer than quite a few around here and I know the issues on which we are privileged to have a conscience vote and when it comes to issues like this we have been—Hon Simon Bridges: Oh you guys have been whipped by the unions.Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: Not that righteous Minister there—he is a johnny-come-lately. Ask what the issues of conscience are. You would not know because you have not got one. You have not got one. Can I say—Hon Simon Bridges: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I take personal offence at that comment and I ask that it be withdrawn.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Yes. I ask the member to withdraw that comment.Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: I withdraw. All I ask is that the members on the other side who have a conscience are given the right to exercise it just as we are saying that workers should be given the right to genuinely say whether they want to work or not. We know—and it is no good pretending otherwise—that when it comes to asking a worker to work on Christmas Day Easter Sunday or Good Friday they will have to work and their families will suffer.So where is the conscience of the righteous members? I listened to their rantings quite frankly on legislation like the smacking bill like the Civil Union Bill and like the gay marriage bill. They demanded—in fact they insisted—that members have the right to a conscience vote to be allowed to do what they like. Indeed that is what happened on this side of the House. I respect my colleagues for whatever decision they made. But on this piece of legislation let us be clear: National has overridden the conscience of its members of Parliament to say—Paul Foster-Bell: Not true.Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: Yes it has and it has removed the right for them to uphold the values—not just spiritual values but community and family values—that have always been a part of New Zealand in upholding Christmas Day Easter Sunday and Good Friday as days that should be for family first and not for commerce. The National Government has put commerce over conscience and it is outrageous and people should know that.