Woodhouse Michael: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Woodhouse Michael: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:671;Page:17498] 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) 
: 
 I would like to talk about being out of touch because last October I happened to be in Seoul South Korea when the news of the objections by New Zealand unions to filming  
The 
Hobbit 
 went on BBC World News. Some people from the United Kingdom came to me and said: “What on earth are New Zealand trade unions doing objecting to one of the largest film productions ever made in New Zealand or around the world for that matter by the same director who put New Zealand on the world map with three fantastic movies that ended up scooping a whole wedge of Oscars? What on earth are New Zealand trade unions doing undermining that sort of thing?”. I had to say I had no idea but I trusted the National Government to come in and fix it. That is exactly what it did. I am absolutely delighted and proud to be part of a Government that puts pragmatism ahead of principle every time. 
If there is anything that separates National and Labour it is industrial relations. I am absolutely delighted to stand up and defend the changes that have been made by this Government in respect of both the Employment Relations Act and the Holidays Act. Let me start with the simple premise that employees know what is best for them and they can go to their employer and say: “You know what? I’ve got that fourth week’s holiday but I want to cash it up. I’ve got a few bills to pay.” Somehow that represents the sort of “can’t think for themselves” mentality that Labour wants to continue to promote. It absolutely defies belief. But the thing that really really gets me the most is the fact that Labour members are not prepared to give the marginalised the young and the very old the opportunity to demonstrate to employers that they are worth giving a go. We changed the legislation so that small employers could do that. What happened? It was a fantastic success. So what did we do? We extended that out to all employers. I think that will see the handbrake on productivity in this country finally come off. The legislation comes into effect in a couple of weeks and I think we should stand by because it will be one of the things that will get this economy going. The other thing that employers have been saying to us for years is that the Holidays Act is impossible to manage. In fact as an employer prior to the last election I shared that view. The one thing we needed to get rid of was the terrible relevant daily pay basis for calculating pay for leave taken which absolutely undermined the Holidays Act. We have done that. Frankly I think we can do a little bit better with that but this is a journey and I know that the Minister of Labour has that under control. 
But the one thing that comes within the purview of the Department of Labour that I want to talk about and the thing that the public of this country still wait to hear from the previous Labour Government is the apology it owes the public for its absolutely woeful performance on ACC. The Department of Labour oversees Vote ACC on behalf of the Crown and the public of New Zealand is still waiting. We were delighted to hear that the turn-round that was required has been achieved with a substantial accounting surplus at least if that does not translate to a cash surplus. That follows 2 successive years when firstly a $2.4 billion deficit was signed off as accurate by the previous Minister for ACC Maryan Street followed hard on its heels by a $4.8 billion deficit and a blowout in the unfunded liability from about $11 billion before the rot set in in 2005 to— 
Chris Hipkins 
: They collected $1 billion more than they paid out last year and $2 billion more than they paid out this year. 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE 
: You see that is another classic example of how completely ignorant the Opposition spokesman for ACC is on the way in which the scheme works. Labour supports full funding but does not want to recognise when the books are absolutely in deficit. 
Chris Hipkins 
: Those are the facts: $2 billion more than they spent. The global financial crisis is a short-term setback. 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE 
: Denial—there it is. You see we did not have a problem. Apparently there is money in the bank so that is all right. It is a bit like saying: “I’ve got $10000 in the bank and a $500000 mortgage so everything’s fine. If I don’t bring home the bacon I’m OK.” It is like jumping out of a plane from 50000 feet and saying that everything is all right 100 metres off the ground. No parachute but it is going to hurt in time. 
Chris Hipkins 
: The investments recovered ACC’s financial position. 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE 
: You see it is the investment problem now. Let me tell the member that the rot set in a long time before the global financial crisis set in. I am absolutely proud of the turn-round this Government has put in place for Vote ACC. Congratulations to the Department of Labour on its role in the oversight that that has produced. Long may that continue and with that spokesman I have no doubt that it will. 
Report noted.