Roche Denise: Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Roche Denise: Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 20 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:8087. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
DENISE ROCHE (Green) 
: 
 Tena koe e te Whare. Tena koutou katoa. The Green Party supports the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill and we support a good work-life balance for all New Zealanders. We believe that this bill will enable workers and their families to enjoy the full entitlement of the Holidays Act to 11 public holidays per year every year. Under the existing Holidays Act every 2 out of 7 years those 11 public holidays reduce to 9 days a year because Waitangi Day and Anzac Day are celebrated on specific days. When one of those days falls on a weekend the holiday is not transferred to a weekday so people do not get a day off. They do not get their full 11 days. Four of the other 11 public holidays also occur on the day on which they fall. That is what happens currently for Christmas Day Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and the day after. When these days fall on weekends the law allows for them to be transferred to weekdays so that workers get the full entitlement to those days as holidays. 
The Greens maintain that the difference in treatment between Waitangi Day and Anzac Day and Christmas Day and Boxing Day and the days after those 2 days is an anomaly. We reject the notion put by some submitters—and put by the previous speaker I might add—that it will cheapen the commemoration of either of those very important holidays. We have not seen any evidence of this happening resulting from the Mondayisation of Christmas Day in particular. 
Australia already transfers Anzac Day to the following Monday so this is another area where it beats New Zealand. It transfers Anzac Day to a Monday when it occurs on a weekend and the day’s commemorations are still held on 25 April. Even with Mondayisation Anzac Day events in Australia are extremely well attended. 
The Mondayisation of Anzac Day and Waitangi Day might actually increase participation in the events that commemorate these special New Zealand dates. This year like many of my colleagues in this House I was at Waitangi over Waitangi Day. It fell midweek; it fell on a Wednesday. I am sure that other members who were there will agree that there was a much lower turnout this year than there has been in the last few years. When I asked locals in Paihia and at Waitangi why that might be they said it was because the day fell on a Wednesday. They said that they always had a much better attendance when the days fall closer to a weekend probably because it becomes difficult to tack on another day to make a longer break to ensure that they have time off to justify the trip to this important historic place to participate in the commemoration activities. The local businesses were really noticing the reduced business from the lower turnout I have to say. Ensuring that Waitangi Day and Anzac Day are transferred to a Monday when they fall on a weekend means that small hospitality businesses like those in Paihia will benefit when workers take advantage of having a 3-day weekend. This stance is supported by the Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand which submitted during the select committee process— 
Mike Sabin 
: Talk about tourism in your own electorate—oh that’s right. You haven’t got one. 
DENISE ROCHE 
: —which I do not think Mr Sabin was present at. The Tourism Industry Association cited a Mind Your Own Business survey conducted in July last year of mostly small businesses which showed that only 13 percent of those businesses opposed the Mondayisation of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day and that over 50 percent supported the idea. The Tourism Industry Association said in its submission that the Mondayisation of Anzac Day and Waitangi Day is an opportunity to increase domestic tourism. It said that those economic benefits outweigh the small costs to employers. 
The costs are not outrageous. Employers already bear the cost of these public holidays for their staff when Waitangi Day and Anzac Day occur on a weekday and it will not be onerous. The next time Waitangi Day and Anzac Day occur on a weekend is in 2015 and 2016 and then not again until 2020 and 2021. So employers will certainly have a good lead-in time to prepare for it. 
We have this idea that we are a generous people in this country. As well as the “100% Pure New Zealand” myth that we continue to pretend is true we also think that we are generous laid-back and to quote the Prime Minister’s favourite little word “relaxed” about things. The reality is a lot different. It is hard to relax when there is no chance to relax. During the select committee process we heard—and I respectfully acknowledge that Mr Sabin was not present for that one either—from the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions who presented well-researched information on what is happening to workers in this country. The truth is that New Zealanders work relatively long hours and our combined minimum annual leave and public holiday provisions are lagging behind many European countries. Workers do need time to have holidays. Over the last three decades we have seen the steady erosion of pay rates and working conditions especially for low-paid workers. We have created a low-wage economy. We hear countless stories of workers working longer and longer hours simply to make ends meet. In the last few weeks I can point to several articles in the  
Dominion Post 
 and the  
New Zealand Herald 
 about the plight of low-paid workers and their inability to make ends meet on 40 hours of low wages. 
Aside from keeping people poor those long hours and low wages have a huge impact on families on our communities and on our ability to relax and have a relaxed society. Long hours isolate workers from their families. How can anyone be a good parent when they cannot spend time with any of their kids because they are working 70 or 80 hours a week? How can anyone volunteer to coach a netball team or deliver Meals on Wheels when there is no spare time to deliver them? It is for this reason that many faith-based organisations and unions are campaigning for a living wage. That living wage has been set at $18.40 per hour for a family with a full-time parent worker and a part-time parent working to provide for their two children to provide a decent standard of living and to enable them to participate fully in their communities. Central to this idea is the ability for families to have time off to rest and to relax. Workers need a break. Good working conditions good wages and enough time off work to rest create business benefits and reductions in labour costs and that has been proven. 
Ensuring that workers get their full 11 public holidays a year will benefit not only workers but businesses as well. It is good for the economy and for businesses in the tourism sector. We support this bill and we commend it to the House.