Sio WilliamSu'a WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Māngere): It is alarming when I hear two members in a row from the Government come down to this Committee and read out lines—political lines obviously—in opposition to this bill. They are lines that I do not think they believe in—lines that I think if they do believe in then they have not seriously considered what they mean for their reputation. It is alarming also that the Hon David Parker has revealed to this Committee that one of those members who is a member of that particular committee opposed the amendments of the committee that would have improved this bill but then comes down to this Chamber and says that she does not understand what is going on. That is alarming. Anyway I want to acknowledge firstly the Hon David Parker for the professional and caring way in which you have I think ushered this bill through because the manner in which you have ushered this bill through has enabled the passage of this bill in its first and second reading. I hope that those political parties that have supported this bill thus far will continue to support it in its third reading. I want to thank you because if this bill is passed tonight and it gets implemented immediately it will have an immediate impact—a good impact—on those people who are self-employed at this point in time who are paid less than the minimum wage. I know many in my community who will be applauding this Parliament if this bill is passed. Once upon a time we used to consider in our community that for somebody who was self-employed—that's where the money's going to be". We used to encourage so many of our young people to get into self-employment opportunities. We used to brag about having a contract to build houses having a contract to paint for Housing New Zealand and having a contract from the telephone companies because we believed that if you worked hard enough and you were honest about your day's work you would receive a fair wage. We are talking here about making sure that we protect those people who are now self-employed so that they are at least paid the minimum wage. We are a signatory to International Labour Organization Convention 131 about the minimum wage. If members of the Government would read that convention they would know what that minimum wage is about. It is about ensuring that the worker and their family are able to support themselves. It is about ensuring that a worker and their family are able to afford the cost of living of their particular country. At the moment if I look at what is happening and how we now as a country are looking at using self-employed opportunities or contracting work out employers—not all I can say but some employers—are using them to get away from their responsibility to the workforce. They are using them to undercut their costs.That is not just me saying it. If you look at the report that was prepared by the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee there were a number of submitters who made submissions including Caritas—the social services of the Catholic Church—the trade union movement the New Zealand Public Service Association FIRST Union and the New Zealand Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux. These are people who are close to the ground to where it is happening and they note in this report that there is a trend towards firms offering work to contractors rather than employees in order to reduce costs and avoid duties and obligations. That was the submission made by this group of people to the select committee. FIRST Union said that it had seen work that was predominantly performed by employees now being contracted out and weighted significantly in favour of the principal's interest. I do not know whether members on the other side of the Chamber recognise the error of their ways. Instead of us being proud of a New Zealand where our workers are earning good money and they are spending that money—and if you know anything about economics 101 and most of us do that money is circulating and helps generate more wealth—that lot seems intent on driving down salaries."