Henare Tau: Employment Relations Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading 
Henare Tau: Employment Relations Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading 
[Volume:651;Page:330] 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
: 
 Can I offer my congratulations to you Mr Deputy Speaker and the other Speakers the Hon Dr Lockwood Smith Eric Roy and the Hon Rick Barker. I offer my congratulations to all new members of the House on both sides. I also offer my commiserations to those who never made it back to the House either by their own desire or through the voters’ desire. My message to you is “Goodbye and good luck.”  
But can we now concentrate on the bill which is about people at the margins. Those guys over there would not know what the margins are because they have been on good salaries and in nice cars for 9 long years. They have not worried about who has union membership. They do not care about the poor prisoner from Paremoremo prison who is trying to get a job and trying to make a go of it. They have not cared about that for the last 9 years. For 9 long years they have not cared about the long-term unemployed. What they have cared about is trying to hold on to the limousines and the ministerial salaries. That is what they have been doing for the last 9 years. They do not care about the immigrants and all we hear is cackle cackle cackle from the witches and warlocks across the way.  
The Labour Party members have to have a cause célèbre. They have to have something to hold on to. But I am afraid that 6 months from now it will be just like the anti-smacking legislation. Nothing will have come of it. All the hatred and all the scaremongering in the world that happened then will have died away and the prisoner from Paremoremo prison who has had a chance—a second chance even—will be grateful to the people who had a bit of vision. He will be grateful for that second chance. So is the bill— 
Moana Mackey 
: You don’t need a law change you can do it now. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: That member needs to calm down because 9 years in Opposition is a long time. She should get used to it because I am afraid the Labour Party will be ensconced in those seats for a very very long time.  
So is this bill about the right to dismiss or is it about the right to choose and the right to a second chance or even a first chance? Is it about the right to dismiss or is it about the right to show the employer what one has? Is it about the right to dismiss or is it about the right to a second chance? What about the employer when we are faced with tough economic times? Is it not a chance to grow the business in challenging times? Is it not about making sure that one gives not only the employee but also the employer a chance—just a small chance—to get on with it? I remember who was in power in the 1980s when Rogernomics came about. And yes Sir Roger is back. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: He’s your mate! 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: But I say to Darren Hughes that we should not forget who else was with Sir Roger Douglas in those days. The former Prime Minister the Rt Hon Helen Clark— 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: Name-dropper! 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Absolutely. She was a pretty good Prime Minister I might add. The Hon Dr Michael Cullen— 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: He’s good too. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: No he used to be. He is gone he lost his job. 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: He did not. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: He lost his job. It is time for him to gracefully move out of these seats and let Lesley Soper back in.  
This bill is about a chance to try something new and to try someone new. These people would have us believe that it is all about trying to sack somebody but it is actually about trying to employ somebody who has the skills or the opportunity to try to get the skills—all of those people at the margins who have been hanging out for an opportunity for the last 9 years. Darren Hughes would not know and that is why the people of Otaki said: “See ya later Darren we don’t want you as the local member of Parliament.” 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: How many seats have you lost? 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Labour members still go on about 10 years ago because they have forgotten about the real people. 
Sitting suspended from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: This bill will give those on the margins an opportunity and we should not fear an opportunity especially given the storm that is coming and that is hitting our shores right at this very moment. We heard the Minister of Finance say to the House this morning that there are tough economic times ahead and we need to be able to offer those on the margins a second chance to partake of the opportunities out there. Also our small employers need the ability to have a bit of flexibility.  
This bill is not about sacking holus-bolus every worker who comes along. It is not about that and I wish that my whanaunga my relations in the Maori Party would realise that but they have a bit of learning to go through as well.  
I close on this note. In the Depression of the 1930s throughout the world people such as Franklin D Roosevelt and Savage came along with some new ideas and new deals. It meant tinkering— 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: And they weren’t from the National Party. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Absolutely—absolutely from the National Party. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: They weren’t your ideals; they were our ideals. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: If we have a look a Mr Cunliffe’s background we see that he should be in the ACT Party. But I will not get personal.  
As I was saying it is about a new deal and a new time. It is about a new vision a vision that all workers and all employers need to grab hold of because they need to be able to be part of the recovery and not be pushed outside it by some old outdated philosophy that has never worked has never been shown to work and never will work. The battles between capitalism communism and socialism were won and lost years ago. It is now time to move on and make sure that we give everybody on the margins the opportunity to be part of the economic recovery.