Dyson Ruth: Employment Relations (Probationary  Employment) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Dyson Ruth: Employment Relations (Probationary  Employment) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:635;Page:6751] 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Minister of Labour) 
: 
 I am delighted to say that Labour opposes the Employment Relations (Probationary Employment) Amendment Bill. It was introduced with absolutely no definition of a problem. Before any legislation comes to this House we should have a clear view of the problem the legislation aims to address. This bill had no analysis at all of what it was trying to deliver. Then we had to watch the spectacle of the frantic attempts of its proponent Dr Wayne Mapp to water it down. Every single possible amendment to water it down was made by the proponent of the bill and he still seems unable to muster enough support for it in this House. Well I am proud of the House of Representatives if we reject this type of legislation and I certainly hope we will not have to waste too much time in the future with bills that are as shallow and self-serving as the bill proposed by Wayne Mapp. 
Labour proposes a positive workplace relationship where workers are valued and treated fairly and where employers are able to utilise the talents of their workforces to improve their businesses. We are all in this together; we are not in opposition. The labour market situation in New Zealand is extraordinary. We have the lowest unemployment numbers in decades. The two biggest challenges facing us are firstly filling job vacancies and secondly improving our productivity. When I say “us” I mean all of us—central government businesses and unions—working together to address those two critical problems. Those are the labour market challenges that this Government with business and with unions is addressing. 
The OECD says that we are the third-ranked country in the world in general flexibility of the labour market. The World Bank this year rated our country as No. 1 in the world for ease of doing business. So the OECD and the World Bank think we have got it right but National wants to turn us back to the bad old days of the Employment Contracts Act of the 1990s where workers had their rights stripped and were treated as commodities rather than as valued contributors in the workplace and in our economy. 
I mentioned the two biggest challenges facing our country in the labour market area but there are two other issues I want to mention. The first is the issue of vexatious litigants and of employment relations consultants—particularly those referred to by my colleagues earlier: the “no win no fee” consultants. The second other big issue is the casualisation of workers. Those are genuine issues of concern and I have committed our Government to working on both those issues after reading submissions and after discussion with my colleague from New Zealand First Peter Brown. 
I want to acknowledge Peter Brown for his work during the process of the bill. He has engaged in discussion with me and with members of the select committee in a constructive open and direct way. He has an attitude of wanting to get things done of getting problems identified and addressed and of making real progress on issues of concern for New Zealand employers and New Zealand workers. I look forward to continuing that work in Parliament. I trust that we will have fewer ill-considered bills such as this one in the future. It spends the time of Parliament in a way that could be much better utilised in addressing the real challenges that I look forward to continuing to address as Minister of Labour.