McAnulty KieranKIERAN McANULTY (Labour): It's an absolute pleasure to follow the member for Taranaki - King Country Barbara Kuriger. I have to say that we may not agree on many things but I will take the opportunity to say that she is a good woman with a good heart and she does a lot for her constituency. She gave that speech her all.But I cannot say the same for the previous speakers from the other side of the House. We had Amy Adams and what was a terrible audition to be finance spokesperson for the National Party. If that was her best then I would say the new leader Simon Bridges should be very very worried. In her scaremongering Ms Adams pointed everyone to the back pages of the half-year update to the net debts forecast released by Treasury. She said—and I've written it down—that it would get worse than this. She said that all of the policies that the coalition Government talks about in the Budget Policy Statement will have to be paid for with borrowings on top of these net debt figures. She could not have been more wrong.Ms Adams failed to realise that the operating and capital allowances which the Government has set aside to pay for our policy package and more are already incorporated into the half-year update. This is quite frankly very disturbing to see such an experienced former associate finance Minister get it so wrong. I would go as far as to say that perhaps Steven Joyce who is desperate to keep his position as finance spokesperson slipped her the wrong data. Only then would it explain why she with so much experience could get something so simple so wrong.But after that we also got to Judith Collins or contestant number 3 as she presented herself. When she was not standing in that seat and looking at herself in that screen up there she was getting some pretty simple things wrong as well. It was very clear that she had read this document only five minutes before entering into this House. I wonder why that could be. What could have distracted the National Party members over the last few days that meant that they didn't have the opportunity to read the Budget Policy Statement? But I do feel sorry for the Hon Judith Collins because she missed an opportunity. She missed an opportunity to present what the other side of the House has as an alternative vision or lack thereof to what this Government is proposing.There was no vision for the future. All we heard was roads roads tax and roads. That side of the House are still fighting the last election. This side however has presented a vision for this country and it is outlined in this Budget Policy Statement. It is emphasised fully in our 100-day plan. We've got to look at the bigger picture. What is the measure of success in a country's economy? Is it figures or is it actually how well off the people are in this country? What good is an economy if a growing share are missing out on prosperity? What good is a strong economy if people are sleeping in cars and children are going to school hungry or without shoes on their feet?When that side of the House wishes that we were doing tax cuts this Government is actually through this Budget Policy Statement and the 100-day plan committing to things that matter to this country and matter to the people that live here.Earlier speakers from this Government touched on legislation to give impact to the Families Package. How is it that in 2017 and 2018 leading up to this last election anyway there were families who were working for a living and going without the basic necessities of life? Parents and families were working full-time—40 50 60 hours a week—and struggling to feed their kids and make ends meet. That is not a strong economy. You can take the view that the other side of the House wishes to take—that the market will deliver. We've had nine years of that ideology and the market has delivered inequality and poverty. This Labour-led Government has had to come in and bring in measures to try and address that. We had people leading up to the last election living in damp cold homes. So this Government has introduced the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act. If they were living in damp cold homes it also meant that they couldn't afford their own homes. So we've clamped down on speculators particularly those from overseas to ensure that homes—something that was a right almost in this country not long ago and is now out of reach for so many of our people here in New Zealand.But it's not just those that are working that are struggling to make ends meet. It's those that are working but are struggling to keep their jobs because of insecure conditions low wages and the insecurity that is brought about because they do not have the right to be able to negotiate collectively as a group. They are on individual employment agreements. They do not have the confidence to be able to fight and negotiate for good decent terms because they know there are 10 people around the corner waiting to take their low-paying job at any rate.So in our 100-day plan which is outlined in the Budget Policy Statement it clearly says that this Government has legislation to provide greater fairness in the workplace. Perhaps there is no greater example of this than the 90-day legislation. The previous National Government said it was fair to bring in a rule that said that after 90 days someone who is on this trial probationary period could be dismissed without any decent reason. No reflection of dignity no reflection of the work that they've done. They're down the road. We've always said that was wrong and I'm proud to be part of a Government that has got rid of it.Alastair Scott: No you haven't.KIERAN McANULTY: Except for the small businesses of course which was the original rule—Alastair Scott: You don't know what you're talking about.KIERAN McANULTY: I've been accused by the member for Wairarapa Alastair Scott of not knowing what I'm talking about. That is the Everywhere Man". They call him the "Everywhere Man" in Wairarapa because he's everywhere but Wairarapa. That is the Wairarapa MP who never turns up. No wonder his majority was reduced by 5000 last election. I look forward to reducing it even more in 2020.The fact is that you should never be able to be dismissed from a job—Alastair Scott: Where were you on the weekend McAnulty? Didn't see you on Sunday; didn't see you on Saturday. Sitting on your arse at home McAnulty. You do nothing.KIERAN McANULTY: I think I've touched a nerve. He hasn't stopped barracking since I made that point that really hurt him. The thing is he's not happy.Let's move on to the minimum wage. [Interruption]ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! Please don't bring me into this debate.Alastair Scott: McAnulty your party still hurts the most.KIERAN McANULTY: Oh Mr Assistant Speaker—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! There's a correct way to address members and that's not it.KIERAN McANULTY: Thank you sir. Let's move on to the minimum wage shall we? The fact is that it is an absolute disgrace in this country when people that work full-time—Hon Carmel Sepuloni: You're getting to him.KIERAN McANULTY: I think I am getting to him Carmel. I think I am getting to Alastair Scott. I think I've touched a nerve; I really do. But let's get back on to this shall I? Give him a breather.The fact is that the minimum wage if not increased—people do struggle to make ends meet. They do struggle to feed their families and there once was a principle in this country that if you did a fair day's work you got a fair day's pay. Over time when workers have been absolutely undermined their capacity to negotiate collectively and keep the rights that many have fought for over generations—this is why this Labour-led Government had to come in in this Budget Policy Statement in our first 100 days and actually deliver for the working people of this country. And I know coming from a regional area that has a large number of small businesses that depend on people's capacity to spend that when workers have money when working families have money to spend small businesses do well. That is how you are measuring the success of an economy—not for some figures not how the top 10 5 2 and 1 percent are doing; it's how we are all doing.If the working family is doing well the whole country is doing well. In the last nine years we've seen conditions not just in the workplace but in the home eroded by loopholes in the law that allowed people to take advantage and exploit. I'm proud to be part of a Government that has indicated through this Budget Policy Statement and in our 100 days that we're on the side of the everyday New Zealander and we're going to deliver for this country."