Carter John: Holidays (Four Weeks Annual Leave) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Carter John: Holidays (Four Weeks Annual Leave) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
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JOHN CARTER (Senior Whip—National) 
: 
 If anyone wants to be given a reason as to why the Labour Party is going down in the polls now they have it. I know I am not meant to mention that but I cannot help myself. One of the things that the member who has just sat down said was that we should allow workers to come into Parliament. Well I agree. It would be great if members on the Government side of the House would let that happen because then we would have some people here who actually knew what they were talking about. It would be wonderful if the Government had even just one worker who was prepared to get his or her hands dirty every now and again. Which one of the Government members has ever taken his shirt off picked up a spade and dug a ditch? Not one. Which one of them has ever run a business and knows about employing people? Can someone point to one person on the Government side of the House who ever employed anybody? Not one of them has. 
Brian Connell 
: Jill Pettis with her shirt off! 
JOHN CARTER 
: No! I ask Jill Pettis please not to do that! The thought of her with her shirt off digging a drain is too much. I am sorry—I withdraw and apologise Mr Speaker. Bless my soul! This is terrible! I think I would rather vote for 4 weeks’ holiday than think about that! 
Another thing the member who has just resumed his seat said was that the conservatives on the Opposition side of the House are morally bankrupt. I think those were the words he used. We could debate that but the worry we have is that that lot over there on the Government benches are making people economically bankrupt. That is the problem. From an economic point of view this country cannot stand the sort of social engineering they are foisting on it. Long term the country will pay a huge huge price for this sort of socialism. That is one of the reasons why the people in this country are starting to rebel against this Government. They do not like a whole package of things they are starting to see and this bill is just one example amongst other legislation such as the civil union bill and the prostitution legislation. The public is starting to rebel against the Government for bringing those sorts of things into this place. Another thing has just popped into my mind about that member’s speech. It was not going particularly well; it was the sort of speech people wish they would never have had to hear. Halfway through the speech became very bad and the member started to compliment Matt Robson. From then on it was all downhill. That was really bad stuff. 
The reality with regard to this sort of bill is that if people deserve 4 weeks’ 5 weeks’ or 10 weeks’ holiday then they can negotiate that with their employer—and people have done that. They are rewarded because they put in the effort to get the reward. That is what should happen in this country: people should be paid and compensated for putting in the effort. They should use their skills and abilities and then get the reward. Can somebody on the Government side of the House tell me what is wrong with that? What is wrong with a person sitting down and saying he or she is actually worth a certain packet of money? What is wrong with doing that? People are quite capable of doing that and in many of the places I have been involved in or visited in Northland they do it. There are many people who are paid way above the norm. Their employers want to keep them because they are worth keeping. Their employers do not want to have to go out and start employing and training new people. This sort of legislation unfortunately stops the ability to have good negotiation. In this country we should be encouraging people to sit down and negotiate recompense for their worth but this Government is taking that principle away. 
I will digress for just a minute and talk about what we anticipate will be in the Budget. The next Budget will endeavour to buy a whole lot of votes by putting out more social welfare to middle - income New Zealanders. This Government is trying to turn the majority of New Zealanders into State dependants. When that happens—coupled with a whole lot of other socialist things that this Government is doing—then this country really will be on the way down and New Zealanders do not like that. This legislation is an example of the sort of stuff we get from a second-term Labour Government. In its first term it sits there quietly doing just a few things because it wants to get elected again and then in its second term we really start to see its real colours—and we are starting to see this Government’s true colours now. We are seeing them in all sorts of different ways. This bill is a classic example of the sort of stuff that finally will cost the Government the Treasury benches because the people do not like it. 
I have spoken to many employers and I know that other members from right across the Opposition side of the House have also done so. The employers say that they do not want to have this legislation foisted on them that they do not need it that they are very happy to ensure that their workers are very adequately paid and that they are very happy to see they get adequate holidays. They say that where their employees can show they have the proper skills and can earn the rewards they will certainly be adequately paid and compensated. But this Government does not believe that employers can do that or that the employee has the ability to negotiate with the employer. Therefore what does the Government do? It actually forces 4 weeks’ leave on people and it is wrong for a Government to do that. We have to ask ourselves this question: why has the Government stopped at 4 weeks? For all the reasons its members have given we ask why if it is good to have 4 weeks’ leave they do not make it 5 weeks or 6 weeks. We have already heard them talk about other countries that give 5 or 6 weeks’ holiday. Is that where they are going? Is that the hidden agenda of the Labour Government? Next time round it will not stop at 4 weeks; it will be 5 or 6 weeks’ holiday that is foisted on businesses. 
Businesses need to be awfully concerned about what this Government’s policies and motives may be. We know one thing for sure: unless we have strong businesses and unless we have business that are productive this country will not go anywhere folks. We need to have strong businesses. This is a country of small businesses. Ninety-five percent of the people employed here are employed by businesses that have 10 employees or fewer and those businesses need to be strong and vibrant. They need to be able to do well so that the whole economy can prosper. When we have this sort of imposition—when this sort of compliance cost is put on businesses—it makes it more difficult for them to be the vibrant businesses we want. We have a fabulous country. New Zealand is a great country. Sadly compared with our competitors in Australia we are now 30 percent behind—I think $250 a week on average. Less comes into the workers’ pockets now. Why? The reason is that this sort of dopey legislation becomes a barrier to productivity and opportunity. 
I say to this House to this Government and to this country that we cannot stand that sort of idiocy in this country. We need to make sure that we give everybody—business people workers and the whole lot—the opportunity to get ahead and this sort of legislation does not help us to do that.